Practical Law Firm Business Planning Insights. Four Free Webinars – Designed for Law Firm Leaders

Posted on31 July 2025

We’re pleased to offer access to a valuable, complimentary webinar series designed specifically for leaders in law firms who want to strengthen their business planning and strategic focus. As many of us know, business planning can sometimes be an overlooked process and become tokenism which misses out on opportunities for new directions, growth and identifying efficiencies. In a challenging legal landscape where some law firms are flatlining, facing new competition, disruption by AI and innovation, there is a greater need to focus on business planning.

Led by legal industry experts Chris Bull and Karen Millett, this four-part webinar series is packed with practical insights, tools, and strategies tailored to the challenges and opportunities law firms face.

🎥 All four webinars are available on demand, making it easy for you to watch and share at your own pace. They are packed with real-world examples and guidance - perfect to refer back to whenever leaders are starting or reviewing a business plan. Business planning shouldn’t just be an annual tick-box. It’s a live, evolving process.

✅ What’s Included in the Series?

1. Strategy
🔹 What makes a law firm strategy meaningful (not just a buzzword)
🔹 Defining and aligning short- and long-term goals
🔹 Vision, mission, values – and how to make them real

2. Markets & Focus
🔹 Choosing where to compete – markets, sectors, service lines, locations
🔹 Using client data and segmentation to guide planning
🔹 Collaborating with intermediaries and partners for growth

3. Profitability & Growth
🔹 Aligning budgets to growth and profit drivers
🔹 Balancing brand building and sales activity
🔹 Hear from guest experts including Joel Barolsky, one of Australia’s leading legal management consultants and Christy Farrer, Chief Strategy Officer at CMS

4. Tracking & Reporting
🔹 Making business plans measurable and adaptable
🔹 KPIs, lead/lag indicators, cost per acquisition and more
🔹 Guest insight from David Shufflebotham on how planning links to performance and remuneration. David is a City trained lawyer who has held C-Suite HR Roles in major law firms including Burges Salmon and Osborne Clarke

🎯 Who Will Benefit?

Managing Partners and Law Firm Leaders
Business Development and Marketing Professionals
Finance Directors and Strategy Leads
Practice Group Leaders and Operational Management

Download the webinars here

Burges Salmon has been an enthusiastic supporter of BLS for many years. BLS provides a valuable role in uniting and promoting the whole of the legal sector across Bristol to benefit both its members and the city. It facilitates collaboration across the sector to ensure that we can all make a difference. Whether that is driving important initiatives in, for example, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and the use of new technologies, liaising with stakeholders and charities in our wider community or providing training to generations of lawyers, the service and support provided by BLS is invaluable. More recently BLS has taken a lead on promoting Bristol’s legal brand, encouraging legal and business services talent to come to the city, which in turn attracts clients and inward investment to our thriving and vibrant commercial community. BLS breaks down barriers and brings those in the profession together for the greater good. We are proud of our long-standing association with BLS.
Roger Bull - Managing Partner, Burges Salmon
Three things to say about my experience of working with Bristol Law Society. Their central team, council members and general hangers-on are just about the nicest, most generous group of people working in the legal sector today. The numerous events, awards, socials and conferences I’ve had the pleasure to attend over the years have been, without exception, top quality and supremely organised. And, thirdly, they consistently exceed and challenge the boundaries of what lawyers might assume a regional Law Society will restrict activities to – from a hugely successful charitable school meals drive to corporate social responsibility and diversity campaigns to being joint architects and coordinators of the region’s unique Bristol+BathLegalTech group, which it has been my privilege to co-chair for the last five years.
Chris Bull - Principal, Edge International
As one of the leading Insurance brokers for law firms in the UK and with a large presence in Bristol it seemed only natural for us to support the Bristol Law Society. Bristol Law Society is one of the oldest and most vibrant of the Law Societies in England and Wales. We are pleased to be working with them on important matters relating to law firms’ liability insurances and Risk Management. From Sole Practitioner to Top 20 law firms we are sure our two organisations can provide excellent support and assistance for the challenges faced by the legal profession.
Matthew Baker - Financial Lines Group, Howden Insurance Brokers Ltd
Joining BLS in 2013 and becoming President in 2018/19 has created many longstanding friendships and business relationships, whilst also unlocking doors to other opportunities in the City. BLS enabled a perfect balance of professional development and also opportunities to give back to the legal and wider community. I am pleased that my Firm has supported BLS in many capacities since 2013 and continues to do so.
Nicholas Lee- Managing Director of Paragon Costs Solutions and Past President of BLS