RETREATS AND PARTNER CONFERENCES

Practice Development Counsel's president Phyllis Weiss Haserot plans, facilitates, and makes presentations on a wide range of business development and service quality topics for firm retreats and partner conferences. In most instances, we are given the responsibility of planning with the firm the entire content and agenda. However, Ms. Haserot is also available for a more limited role as a speaker or workshop leader for a specific portion of a retreat.

Some of our most successful retreat or partner conference programs focus on:

CLIENT/COUNSEL RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

Programs with or without clients present.

DEVELOPING BUSINESS THROUGH SERVICE QUALITY INITIATIVES

Using pre-conference research, group role reversals and a variety of workshop exercises as well as models we developed, we enable partners to see business development and working relationships from the clients' perspective. From that point we bring client-focused tools and techniques to specific opportunities for the firm and practice groups or teams. The end-products are new strategies, tools and action plans that put the firm in the role of initiator rather than reactor.

CROSS-SELLING

These sessions take a variety of forms depending on the practice groups, office locations or industry targets involved. We are proud of the large percentage of partners who participate in the presentations and group planning. The sessions focus on actual opportunities as much as possible.

We also encourage firms to involve senior associates in these programs.

FUTURE IDENTITY/VISION

Through both creative techniques and more traditional examination of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and potential problems, we help partners to define the firm's desired future, the path to that vision, and the investments and cultural changes necessary to achieve the chosen identity. This is an important early step in a "quality program" as well as for the firm's strategic planning. Action plans are the end-product.

PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION SERVICES