CONFERENCE PROGRAMMETHURSDAY 22 OCTOBEROne-day conference of presidents and secretaries of local law societies and evening reception.FRIDAY 23 OCTOBERMorning-- Keynote address: the Law Society President-- Plenary session 'Legal costs and new forms of charging: a double edged sword' (see [1998] Gazette, 9 September, 20)Lunch fringe meetings-- 'Probate: results of the 1998 Budget'-- 'Pro bono: where now?'Afternoon parallel sessions-- 'Conveyancing: streamlined or bumpy road ahead?' (see [1998] Gazette, 29 July, 18-20)-- 'Funding civil litigation in the brave new world' (see page 26)-- 'Fast track claims in Woolf's world: skills and thrills, but will there be spills?' (see [1998] Gazette, 26 August, 18)-- 'Through the looking glass: adventures and experiments in Alternative Dispute Resolution' (see [1998] Gazette, 15 July, 22)Evening reception in conference exhibition and young solicitors beach partySATURDAY 24 OCTOBER-- Keynote address: 'law as a special kind of business' by Vanni Treves (see p28)-- Plenary session: question timeMorning parallel sessions-- 'Client care: can we make them love us?'-- 'Family law: threats and opportunities' (see [1998] Gazette, 23 September, 18)-- 'Pathway to the stars: how to be a top lawyer' (see [1998] Gazette, 7 October, 32)Lunch fringe meetings-- 'Making the most of your trainees'-- 'Employment law: new rights and opportunities'-- 'Devolution: the untold truth'Afternoon plenary session: 'Coping with change'Evening barn danceRachel Halliburton explores Bournemouth and finds that the town is overpopulated with solicitors and some firms are folding'Most people think Bournemouth is the Costa del Geriatrica, but it's not,' according to Sheila Collins, practice manager at high street firm Harold G Walker.

She is one of many local solicitors aware that while Bournemouth may seem like zimmer(c)frame heaven, its slumbering seaside facade conceals a host of problems ranging from hard drugs-related crime to the housing fantasies of leading football stars.

Some 57 solicitors' firms are devoted to sorting out the problems of Bournemouth's resident population of 161,500, as well as dealing with its large mobile population of hotel(c)guests, foreign language students, and the occasional away-day bucket and spade tourist.When the Solicitors Annual Conference descends this week on the Dorset resort, it will find local solicitors dealing with a gritty cross section of the issues that their colleagues from across England and Wales have come together to discuss.

The giant in the area is Lester Aldridge, which, with its 30 partners and 170 staff, is one of the largest firms in the south of England.

During the last few years, the firm has made a significant shift to upgrade its commercial work to match that of London firms, and has taken on clients which include FR Aviation, part of the Cobham group, and British Gas.

It has strong overseas connections, and has taken on cases originating in the US, Europe, and Belize.Louis Greenblatt, sales and marketing director at Lester Aldridge, says the firm also has a South African desk, and has used this to build up a lot of private client work.

He adds that the firm will be spending up to £500,000 on information technology d uring the next five years, bringing it up to speed with the technological requirements currently bearing down on the profession.Other firms with high profiles in the area include Coles Miller which has 13 partners and 10 assistant solicitors and Steele Raymond, with 12 partners and seven assistant solicitors.

Both firms deal with a significant amount of commercial work and Steele Raymond has also concentrated on building up foreign contacts, as well as having specialists in aviation and canine law.Sheriff Payne, the senior partner at Coles Miller, flies the flag for the strong family law niche built up at his firm, even though he is still recovering from an incident last December when the estranged husband of one of his clients drove a car at him in the court car park.

He also points out that: 'We have to be fairly competitive in this area, as Dorset is over-populated with solicitors, and several firms have either folded or merged over the last few years.'Walking into Bournemouth from the railway station, one of the first firms that comes to the visitor's attention is Aldridge & Brownlee, which has a strong local reputation in criminal law.

Watching partner Andrew Pitt in action at the local magistrate's court, it is easy to see why, as he pulls out all the emotive as well as the legal stops to defend clients, including youths involved in drink driving incidents, shoplifters, and drug-abusing mothers hoping to avoid being separated from their babies.Mr Pitt says: 'Ten years ago if you'd come into this court, you would have found a large number of the defendants were drunks, now the majority of them are on drugs such as heroin.' Many of the crimes emanate from the area of Boscombe, where the extreme poverty and the low standards of housing drive some to a form of escapism not usually associated with Bournemouth's normally safe sea front.Down at Bournemouth's local Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) office, similarly harrowing tales are to be heard.

John Revell, branch Crown prosecutor, says: 'We are normally handling between four and five murders at a time, and we dealt with 45 child abuse cases in the last 12-month period.' The Dorset CPS's most recent annual report shows a list of high profile convictions achieved, including sentences of up to 17 years for defendants who conspired to commit armed robbery, and to supply drugs locally, as well as a conviction of manslaughter for a defendant who injected his victim with heroin.One of the younger lawyers working at the CPS is Tim Sullivan, who, together with Fiona Knight at Coles Miller, runs an active young solicitors' group for the local law society.

Last week, the group was to be found in the central wine bar Bon Vin, where as well as planning social events, the young solicitors were also working out an exchange trip to the Middle East in order to come to a closer understanding of its people and their political problems.Gary Cox, a senior partner at the Poole-based Dickinson Manser, is the president of the local law society, which organises a large number of social events and continued professional development lectures.Ms Collins is the secretary to the society, and says that it also fields the local complaints, as well as playing an active part in the Southern Area Association of Law Societies.

Ms Collins continues that although Bournemouth is not the Costa del Geriatrica, a number of its legal issues do revolve around the elderly population and general practice firms such as Harold G Walker deal with several of the problems arising from probate issues, living wills and nursing home funding.However, despite this reputation the area around Bournemouth has attracted house buyers who would lighten up the life of any solicitor involved in conveyancing.

Jimmy Rednapp, the Bournemouth-born footballer has decided to return to his roots, and there are fast and furious rumours that David Beckham and Posh Spice have also bought in the Sandbanks area.

For older solicitors interested in celebrity spotting, it may be of interest that Max Bygraves was formerly a Bournemouth resident, while only last week, according to cab drivers, Sean Connery's brother was to be seen navigating the town.Dan Bindman draws together the components of the conference's big issue, sweeping changes to legal fundingThe extent to which the Labour government, guided by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine, has grasped the nettle of civil justice reform is breathtaking and spells massive changes ahead for the funding of civil litigation.

In the space of a year, the bulk of the reforms proposed by Lord Woolf have been adopted and will soon be implemented, conditional fees have been extended to all civil non-family cases, the Legal Aid Board has set a date by which civil advice and assistance work will be brought under contract, and a commitment has been made to extend rights of audience in the higher courts to all solicitors.According to the government's vision, if all goes to plan, civil litigation will be quicker, cheaper, and less complex.

The courts will be run according to strict timetables, dispensing justice much faster than at present.

Alternative dispute resolution will soak up an increasing number of disputes before they reach the courts.

Extended rights of audience will bring competition between lawyers, driving down the cost of advocacy.

Fixed, tiered costs will introduce greater up-front certainty for litigating clients.As for state funding, legal aid will be targeted on the 'genuinely' needy and on social welfare cases instead of money claims.

The legal aid budget will be kept tightly under control, with a tougher merits test to weed out unworthy cases.

A community legal service will co-ordinate the local work of lawyers and advice centres, based on nationally-agreed criteria of what constitutes a 'need' for legal services.

And a special fund will pay for worthwhile cases with high investigation costs and those with a lower prospect of success but where there is a public interest in their being fought.

Clients who are currently excluded from legal aid will have at their disposal a raft of funding options, with conditional fee agreements backed by a range of low-cost legal expenses insurance products.

Winners will be able to recover their costs from losers, ensuring that damages awards are not eaten into.Where solicitors fit into this new world, if all goes to plan, will depend on many factors.

It depends on the work they do now and hope to do in the future.

It depends on local demand for litigation and who else provides legal services in their area.

It depends on their ability to meet requirements imposed to qualify for state funded litigation.

And it depends on their capacity to react swiftly to change and alter their office systems accordingly.

In the Lord Chancellor's words: 'Law firms will have to become more businesslike'.Since Lord Irvine revealed his civil justice reform plans at the Solicitors Annual Conference in Cardiff in October 1997, there has been both back-tracking and delay.

Until his white paper on the modernisation of justice is published next month, it will not become clear whether he will introduce the changes to the scope of legal aid that he insisted were so important then.Already, changes have been made to some aspects of the reforms.

For instance, legal aid is to remain for medical negligence cases and the imposition of legal aid contracts for a specific volume, or block, of work have been postponed.

Instead, at least initially, Legal Aid Board contracts will pay solicitors an hourly rate for work done.

Other concessions might also emerge.

The new merits test could be flexible, according to the nature of cases, rather than rigid as first proposed, and legal aid may be made available in industrial tribunal cases.Perhaps the most predictable area of change in civil justice proceedings, for which the April 1999 launch date appears firm, is the introduction of Lord Woolf's fast track court reforms.

Under the reforms, judges will manage cases to a far greater degree.

However, information technology to support the initiative will not be ready before 2000 at the earliest.Even if other reforms are delayed or abandoned, Woolf alone would be a highly significant development.

'To say this is the biggest change in civil procedure in 100 years is no understatement,' says Michael Napier, head of the Law Society's civil litigation committee.LEGAL AID BOARD PLANS- CONTRACTINGCivil advice and assistance exclusive contracts (all work formerly known as 'green form' will be done exclusively under contract)- January 1998: Lord Chancellor asks Legal Aid Board (LAB) to produce plan to bring all civil advice and assistance - including family work - under contracts at fixed prices or rates by the end of 1999.- April 1998: LAB publishes implementation plan.

Says timescale will not allow 'more sophisticated' block contracts at first instance, so proposes initial contracts will be based on payment for time.

Solicitors will be paid at fixed hourly rate up to a maximum amount.- 31 December 1998: Deadline for applications for franchise in order to qualify for exclusive contract in first year (2000-2001).- 31 January 1999: Deadline for applying to join contract tender panel, essential to qualify for a contract in first year.- 30 July 1999: Deadline for applications for contracts in year one.- September 1999: LAB completes contracts with suppliers.- January 2000: Contracts begin.CURRENT PILOT PROJECTSCivil non-family block contracting pilots - solicitor and not-for-profit (NFP) sectorPilots to test how to operate block contracts (that is, defined units of legal aid work, allocated to solicitors' firms in blocks for a fixed overall price).- 1 January 1995: NFP contracting pilot began with 42 non-solicitor agencies, with first research published 1996.- July 1997: NFP pilot expanded.

Currently 157 pilot contracts running.- August 1997: Solicitor pilot began, pilot contracts for minimum of two years.- Initial research report by Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, London University, due 1999.Family Mediation Pilot- May 1997: Pilot began.

It aims to test different ways of delivering mediation for separating and divorcing couples.

Pilot now running in 12 areas.- March 1998: Pilot to test Section 29 of Family Law Act 1996 (compulsory mediation before grant of legal aid) began in two areas.- October 1998: Areas & suppliers now being chosen for phase II and pilot contracts renewed with phase I suppliers.- Total number of lawyer mediators and not-for-profit mediators expected to be 120.- By April 1999: s.29 pilot to be extended to all phase I and II areas.Criminal contracting pilot- June 1998: Pilot began with 68 franchised firms in six areas.

Covers criminal advice and assistance, including police station advice and assistance.

Also covers court duty work and ABWOR.- Pilot scheduled to run for two years.- June 1999: Work and prices under individual pilot contracts to be reviewed.Monthly payments pilot- Started with one London firm September 1998.- November 1998: Three other London firms expected to join pilot.- December 1998: Pilot to be extended to Bristol area.- OTHER MAJOR PROJECTSMedical Negligence work under exclusive franchise contracts- November 1998: Applications for medical negligence franchises invited.- From 31 January 1999: Medical negligence franchise contracts to be awarded.- Until 31 July 1999: Personal injury franchise holders will be able to do medical negligence work.- From 31 July 1999: All new medical negligence work will be done exclusively by medical negligence franchise holders.Revised franchise specification- 1 January 1999: Revised specification introduced, including tougher file review and budget forecast conditions, to run alongside existing specification.- 31 July 1999: Existing franchises expire, new three-year contracts to be signed.Multi-party actions (MPA) panel- Autumn 1998: Specialist MPA solicitors invited to join panel.- 31 January 1999: Statutory instruments for first time introduce price tendering for MPA legal aid contracts.- By 31 July 1999: Panel to be established.

Panel members to be preferred for MPA work under contract.

'The great majority' of new group actions will be managed under contract.CONDITIONAL FEE AGREEMENTS (CFA) & LEGAL AID- October 1997: Lord Irvine says at Solicitors Annual Conference in Cardiff that CFAs will be extended to all civil money and damages claims.

Legal aid to be withdrawn from 'most claims for money and damages'.

Merits test for legal aid to stipulate 75% likelihood of success.- March 1998: 'Access to Justice with Conditional Fees' consultation paper published.

Legal aid to remain for medical negligence cases.

Transitional limited fund, managed by LAB, to be set up for high cost cases outside scope of legal aid and for public interest cases.

Funding could be combined with CFAs.- July 1998: Parliament approves Conditional Fees Agreements Order 1998.

Revokes 1995 Order and extends CFAs to all civil non-family proceedings.

During Lords debate, Lord Irvine says he intends to make success fees and insurance premiums recoverable from unsuccessful defendants, which would require primary legislation.- 16 July 1998: In parliamentary question on CFAs, Lord Chancellor significantly omits to mention intention to carry out legal aid changes.- November 1998: 'Modernisation of Justice' white paper to be published.

Expected to propose tighter criteria for merits test but possibly not legal aid scope change.- 2 November 1998: Lord Irvine to outline proposed community legal service.- 1999: Modernisation of Justice Act, unless Bill not included in the Queens Speech in November 1998.

Earliest provisions could come into effect is late 1999/early 2000.WOOLF CIVIL JUSTICE REFORMS- July 1996: Woolf's final report published.- October 1997: Lord Irvine says at the Solicitors Annual Conference in Cardiff that the Woolf proposals for judicial management of cases, fast track and multi-track cases will be adopted by October 1998, later extended by six months.

Court fees for recipients of welfare benefits to be abolished immediately.- 1998: Training for judiciary in running fast track begins.

Later, training will involve practitioners and court staff.- November 1998: Unified set of rules in plain English for High Court and county court to be finalised.

Pre-action protocols in personal injury and medical negligence cases available.- January 1999: Civil Justice Council, chaired by Lord Woolf, to begin public meetings on civil justice- 1 April 1999: Small claims limit rises to £5,000.

Personal injury cases, housing disrepair and illegal eviction claims worth more than £1,000 to be excluded from small claims.

Fast track case management for claims up to £15,000.

Pre-trial fixed costs regime postponed although fixed costs in fast track will go ahead.

Only cases with more than £15,000 at stake can be issued in High Court.

May be raised to £50,000 within a few years.

Courts have power to move cases to multi-track.- Early 2000: Information technology support for judges to operate fast track system in place.

Meanwhile, 60 staff assigned to support manual case tracking and listing system for judiciary.Robert Verkaik meets the conference's keynote speaker, Macfarlanes's multifarious senior partner Vanni TrevesVanni Treves promises that his speech on 'Law as a Special Kind of Business' will be a sobering prognosis that will pull no punches.

Mr Treves is certainly the man to deliver such a punch.

The long-standing senior partner of one of the City's most respectable law firms admits that a television documentary about New York sexual fetishes was not something he would have normally stayed up late to watch.

But since his appointment as chairman of Channel 4 in January, he has been forced to develop a broader interest in television.While Mr Treves does not have involvement in Channel 4's day-to-day scheduling, he is a member of the board which takes a close interest in high profile or controversial programmes.True Stories: Fetishes was just such a programme.

'It was thought that it might provoke a certain amount of public attention.

In the event, a sign of the times, it attracted almost no telephone calls or letters.

It had been made some time ago, but no-one had the guts to show it.'He adds: 'I now watch a great deal more television than I previously did and I particularly watch programmes that I think are interesting or worthwhile.' Mr Treves cites the recent documentary series on Michael Portillo's political progress and The Clintons: A Marriage Of Power as the sort of thing he prefers to watch.

But he also praises the rather less serious, Big Breakfast, a programme he had not seen before his appointment.

'There is no need to watch the Big Breakfast everyday,' he says, 'but it's wonderful.'Channel 4's decision to appoint Mr Treves came as something as a bolt out of the blue, surprising both the worlds of law and media.

He is, after all, the first to acknowledge that he knew nothing about the media before he started in his new role.

But this counted in Mr Treves's favour.Explains Mr Treves: 'The reason I was appointed by the government to chair Channel 4 was because they were looking for someone who had no allegiances or owed any obligations of any kind to anybody in the media.

In other words, someone who was completely independent.'Now he feels perfectly entitled to say that the media is an 'extraordinary, incestuous, close-knit business'.

The government was also keen to find someone who had a good deal of all-round business experience as well as someone used to dealing with demanding people.

'A view was taken that partners in a law firm were as demanding a group of people as you were likely to find anywhere and probably as demanding as the people who m I'm responsible for at Channel 4.'It would be wrong to dwell too much on Mr Treves's role at Channel 4.

Arguably, it is Mr Treves's business experience which made him the first choice candidate.He currently holds chairmanships of three companies - the hi-tech and engineering businesses of BBA and McKechnie, as well as the coach and bus manufacturers, Dennis.

Since his appointment to Channel 4, he has joined the London Business School where he succeeded Lord Sainsbury as chairman when Lord Sainsbury became a government minister.

Mr Treves also finds time to work on a pro bono basis for the NSPCC Justice for Children Appeal.Despite all his outside commitments, Mr Treves stresses that his base is still Macfarlanes where he will continue as senior partner until next year.

He also retains a loyal corporate and private client list famously headed by Sir Paul Getty whom he has advised for the past 25 years.So how does Mr Treves keep so many balls in the air? He says: 'All practising lawyers have many client conflicts.

In a sense, I do all I need to do for all these clients, as and when it's necessary and in order of priority.' His description of his outside interests as clients is supported by the fact that the substantial fees he receives from this work are ploughed back into the partnership.

Says Mr Treves: 'I get no personal profit from any of these appointments.

I can't take on any outside job without the approval of my partners and nor would I want to.'Mr Treves acknowledges that organisation of time is the key to fulfilling so many different jobs at so many different businesses.

His multifarious role as senior partner at Macfarlanes still takes up the bulk of his time.

But after that, he says it is impossible to place the other jobs in any meaningful order.

Companies have busy and slack times.

For example, Dennis, which has recently been the subject of two takeover bids is, according to Mr Treves, taking up a disproportionate amount of his working day at the moment.Next year, Mr Treves and Roger Formby, the longest serving senior and managing partner duo of any City law firm, are to step down.

They have completed four terms of three years, each new term receiving the unanimous approval of the Macfarlanes partnership.

Mr Treves will be succeeded by corporate partner Robert Sutton and Mr Formby will be succeeded by litigation partner Paul Phippen.

Mr Treves will continue as a corporate partner in the firm.

He says his decision to stand down was 'wholly unrelated' to his work commitments outside the firm.

Instead he claims: 'Our own plans are clear and well advanced.

Roger and I will be followed in a year's time by a robust and younger team that will maintain our tradition of cohesion and versatility.' Nevertheless, it should give him more time for television.