Author and comedian Harriet Beveridge will share Olympic-winning performance strategies at The Legal Conference 2026.
The co-author of the best-selling book Will It Make The Boat Go Faster?, which tells the story of the team behind the Olympic gold-winning rowing team at the Sydney Games in 2000, will deliver the keynote speech at the conference, which takes place on 15th October in Birmingham.
The book tells the story of Ben Hunt-Davis and the British men’s rowing eight, who went from years of disappointing results to winning Olympic gold. Co-authored with Hunt-Davis, the book explores how the principles behind that transformation can help leaders, teams and organisations achieve exceptional performance.
Closing the conference, Beveridge will share the story of one of Britain’s greatest sporting turnarounds and explore how the same mindset can help law firm leaders cut through competing priorities, build stronger teams and focus on the decisions that genuinely move their businesses forward.
Lara Squires is founder and director of ‘Consortium, more than marketing’, the company behind The Legal Conference.
She said: “Every law firm leader I speak to is juggling competing priorities. The question Harriet poses, ‘Will it make the boat go faster?’ is incredibly powerful because it challenges us to stop confusing activity with progress. It’s a mindset that feels particularly relevant for SME law firms.
Whether you’re making decisions about technology, recruitment, culture or business development, the real challenge is knowing what deserves your attention, and having the confidence to let go of what doesn’t. That’s exactly the kind of conversation we want delegates to leave with.”
Delegates at The Legal Conference, which was created for senior leaders in SMEs and regional law firms, will also hear from co-keynote speaker Simon McCrum, one of the legal sector’s most respected business advisers. Expert panels and facilitated roundtable discussions will explore the future of legal leadership, AI, profitability, succession planning and growth.
Tickets are available at thelegalconference.co.uk.
