2002 LawPartnering Forum to Explore Collaboration Between Corporate Law Departments and Outside Legal Service Providers.

Business Editors/Legal Writers

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 14, 2002

In-house counsel, law firm leaders and legal suppliers nationwide will assemble next month at the 4th Annual LawPartnering(SM) Forum, to be held November 6-8 at the Ocean Place Conference Resort in Long Branch, N.J.

James R. Seidl, president of Minneapolis-based Legal Research Center (LRC), is co-chair of the forum. The conference is designed to help in-house counsel collaborate with their preferred law firms and legal suppliers in order to expand business and improve each other's bottom line. Barry Dop, senior vice president of sales at LRC, will also be a featured speaker on the program.

The event, "2002 LawPartnering(SM) Forum: Team Empowerment Through Financial Rewards and Technology Solutions," features law department leaders from AIG, Bank of Montreal, Bristol-Myers Squibb, DuPont, FMC Technologies, Johnson & Johnson, Lockheed Martin, Sears, UPS and other partnering pioneers from top companies who will discuss how and why they are benefiting from the strategic partnering relationships they have built with their outside counsel and suppliers. Online registration information is available at www.lawpartneringforum.com, or by calling 312/654-3500.

This unique conference is co-chaired by LRC's Seidl, along with Jeffrey Carr, general counsel of Houston-based FMC Technologies, and O. Forrest Morgan, vice president, and Peter Jenkins, president, of LawPartnering Inc., a Prescott, Ariz.-based partnering consulting and training firm.

"As tightening markets and economy slowdowns continue to squeeze corporate profits, America's best-run companies are leveraging their strategic partnering arrangements with outside law firms and preferred suppliers to reduce overhead and contribute to the corporate bottom line. Rewards of increased business are being earned by partner firms and suppliers that are listening to their clients and responding to their needs," said Seidl. "This year's forum will focus on two critical subjects -- time-tested economic models and best-in-class technology solutions -- that will illustrate how to structure partnering relationships for economic success and empower legal services teams with best-in-class technology to help achieve strategic partnering goals." LRC (www.lrci.com) is the nation's leading provider of outsourced legal research, knowledge management and corporate compliance e-training services.

The 2002 LawPartnering(SM) Forum is co-produced by LawPartnering, Inc. and Corporate Legal Times, LLC, and sponsored by the National LawPartnering(SM) Council and LawPartnering(SM) Alliance, organizations comprised of law department and law firm leaders committed to advancing the use of partnering business models. The ACCA Greater New York Chapter, Association of Legal Administrators and International Litigation Management Association are cooperative sponsors of the event. Past attendees hail the forum as a "must attend" program that "encourages creative, honest exchange" and is "focused on real-world issues from both in-house and outside counsel perspectives," making it a "cutting-edge experience that improves relationships" with other professionals.

The forum will kick-off on Wednesday, November 6, with an evening welcome reception. There will be a series of sessions and workshops throughout the day on Thursday, November 7, and several more on Friday, before the program concludes on Friday afternoon. The conference will again be moderated by Jenkins, its founder and visionary in the LawPartnering(SM) field.