Dana Denis-Smith is the CEO of Obelisk Support and the founder of the First 100 Years campaign. A TedX speaker, Dana is regularly invited to address industry events and comment in the media on gender equality, entrepreneurship and legal technology. In 2020, she was recognised for her work as a women's advocate and champion of gender equality with the Special Contribution Award at the Women in Law Awards.

John specialises in risk and claim reduction in the FINPRO PI area at Marsh JLT Specialty,and delivers risk management advice and consultancy for UK and global law firm clients. John has experience of Professional Indemnity for Solicitors, Surveyors, Architects, Technology companies, Local Government, and Financial Advisers. John is a Solicitor and has a postgraduate degree in Management from Guildhall University.

Janet has been joint owner of Taylor Mowbray LLP for over 15 years. Prior to that she spent over 10 years with a top 20 accounting firm heading up their specialist solicitors’ group. A highly experienced presenter Janet and over the last 20 years she has also become known as a specialist on the SRA Accounts Rules She presents to a wide range of law firms through in-house and public seminars.

Leon is an Audit Director in PwC's Law Firms' Advisory Group. He works with a number of national and international law firm clients, advising them on accounting issues and SRA Accounts Rules compliance. Leon also co-leads PwC Annual Law Firm's Survey, which provides insight and thought leadership covering the Top 100 UK law firms.

Michelle is a skilled and experienced leadership, management and marketing consultant and trainer working with professional service firms and organisations across the public, private and the voluntary sector. Her career began in marketing within Legal 500 Law Firms as a Chartered Marketer, a title she has held for over 20 years. It progressed to the public sector where Michelle built up a great level of expertise implementing change initiatives and leading transformational projects, often developing strategic practices which were recognised for their contribution to national best practice.

Matthew has been at the Solicitors Regulation Authority since January 2022. He plays a key role in delivering key elements of the SRA’s policy agenda including, the SRA Accounts Rules, ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and climate change. Matthew has previously developed Health and Social Care policy in Local Government, and more recently education and training policy at the specialist professional regulator, Social Work England, where he supported the implementation of new Education and Training Standards, and developed a revised competency framework for trainee and newly qualified social workers.

Paul McCluskey is the Managing Director of Gemstone Legal, providing finance and risk management services to the UK legal sector. He is an approved Lexcel assessor, helping law firms establish a strong risk framework and achieve operational excellence. Paul also specializes in finance, supporting firms in accessing funding and optimizing client money structures. He previously served as the UK Head of Professional Practices at Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland, gaining extensive knowledge of the legal sector.

Robert is a qualified accountant and specialises in accounts preparation, audit and general consultancy as well as areas of taxation. Robert has a legal background and due to his extensive technical knowledge and deep understanding of the sector, takes charge of Solicitor Accounts Rules audits and is responsible for training within the firm. Robert has worked within the industry for over 20 years and joined MHA MacIntyre Hudson in April 2019.

Jatinder joined the SRA’s regulatory policy team in 2012 and has worked closely on the SRA’s Standards and Regulations including exploring how solicitors practise. Jatinder leads on the SRA’s regulation of financial services, the SRA Accounts Rules and Client Protection arrangements. Jatinder also engages with innovators that are using technology to help deliver legal services and to help remove any myths about regulation standing in the way.

• sra.org.uk
• @SRA_Solicitors

Alex has specialised in helping law firms with their IT challenges Since 2017. He focusses on the firms who have a headcount of 30 -200 people and markets himself as the "IT Director for the law firms who do not want (or need) a full-time IT Director".

Ian is a qualified accountant and auditor and has spent his professional life working almost exclusively with law firms, ranging from small sole practitioners to large international LLPs, Limited Companies and PLCs. Ian spent a number of years as an auditor at a Big 4 accountancy firm, working with some of the UK’s largest law firms. He then spent more than 15 years as a legal sector specialist and is currently part of the Executive Council of The Institute of Legal Finance and Management (ILFM) and Chair of the ICAEW Solicitors Advisory Committee.

Andy has worked closely with law firms since he joined Hazlewoods LLP in 1997. The Hazlewoods Legal Team works with around 170 law firms on projects such as structure changes, mergers and acquisitions, benchmarking, valuations, and succession planning. Andy writes and produces the Law Society’s LMS Financial Benchmarking Survey and is the current Chair of the ICAEW Solicitors Group.