Morning sessions
- Chair's welcome and introduction
- 09:30
- Economic update
- 09:35
- An update on the Consumer Protection Review and potential regulatory changes
- 10:25
- Break
- 11:10
- Staying ahead: insights from the 2025 Financial Benchmarking Survey
- 11:30
- Succession planning for law firms: managing risk, tax, and transition
- 12:20
- Lunch
- 13:15
Afternoon sessions
- AI: the reinvention imperative
- 14:00
- Insurance market
- 14:45
- Break
- 15:15
- SRA Accounts Rules update
- 15:35
- Chair’s closing remarks
- 16:35
- Conference end
- 16:40
Our guest speakers
Meet the guest speakers supporting this event.
Frances Haque is the Chief Economist for Santander UK responsible for the economic analysis and macroeconomic forecasts used by the retail bank. Her team are responsible for developing: the analysis of economic risk scenarios to support the Prudential Regulatory Authority stress test and IFRS 9 processes; analysis for planning and strategic purposes; supporting the external customer work of the bank including speaking at a variety of events; and writing for external publications. She has also been appointed to the FCA’s CBA Panel.
Richard qualified as a solicitor in 1975 and became a partner at Freeth Cartwright & Sketchley in 1980. He co-founded Nelsons in 1983, growing it into a top-50 UK firm. In 2003, he launched Richard Nelson LLP. Richard brings extensive business and legal experience, including non-executive roles.
Rob is a leading voice in the field of AI, a TEDx and keynote speaker, industry commentator, and an evangelist for the responsible and ethical adoption of technology and its impact upon society. He’s a Senior Visiting Fellow at Bayes Business School, and a founding board member of the UK's Parliamentary Group on AI. HR Magazine ranks him as an ‘HR Most Influential Thinker’, Onalytica cites him as a ‘Who’s Who in AI’, and he was voted ‘Tech Community Leader of the Year’ at the CogX Festival. He won Editor’s Choice at the TechWomen100 Awards in recognition of his championing of the women in tech agenda.
Jason joined us in 2021 from a specialist Solicitors Professional Indemnity Broker. He works in our Professional Risks Team in Birmingham providing insurance solutions to law firms.
Max is a qualified accountant and has built up extensive experience working with clients across a range of sizes and sectors, specialising in professional services where he leads the client money team at Kreston Reeves. Max also recently became a tutor at The Institute of Legal Finance and Management (ILFM).
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. She currently acts as a consultant to a large South West accounting firm as part of their specialist solicitors group. Janet is a highly experienced presenter, 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. Clients have included several major international and national law firms as well as accountants. Janet is the current Subject Matter Expert for the ICAEW’s Solicitors Community Advisory Group and co-author of the current version of the Law Society Solicitors and the Accounts Rules manual.
Gus is an ACA and CTA qualified Tax Manager who specialises in advising owner-managed businesses and their stakeholders on a broad range of tax matters. His core focus is on tax advisory, supporting companies, LLPs, and partnerships through complex transactions, group restructurings, and business sales. He advises at both corporate and individual levels, ensuring that commercial objectives and tax outcomes are fully aligned. Before specialising in tax, Gus spent several years leading audits across various sectors, providing him with a solid grounding in accounting and financial reporting. This foundation informs the practical and commercially focused advice he delivers today.
Steve qualified in 2005 and joined Richard Nelson LLP in 2008, becoming a partner in 2014. He advises lawyers on compliance, admissions, firm setups, investigations, and regulatory hearings. Steve has helped many gain admission to the profession and frequently represents clients before disciplinary tribunals.
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.
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.
Testimonials
Excellent Conference - a complete update - all in one day.
As usual this was really well put together and a very useful addition to my overall CPD