Spring Meeting Fever.

• Author: Byrne, John
• Position: EDITOR'S NOTE

In the spring, an LMA member's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of ... conferences!

With that in mind, we've brought you an issue packed with information related to the "3 Ps"--pricing, project management, process improvement--in preparation for LMA's upcoming P3 Conference, held in Chicago this June.

To whet your appetite for the event, we're featuring an article by Dr. Silvia Hodges Silverstein and Aria Antonopoulos that explores the rise of the corporate procurement office in hiring law firms, as well as how this trend is affecting the pricing of legal services. Silvia and Aria have talked to numerous experts in this area, and they provide valuable, concrete strategies and tactics to win your next RFP.

In a companion piece, Rose Ors explores and documents the creation of a new position inside legal departments: the legal procurement officer. Her conversations with a variety of knowledgeable sources reveals not only the tension between procurement operations and the legal department at large companies, but also how law firms are facing the new reality of increased client scrutiny and demand for predictable pricing and increased efficiency.

We also talked to three of LMA's own "3 Ps" experts to get their insights on how this blossoming aspect of the profession is changing the role of the legal marketer. Finally, we've included a checklist of great tips for how to use all your excitement, enthusiasm and new ideas you've gathered at the conference.

While we still have a couple months to...