Welcome to MPF South West

The MPF is the world's leading association of managing partners from across the spectrum of professional service firms. In South West we have created a local organisation that provides top-calibre educational and networking opportunities for all its members. By introducing thought-provoking and cutting-edge best practices that are transportable from one sector to another, we are dedicated to enhancing leadership and the status of the management team. more...

EVENTS

Meetings are run locally in the South West and provide both educational and networking opportunities for managing partners and other senior members of the management team. MPF South West connects the local professional services community with the wider MPF network, whilst generating real value for members closer to home. As a membership organisation, all our meetings are member only. However, those interested in joining are welcome to attend one event as our guest in order to get a feel for the group. See current event or download previous meeting report

Please contact your local Regional Director or MPF Executive Director, Paul Lemon if you wish to hear more about our events and/or membership.

SHARING KNOWLEDGE

In addition to a vibrant national roundtable programme to share knowledge and personal experience of management challenges, the MPF serves as an honest broker collecting and analysing confidential peer and client data.

Insights are curated and shared amongst leaders and their management teams worldwide to ensure professional firms can take better informed decisions on aspects of firm strategy.

Examples include:

The final piece in the knowledge mix are confidential Peer groups that allow leaders to share ‘here and now’ experiences and challenges with others in an intimate an confidential team working environment. Member only groups are organised around areas of special interest, management roles and experience.

REPRESENTATION

The Forum has been a noisy campaigner for over 15 years in changing internal attitudes towards practice management in professional firms. This has seen various campaigns, articles, surveys and reports on behalf of members to share best practice and prompt quality discussion amongst the firm management team.

Since 2011 we have been working with a UK government advisory board, the ‘Professional & Business Services Group’, whose role is to raise issues and share ideas that impact the ‘competitiveness of UK Plc’. The ‘‘MPF CEO Priorities Monitor’’ helps firms and policy makers take decisions based on an improved understanding of prospects, priorities and challenges seen by the professions.

AWARDS

We organise the MPF Awards for Management Excellence, a unique opportunity to honour and emulate those advisory firms across the professions that have been judged by independent experts as being the best managed and therefore highly attractive to clients and employees. Widely recognised as the premier Awards for those with practice management roles, the competition has been running since 2002.

COMMITTEE

Chair: David Pester - Named ‘Managing Partner of the Year' in the 2007 British Legal Awards, has been Managing Partner of TLT since 2002. David is responsible for the firm's strategy and development and is regarded by market commentators as the driving force behind TLT's exceptional growth, impressive client wins, strong financial performance and growing national reputation. Chambers UK, 2009 commends David for "his strong leadership skills". David continues to be involved with client work and is a corporate finance specialist recommended as a 'Leader in his Field' by independent guides to the legal sector, Chambers and Legal 500. David speaks regularly on management issues and is a member of the Managing Partners' Forum Executive committee. David qualified as a solicitor in 1989

Director: Simon Chadwick is joint head and co-founder of Chadwick Nott, Simon has been involved in legal recruitment since 1990. He specialises in high profile partner and team moves, mergers and acquisitions, recruitment brand building, UK / worldwide recruitment & retention strategy, and targeted business growth. He has also worked on a number of discreet projects to build up or re-engineer teams or departments in law firms.
Simon can be contacted on 07768 094648

John Banister joined Wiggin in 2003 as Chief Operating Officer responsible for driving the Firm's strategic impetus towards becoming the media law firm of choice. John is MBA trained and has charted a career through some of the heavy weights of investment banking, accounting and the legal professions including Merrill Lynch, KPMG and Linklaters. As a non-lawyer, management specialist John enjoys the opportunity to view the Firm from the outside in.

Kate Blackburn lives in Somerset and has over 20 years’ experience of developing and managing people and change within both law firms and barristers’ chambers and as a self-employed consultant and business coach within Sherwood PSF Consulting. Kate’s career ranges from the Armed Forces (post-University), Freshfields as International Project Manager, and then CEO of a large, multi-disciplinary barristers’ chambers in Bristol. Current coaching work focuses on career and practice development for senior individuals, specialising in helping those applying for silk and judicial appointments, as well as wider talent management initiatives. Her MBA is in Legal Practice (Nottingham Law School); she is a qualified NVQ Assessor, an MBTI Assessor and a Meyler Campbell qualified business coach. When not working, she loves being outside in her garden, tiring out her boisterous Labrador, entertaining, skiing and yoga.

Anne Compton has been Managing Partner of Cotswolds and south-west law firm Rickerbys since October 2005 and prior to that was a partner in the firm’s Corporate and Commercial Team. With particular expertise in advising GP’s, vets and other professional practices on partnership matters, Anne is a member of the Association of Partnership Practitioners and a long-standing member of the panel of judges for the Gloucestershire Business Awards.

Jeremy Sweetland, Guildhall Chambers

Paul Williams is director of office agency in the Bristol office. He has more than 15 years experience in the Bristol office agency market and has a successful track record acting for both landlords and tenants in Bristol and the South West. Paul joined Savills in May 2008 in order to set up an Office Agency department for the Bristol office. Previously, he spent some 15 years with niche agency practice, Lipfriend Dawson, prior to their takeover by Colliers CRE in July 2005, where he was a Director.

DETAILS OF OUR NEXT EVENT

Coming soon...


COMMITTEE

Simon Chadwick

Director:
Simon Chadwick,
Chadwick Nott

David Pester

Chair:
David Pester,
TLT Solicitors


Kate Blackburn

Kate Blackburn,
Sherwood PSF Consulting

John Banister

John Banister,
Wiggin LLP
 


Anne Compton

Jeremy Sweetland,
Guildhall Chambers

Anne Compton

Anne Compton,
Rickerbys Solicitors


Paul Williams

Paul Williams,
Savills

FUTURE EVENTS

Invites will be sent out approximately six weeks before each event.



Wednesday 12 June 2013
Lean Management Techniques

PREVIOUS EVENTS AND REPORTS

May 2013
From teamworking to super collaboration - the new paradigm



February 2013
Financial Management



January 2013
How your brand can help you make decisions about almost everything



November 2012
Value of social networking in professional services



September 2012
Promoting economic growth and prosperity, the story so far…



July 2012
It takes two to tango - effective relationships as seen by clients and advisers



May 2012
UK Economic Recovery - the train has been delayed NOT cancelled



April 2012
A private briefing from Sir Michael Snyder



March 2012
The new legal Outsourcing Panorama: Who, What, Why and Where?



January 2012
Financial Management - Lessons for all professional firms from the annual PwC and LMS Law Firm benchmarks 2011



Summary of 2011 events



November 2011
Develop a powerful 'success mindset'



September 2011
The changing client dynamic



September 2011
What is an appropriate level of risk?



June 2011
Putting clients at the heart of your firm – MPF/FT Roadshow
Download Report and slide pack for free at http://ftcorporate.ft.com/resources/



May 2011
Navigating a new landscape



March 2011
Financial Management



January 2011
When will the headwinds turn into tailwinds?


more reports . . .