May 31, 2013
ShareKelley Kronenberg Attends 4th Annual AFA Forum in Chicago.
Kelley Kronenberg Firm-wide Managing Partner Michael Fichtel and Executive Director Christine Simpson attended the 4th Annual Alternative Fee Arrangements (AFA) Forum: Value-Based Fee Arrangements & Legal Service Logistics in Chicago on May 16th. Hosted by Ark Group USA, this forum provided a platform for candid discussion around what law firms and their clients are doing in pursuit of more fundamental shifts in the service-delivery model.
Mr. Fichtel noted that “In order to provide our clients the best possible value we are continuously looking into alternative models for pricing a legal matter. This forum was an excellent opportunity to learn some of the most progressive and cutting edge methods to accomplish this goal.”
The forum opened with a Keynote Address, “Turning the Business Model Upside Down,” a presentation regarding the prevailing (obsolete) law firm business model, which was given by Fred H. Bartlit, Jr., Partner with Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott LLP. The forum hosted several panel discussions and presentations to follow, including “Managing the Transition Away from Hours as a Metric”, “What Truly Impacts Buying Decisions?,”and “Performing the Work Itself While Identifying Benchmarks for Successfully Managing Matters to Profitability.”
Rounding out the day were two panel discussions, which examined contingency models and the growing use and implications of litigation finance in the U.S., as well as AFA innovation and fee designs that work for clients.
Panelists and speakers included Audrey Rubin, COO, Legal Department, AON; Patrick M. Jones, Esq, Officer, Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C.; Michael S. Shuster, Co-Founder & Partner, Holwell, Shuster & Goldberg LLP; Andrew Langhoff, COO, Burford Capital; Raymond E. Bayley, Chief Executive Officer, NOVUS LAW; and Daniel Rodriguez, Dean and Harold Washington Professor, Northwestern University School of Law, to name a few.