Top Takeaways from LPM Conference 2022

Did you catch LPM Conference 2022 in July? Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, LPM 2022 is presented by Legal Practice Management (LPM) and brought together more than 60 leaders from top SME law firms in the UK. Actionstep’s Regional Director, UK, Oliver Tromp and Senior Account Manager, UK, John Gomez were there to take it all in throughout one action-packed day in London. Read on to learn their top takeaways.

Conversation and Collaboration

Rather than long-form presentations by speakers, LPM 2022 had a different format that placed the focus on facilitating conversation and collaboration among attendees from SME law firms. The conference featured a variety of problem-solving sessions, roundtables, and discussions designed to boost interaction, peer-to-peer learning, and participation.

After two years of upheaval brought on by the global pandemic, including some of the most intense changes and challenges ever faced by the legal industry, this less-structured structure was very welcome. It gave LPM attendees a chance to mix, share ideas, and reconnect with each other as a community. LPM 2022’s sessions highlighted many issues facing the legal industry at present, from change management to data privacy to human resources to operations.

Continuing Concern: Legal Talent Retention

The current labor shortage continues to be an enormous issue for the legal industry worldwide, so it’s no surprise that it was the most prevalent theme and concern among attendees at LPM 2022. Retention kept surfacing throughout the day, and discussion sessions focused on the different dimensions to solving this problem, including:

• Branding, messaging, and social media in recruitment: Law firms can effectively utilize branding and social media to differentiate themselves to recruits, but it’s also vital to be transparent about their identity so recruits truly understand the culture they’re joining.
• Five generations together in the workplace: The variety of needs and expectations among different generations currently working together at many law firms poses a unique challenge when it comes to employee retention. It’s important to consider the nuances among the generations at your firm to ensure everyone feels considered and included.
• Culture concerns: Law firms are finding that it’s more important than ever to foster a positive team culture and have flexible benefits. This might include adopting open-plan offices, flexible or hybrid working options, an emphasis on healthy work-life balance, and truly competitive pay. At the same time, firms are finding that structure continues to be crucial to keep work moving forward.
• Technology’s role in retention: Up-to-date technology has become increasingly significant in delivering a stronger employee value proposition. Potential employees expect flexibility, and firms are finding that they must have the systems in place that enable it, such as cloud-based practice management platforms that make hybrid work possible. 

The Growing Role of Legaltech

One notable stat that arose at LPM 2022 was that law firms only tend to realize 20% of the value available from their business systems. But with lawyers in short supply, law firms are seeing the need to truly make the most of these systems. They’re looking at ways they can do more with less and ensure their staff’s time is focused on high-value work. Legal technology can go a long way toward helping firms become more efficient and effective by automating key administrative tasks, from client/matter management to document generation to billing to time tracking. Lawyers and staff can focus their time and energy on what they’re best at and what really matters: helping their clients.

Legaltech solutions can’t solve the current talent retention problem on their own, but practice management software can maximize the value that firms gain from their existing staff—and improve their employee experience. In turn, this can help firms retain employees over the long run.

Ready to Move Your Firm Forward?

LPM 2022 is over for this year, but you can still learn about streamlining your law firm’s processes. Find out how Actionstep can help by getting in touch with our team.

Schedule a demo today.