Business
This week, we take a deep dive into Intersect 2020 which is the True Value Partnering Institute (TVPI) Annual conference, held in Miami in January. You can also enjoy this video recapping the event. Our guests James Shoemaker and Steven Manton speak to us in their capacity as TVPI advisors. We explore highlights from the Intersect 2020 conference, including key takeaways from sessions on leadership, change management and resilience with a focus on the evolving role of the business of law expert. The True Value Partnering Institute is a legal industry think tank focused on professional development and thought leadership at the intersection of the practice and the business of law. The Institute has become the definitive community for senior legal business professionals - those responsible for delivering value inside and outside their organizations. KEY TAKEAWAYSPeel back the onion. Good leaders know their weaknesses and use this self-awareness to improve their relationships within their team and the firm.Do you know what keeps the managing partner awake at night? Answering this question can help you break out of your pricing silo and get more involved in cross-functional projects across the firm.Avoid solution-jumping. Change management requires that you take time to understand the problem or opportunity first and empathize with the end-user.Just breathe! Your ability to be a good leader, deliver value and manage change starts with a focus on mental health and well-being. James Shoemaker is an Accredited Legal Pricing Professional (ALPP) and certified legal project manager with nearly 20 years of industry experience. In his current role as the Director of Pricing and Matter Management at Miles & Stockbridge P.C., he is responsible for setting pricing strategy, consulting with partners and clients on pricing solutions, and establishing a matter management framework of tools and processes to ensure efficient delivery of legal services. This includes oversight for all the following functions: pricing, rate setting, legal project management (i.e., “matter management”), new business acceptance, and the establishment and maintenance of the required supporting systems and infrastructure for these functions.A frequent speaker on the topics of legal pricing and project management, Jim’s core focus remains on maximizing the value of legal services by helping align the firm’s pricing and service delivery models with its clients’ legal needs and business objectives. Steven Manton is a Pricing Director at McDermott Will & Emery LLP. Steven is responsible for the creation and development of the firm’s pricing and legal project management function across all the firm’s offices.Steven is a highly knowledgeable law and business graduate with a Masters qualification and twenty years of legal sector experience. Recognized as a leading law firm pricing, practice optimization and profitability specialist who regularly teaches and publishes on pricing legal services and building the law firm pricing function.Steven is active in the legal community and serves on the Advisory Council of the True Value Partnering Institute, a legal industry think tank and is also a member of the Research Advisory Board for the Client Value and Law Firm Profitability Report published by Jim Hassett Phd.