Popham, Djanogly, Saul, Todd QC, Eisenberg, Glover, Moulton, Leydecker... we like to give young talent a chance

As Legal Week has a large events business, our editorial team is often asked for input on conference programmes, meaning suggested topics and speakers. This usually results in our conference producers having to put up with another mind-numbing speech from me about why I think people turn up to these things. Admittedly, for the private client events a swish hotel doesn't hurt, but it still basically boils down to the people. If you get the right calibre of speaker, you're usually laughing. If you don't, you aren't.

As such, our conference team look to have done the business on a series of upcoming events. First up we have the Independent Law Firms Forum on 17 March, our main event for leading indies across the globe. Speakers this year include Magisters' Dimitri Dyakin, PLMJ's Manuel Santos Vitor, Werksmans' Des Williams, King & Wood's Susan Ning and Nishith Desai of Nishith Desai Associates.

The client perspective will be ably represented by lawyers including Citigroup's Robert Stemmons and Santander's Joanna Day, while Chambers & Partners managing editor Catherine McGregor and Chris Johnson of The American Lawyer will be on hand to address how law firms should communicate externally. I'm not sure about the conference chairman, but you can't have everything.

Next up on 13 April we have our annual Private Equity Forum, which has been given a total overhaul this year. A much-improved programme and speakers of the calibre of industry legend Jon Moulton, CDC legal head Mark Kenderdine-Davies and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett's Jason Glover certainly bode well.

But in terms of sheer concentration of big names, the Future of Legal Services Forum on 14 April edges it. The event, which focuses on the much-anticipated shake-up of the market under the Legal Services Act, is this year being chaired by outgoing Clifford Chance senior partner Stuart Popham (pictured above) with justice minister Jonathan Djanogly providing the keynote address.

Heavyweight support will be on hand from Herbert Smith's Sonya Leydecker and CMS Cameron McKenna managing partner Duncan Weston, who will be discussing their firms' efforts to utilise outsourcing and offshoring techniques. Other highlights will include Nick Eastwell and Chris Perrin discussing progress on efforts to improve regulation of City law firms, and QualitySolicitors' Craig Holt, Berwin Leighton Paisner head Neville Eisenberg and Said Business School professor Mari Sako imagining the law firm of the future.

With barristers facing as much upheaval as their solicitor counterparts, the Bar Council has also been kind enough to join the event as a supporting organisation this year. Nicholas Green QC and Michael Todd QC - two of the most progressive thinkers at the Bar - will lead a debate on the challenges facing the advocates of tomorrow.

The event will round off with a two-way debate over the role of the profession between Slaughter and May senior partner Chris Saul and Allen & Overy special global counsel Philip Wood.

If you'd like to know more about the events, click below to download the full conference programmes.

• Legal Week Independent Law Firms Forum
• Legal Week Private Equity Forum
• Legal Week Future of Legal Services Forum