What does the future look like for small and mid-sized law firms, and how can their leaders prepare for it?
These were the questions at the heart of The Legal Conference 2026, which took place at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole on Thursday 15 October.
As a marketing agency working closely with law firms across the UK, we get to see first-hand the opportunities and pressures facing the legal sector. We work with ambitious firms that want to grow, attract and retain good people, strengthen their reputation and build a sustainable business for the future.
But something we see regularly is just how difficult it can be for law firm leaders to find the time to work on their business, rather than in it.
Managing profitability, responding to technological change, developing future leaders and maintaining a strong culture are all important, but they compete for attention alongside the everyday demands of running a busy legal practice.
It was one of the reasons we wanted to create something specifically for the SME legal market. An event that recognised the challenges facing smaller and mid-sized firms, rather than simply applying the experiences of the largest practices to businesses operating in very different circumstances.
Our ambition was to bring together speakers, relevant industry providers and fellow law firm leaders, creating an environment where people could share experiences, challenge established thinking and have conversations that continued beyond the formal sessions.
And on 15 October, that ambition became a reality!
What I particularly enjoyed was the willingness of delegates to engage. People came prepared to ask questions, challenge ideas and share their own experiences, including the things that haven’t necessarily gone to plan.
Having reflected on the discussions, there were several themes that I think are particularly relevant to SME law firms.
The future of law firms may be less dramatic, but no less significant
The opening panel, The Future of Law: How Legal Work Is Evolving Today, brought together Simon McCrum, Abby Winkworth and Vidisha Joshi, chaired by Alex Holt of Cashroom.
One of the most interesting messages was that, despite the predictions of wholesale disruption, the traditional law firm model is unlikely to disappear overnight.
Change may be more gradual than some anticipate, but that doesn’t make it any less important.
Simon McCrum challenged the tendency of firms to assume that the way they operate today will remain largely unchanged in five years’ time. The discussion explored a market in which consolidation, changing client expectations, alternative business models and technology are already influencing how firms are structured.
We heard about the potential for flatter hierarchies, increased outsourcing, more specialist boutique practices and hybrid models combining employed solicitors with consultants.
What struck me was that these changes aren’t necessarily about replacing the traditional law firm model, but rather questioning which parts of it still work and which may need to evolve.
There was also an important question about the future of junior lawyers. If technology takes on more routine tasks and firms become leaner, how will the next generation develop the judgement, confidence and experience that traditionally come from working alongside senior colleagues?
That led into another interesting question: Have law firms really worked out what the office is for?
Hybrid working offers flexibility, but the panel also considered the value of being physically together, particularly for developing junior lawyers, building relationships and communicating a firm’s culture.
Vidisha Joshi emphasised the importance of understanding a firm’s vision and values, and ensuring that people understand the reasons behind decisions about how they work.
This is where having a clearly defined identity and direction becomes so important. Firms can introduce new ways of working, invest in technology and change their structures, but if their people don’t understand the thinking behind those decisions, it becomes much harder to bring everyone with them.
For SME firms, I think there is a genuine opportunity here. Their size can allow them to make decisions and adapt more quickly than larger organisations. But that advantage only exists if leaders are willing to question established practices rather than preserve them simply because that’s how things have always been done.
Simon McCrum returned later in the morning to deliver his keynote, The Role of Partners in the Perfect Legal Business.
His message was direct. Many of the challenges law firms face are not simply the result of external market conditions. They are consequences of the way firms are managed, how work is delivered and what behaviours are accepted internally.
Rising salary costs, increasing overheads, inefficient processes, poor recovery rates and delays in collecting fees all place pressure on profitability. Simply asking people to do more work is not a sustainable answer.
Simon challenged leaders to pay closer attention to team gross margins, cash flow, pricing and accountability, rather than treating fee income as the primary measure of success.
But for me, one of the most important parts of his presentation was the discussion about the role of partners.
Being an excellent solicitor doesn’t automatically make someone an effective business leader. It’s something that is particularly relevant to SME firms, where partners often have to balance their own fee-earning responsibilities with managing teams, developing the business and making strategic decisions.
When partners operate independently, follow different processes or have different expectations of their teams, it becomes difficult to establish the consistency needed to build a successful firm.
And this extends beyond internal management. From a marketing perspective, we often talk to firms about what makes them different, what they want to be known for and the experience they want clients to have. But those ambitions need to be reflected in how the business actually operates.
There’s little value in promoting a particular client experience if it isn’t delivered consistently across the firm.
The responsibility of leadership is therefore much broader than generating fees. It includes setting expectations, developing people, demonstrating the right behaviours and creating a business that colleagues understand and want to be part of.
It also raises an important question for law firm owners considering succession, investment, merger or eventual sale. Are you building a business that can operate successfully beyond the individuals currently leading it?
Profitability, culture, processes and management structures all influence the answer. These aren’t issues that can be addressed only when a transaction becomes imminent. For firms seeking sustainable growth, leadership needs to be an active responsibility, not something fitted around fee-earning commitments.
AI: Beyond the hype and into the reality of running a firm
Artificial intelligence featured throughout the day, reflecting both the opportunities and uncertainty it is creating for the legal sector.
The afternoon panel, Beyond the Buzzwords: What AI Can Really Do for SME Practices, brought together Mike Leeman, Managing Partner of Bell Lamb & Joynson, James Chadburn, Managing Partner of Dean Wilson, and James Leyshon of Wavenet, chaired by Francis Davis of Wavenet Legal.
One of the strongest messages was that AI adoption needs to be led from the top.
There can be a temptation to leave AI to the younger members of a firm, assuming that those who have grown up with technology will naturally be best placed to understand and implement it. But familiarity with technology isn’t the same as understanding its commercial, operational and regulatory implications.
Law firm leaders cannot expect their teams to become the experts while remaining removed from the conversation themselves. They need to understand what AI can realistically achieve, where the risks lie and how it fits into the wider direction of the business.
Importantly, governance needs to come before widespread adoption. Firms should be thinking about policies, accountability, data protection, confidentiality and oversight before encouraging people to experiment with tools that could expose the business to unnecessary risk.
The panel also explored the importance of looking beyond the headlines and identifying where AI can deliver genuine value. That might mean removing administrative burdens, improving internal processes or allowing fee earners to focus more of their time on work that requires their expertise and judgement.
I think there’s a danger of both overestimating and underestimating AI’s impact.
Some of the predictions about the future of legal services can make it feel as though firms need to transform everything immediately. Equally, dismissing AI because some of the claims appear exaggerated could mean missing opportunities to improve how a business operates.
We see a similar challenge in marketing. There’s no shortage of new technology promising to make businesses more efficient or effective, but the starting point should always be understanding what you’re trying to achieve.
The discussion also raised wider questions about pricing, supervision, training and the traditional billable-hour model. If work can be completed more efficiently, how should firms demonstrate value and structure their fees?
For SME firms, I don’t think the answer is necessarily to adopt every new development. It’s about making informed decisions, establishing appropriate safeguards and ensuring that investment serves a genuine business purpose. AI cannot simply become somebody else’s responsibility within the firm.
Creating space for the conversations that matter
Alongside the formal presentations, we wanted The Legal Conference to offer opportunities for delegates to learn from one another.
Two rounds of facilitated discussions gave attendees the chance to explore issues including operational efficiency, brand evolution, cyber security, technology adoption, client experience and current market challenges.
For me, these discussions were one of the most valuable parts of the day.
When you’re dealing with the demands of running a business, it’s easy to become focused on the challenges directly in front of you. Having the opportunity to hear how other firms are approaching similar situations can help challenge assumptions and offer a completely different perspective.
One particularly interesting discussion explored the experiences of firms introducing new technology, especially practice management systems.
For many firms, choosing a new system is a significant investment of both money and management time. But the conversation went beyond comparing providers to consider a more fundamental question: Is it better to invest in one system and expect it to do everything, or choose several specialist solutions and make sure they work effectively together?
Delegates shared their experiences of implementation, the challenges of encouraging adoption and what had prompted them to consider changing systems in the first place. One point that stood out was that investing in technology doesn’t automatically mean people will use it effectively. Existing habits, resistance to change, inadequate training and a lack of clarity about the intended benefits can all undermine even a carefully considered investment.
It’s a useful reminder that successful change is often as much about people and processes as it is about the technology itself.
Would you buy from your own law firm?
This was the question we posed at Consortium’s roundtable, hosted by Sarah Laflin, where we explored how and why clients choose their solicitors.
We broke the client journey into four stages: Find, Trust, Choose and Recommend. It was great to hear the different perspectives and practical examples from firms around the table.
A few things particularly stood out.
People still buy people. Despite the growing number of digital channels available to clients, personal relationships, referrals and emotional connections remain incredibly important, particularly when someone is seeking advice on a complex or sensitive matter.
This is something we see regularly in our work with law firms. Digital marketing plays an important role in helping people discover a firm, but the relationships and trust built along the way are often what influence the final decision.
Legal expertise isn’t always the differentiator we think it is. Clients may assume solicitors are equally capable, even when that isn’t the case. So how do you demonstrate your value, particularly if you’re charging more than your competitors?
Firms often focus their marketing on their expertise, experience and the services they provide. Of course, these things matter. But if every firm is communicating similar messages, what is actually giving a prospective client a reason to choose one over another?
The client experience starts long before instruction. We discussed how quickly firms respond to enquiries, video introductions and the importance of proactive communication.
Every interaction contributes to the impression someone forms of a business. And often it’s the smaller things, such as a prompt response or feeling listened to, that can make the biggest difference.
AI also entered the conversation, particularly in relation to how prospective clients are finding and comparing law firms. Interestingly, few delegates knew how visible their own firms were in AI-generated recommendations. This is something I think firms should be paying closer attention to. As the ways people search for professional services continue to evolve, understanding where and how your firm appears is becoming another important part of marketing.
And what happens after the legal work is completed?
Are firms maintaining relationships with previous clients and intermediaries, recognising opportunities to help them again and giving people good reasons to recommend them to others?
One of our biggest takeaways from the discussion was that marketing, business development and client experience cannot be treated as separate activities.
Together, they influence whether someone finds, trusts, chooses and ultimately recommends your firm.
What made the roundtables particularly valuable was the openness of the delegates. People were willing to discuss what had worked, what hadn’t and the decisions they might approach differently with hindsight.
There was no suggestion that one approach would work for every firm, but plenty of opportunities to question assumptions and leave with ideas worth exploring.
What can law firm leaders learn from Olympic success?
Harriet Beveridge, co-author of Will It Make the Boat Go Faster?, brought the conference to a close with a different perspective on leadership, performance and achieving ambitious goals.
Drawing on the story of the British men’s eight rowing team, which won gold at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, Harriet explored the importance of having a shared ambition and ensuring that everyday decisions contribute towards achieving it.
One of the messages that particularly resonated with me was the importance of bringing people along on the journey; it’s easy for business leaders to set an ambitious goal, communicate it to their team and then focus on achieving the end result. But people need to understand how they contribute to that ambition and what progress looks like along the way.
Harriet encouraged delegates to distinguish between results and performance, focus on what they can control and recognise the contribution of every member of a team. She also spoke about breaking ambitious goals into achievable steps and celebrating the smaller milestones, rather than waiting until the final result to acknowledge success.
I think that’s an important message for law firm leaders.
In our experience, firms often have ambitious plans for growth, whether that’s increasing turnover, developing new services, expanding into different markets or building a stronger reputation. Having the ambition itself is only one part of the picture.
How is that goal being communicated internally? Do people understand the part they play in achieving it? And are successes being recognised along the way? Those smaller moments of recognition can help maintain motivation, build momentum and make the wider ambition feel meaningful to everyone involved.
It was a fitting conclusion to a day that had repeatedly returned to the importance of leadership, culture and purposeful change.
Where does this leave SME law firms?
If there’s one thing I took away from The Legal Conference, it’s that SME law firms have more choices about their future than they might think.
Growth may come through acquisition, greater specialisation or a different approach to staffing and service delivery. But whatever direction a firm takes, progress starts with knowing what kind of business it wants to become.
From our experience working with law firms, ambition is rarely the issue. More often, it’s finding the time to translate that ambition into a plan, make decisions and bring people with you.
And while technology will undoubtedly influence the future of the profession, it cannot compensate for weak leadership, unclear priorities or a poor client experience.
The firms that make progress will be those prepared to examine how they operate, question what could be done differently and act on what they learn.
Continuing the conversation
Seeing the discussions taking place across the main stage, around the tables and between sessions was great. Thank you to our speakers, sponsors, exhibitors and everyone who joined us and contributed so generously to the day.
The conversations were a starting point. What matters now is what happens back at the firm and we hope all our participants took some useful learning and practical tips home with them.
About The Legal Conference
The Legal Conference (TLC) was created by Consortium more than marketing with a clear ambition: to bring together leaders of small and mid-sized law firms to explore the challenges, opportunities and decisions shaping their future.
Bringing together industry experts, legal service providers and senior decision-makers, TLC encourages open discussion, fresh perspectives and meaningful connections. Our aim is to give law firm leaders the opportunity to step away from the day-to-day running of their firms, share experiences and leave with ideas they can put into practice.
Interested in joining us for the next Legal Conference? Register your interest here to receive updates about future events.