ILFM Conferences 2025

Our next conference.

Nov 20th 2025 10am - 3pm - Virtual via Zoom

The ILFM Spring Conference 2025

Navigating the Future of Legal Finance & Management: Innovation, Compliance, and Excellence

The ILFM's Spring Conference 2025 took place on 22 May at The Law Society's prestigious London office. A huge Thank You to our sponsors who make it possible for us to hold our cornerstone in-person event each year. As ever, it was wonderful to see so many of our members in attendance.

Throughout the day attendees had the opportunity to engage with our exhibitors, participate in interactive networking, and hear the latest insights into compliance, financial management, and operational excellence. From discussions on regulatory updates to thought-provoking sessions on artificial intelligence, our speakers were there to equip delegates with the tools needed to navigate a changing legal landscape.

Having led what was the UK's fastest-growing law firm, via McCrum Legal and The McCrum Academy, Simon McCrum, our keynote speaker, shared his insights into how teams and firms can become The Perfect Legal Business.

Lucy Brennan, Partner, Saffery gave her Reporting Accountant update. As we come into the season for SRA accountant’s reports, Lucy reviewed what pitfalls were seen last year, common mistakes, and how to rectify, combined with a consideration of the consumer protection review on the model of solicitors holding client money.

After a year of back-to-back AML fines, where are we heading from here? Who better to explain The now & next of AML than Amy Bell, Chair of the Law Society’s Economic Crime Task Force, CEO and Founder of Teal Compliance and ILFM AML Trainer. Amy highlighted how firms are leaving themselves open to fines. With a potential change of supervisors and Regulations and a government calling for a Money Laundering Offence the focus won’t shift for a while. Amy examined what needs to be on firm's AML to do lists this year.

Law firm finance teams are often seen as a reactive, back-office function, managing payments, compliance, and financial reporting. But in a rapidly changing legal landscape, the role of finance is evolving. With the right strategies and technology, finance teams can transform from a bottleneck into a business enabler; improving efficiency, reducing costs, and driving firm-wide profitability. Our panel of speakers, included Marcus Oulds - VP of Sales, Legl; Charlie Kraus, Platform & Industry Lead, Adyen and; Jason Parry, Head of Finance & COFA at Doyle Clayton was hosted by Arrun Ramadoss, Head of Marketing at Legl shared their knowledge and expertise in streamlining finance processes for law firms.

Getting the right legal software for your firm is an essential. Kevin Horlock, CEO, LSSA (Legal Software Suppliers Association) shared his knowledge and tips on how the right software can transform your working life and the success of your firm.

David Thorpe and Nigel Wilson, Directors at Financial Eye and Legal Abacus columnists discussed how residual balances arise, how you can monitor the position, how you can rectify them, and most importantly how you put processes in place to stop them arising in future. This session gave delegates the chance to talk “off the record” about specific issues they face and get some handy hints for dealing with them.

As artificial intelligence continues to rapidly evolve, its presence in the legal profession shall become increasingly ubiquitous. While some amongst us may understandably view AI as a threat, fearing job displacement or ethical dilemmas, others may view it as a transformative opportunity that will facilitate the streamlining of routine tasks, enhancement of legal research, and ever improving provision of data-driven insights. Mark Hailwood, Senior Director of Product, Dye & Durham, asked the question; is AI a threat or opportunity?

Finally, it wouldn't be an ILFM Conference without a regulatory updated. Jonathan Chambers, Forensic Investigation Manager at the SRA gave everyone the latest news including consultation updates and the technical issues involved in the investigation of Accounts Rules compliance.

   

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Review of 2024 Conference

The ILFM Legal Compliance Conference, held on 16 May 2024 at the Law Society in Chancery Lane, was a significant event for legal professionals. The conference focused on enhancing knowledge in finance and management excellence. With over 150 attendees, it provided a day filled with insightful sessions and valuable networking opportunities.