Past Tides

Registration, breakfast and networking (9th Floor)

Welcome remarks & opening poll

• Rachel Kennedy — Chair, IBA Law Firm Management Committee’s MBD Sub-committee
• Anne Macdonald — Chair, IBA Law Firm Management Committee

Time to make a splash

AI can bring marketing and business development closer to the client and firm with a much louder voice. For the curious and bold in marketing and business development, AI is very good news. The parts of the job that used to eat your week, the Powerpoint formatting, the chasing, the endless status updates, are what AI handles best. What is left could be the interesting work: sharper pitches, stronger content, and tools you ship internally. In the opening keynote, Alex shows why the people who care most about marketing, business development and the legal world are perfectly placed to lead AI inside the firm, with real examples and a few ideas to carry you into the rest of the day.

• Alexander Irschenberger — CEO, Legal Tekno

Short cut: Real Life Scenarios: Use cases of AI in Marketing & Business Development

• Emma Veringa — PR & Comms, Houthoff

Implementation of AI in Law Firms

The tools are here, but how do firms actually get value from them? A practical look at the next phase of AI adoption in law firms, from workflow redesign to new marketing & business development roles and changing client expectations.

• Helen Foord — CEO, ELE
• Martijn Lesterhuis — Co-founder, Saga
• Douwe Groenevelt — COO, Euclyd
• Rhys Calcott — Associate Director of Business Development and Marketing EMEA, Skadden

Moderated by Elisabeth Peneder — COO, PHH

Coffee break

Vibe Coding Practical Tools for Marketing & Business Development

There will be a short introduction on what vibe coding makes possible and where its limits lie, but only briefly, because the real work is building. Your groups will create actual tools yourselves using Lovable. By the end you will have draft working tools in hand, and the best ones will be presented on stage.

• Stijn van Oirschot — Partner, Beyond Billable Hours
• Andrew Hutchinson — CRO, Rebel Group
• Barbara Koenen-Geerdink — Partner, Beyond Billable Hours

Short cut: Search engine optimization: Is your firm being found and represented accurately by AI?

• Rory Grant — Chief Revenue Officer, Squiz
• Will Noble — Client Strategy Director, Squiz

Networking lunch (9th Floor)

The Fishbowl (12th Floor, 12.1)

This interactive session explores topics on the minds of senior BD professionals in the rapidly-changing global landscape. Be ready to participate in polls and to jump in and out of the fishbowl discussion – we have a lot to learn from each other! Part problem-sharing, part problem-solving, part therapy!

Moderated by Charlotte Ford — Head of International Relationships, Charles Russell Speechlys

Fireside chat: The AI Effect: How Pricing, Value and Client Expectations Are Evolving

This discussion will address the rapidly changing landscape around pricing and what clients are expecting as well as the Marketing & Business Development team’s role in formulating pricing strategy and communicating with clients on this topic.

• Brian Gribben — CMO, Arendt
• Ben Girdlestone — Managing Director, Byfield

Moderated by Rachel Hussey — Partner, Arthur Cox

Coffee break (3rd Floor, Auditorium)

Short cut: Real Life Scenarios: Use cases of AI in Marketing & Business Development

• Monica Malcotti — BD Director, BLP

The AI advantage: what Corporate Counsel really want from their law firms

In this panel we’ll hear the corporate counsel perspective on how AI is reshaping the relationship between in-house teams and their external legal advisers. Panelists will share how they themselves are responding to AI, how that shapes their expectations of outside counsel and how technology is impacting law firm selection criteria and appointment processes. The conversation will also cover how AI-driven efficiency is challenging traditional pricing models and what will set advisers apart as both sides put AI to work.

• Aziz Aidaros — Associate General Counsel, Europe Region, Philip Morris International
• Måns Alriksson — Head of Group Regulatory Change Management, Nordea
• Rocío Chacón — International Senior Legal Counsel, Cox

Moderated by Will Spencer — Head of Strategy & Business Development, Gorrissen Federspiel

Preparing for IBA Annual Conference 2027 – Singapore

Closing remarks

• Rachel Kennedy — Chair, IBA Law Firm Management Committee’s MBD Sub-committee

Cocktail reception — T37 (Villa Copenhagen)

Event concludes