Business transformation is the buzz term of the moment within the legal profession, and law firms are well aware of the need to embrace change in order to stay relevant and satisfy customer needs in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

Office design, workforce mobility, flexible working and regionalisation of office location are all factors that must be considered when planning your transformation. To minimise resistance to any fundamental workplace re-engineering, firms must underpin the change with the right technology and make it easier to be a lawyer, or a member of the support team.

Tomorrow's business and consumer world will also enable collaboration at every node of decision making. Law firms are not immune to this trend, and there is room for improvement in smoothing the edges of collaboration.

Legal Week, in partnership with Microsoft, recently conducted a survey of legal professionals to establish where the market stands on the curve of transformation. This panel discussion looks where law firms can develop, boost quality and efficiency, and stay relevant to clients.

Speakers include Microsoft commercial attorney Angela Wing, Legal Week publishing director John Malpas, IT consultant Neil Cameron, and Robert Epstein, Windows product marketing director at Microsoft.