The annual BICBA conference seeks to strengthen ties between the legal professions in Britain and Ireland. The 2020 conference was on the theme of Innovation in Legal Services & the Law and provided attendees an ideal opportunity to develop and gain knowledge from representatives from across the four jurisdictions.

Conference Organisers have been fortunate to work with BICBA since 2015. The 2020 conference was planned to take place in Belfast, Northern Ireland. However, due to COVID-19, the committee decided to change the format of the event to Hybrid, meaning that speakers and a small number of attendees would be onsite, and the remainder would participate live from home. Unfortunately, as time drew closer it became apparent that the conference would have to move fully online due to the current circumstances.

Conference Organisers launched Plan C rapidly to ensure that everything was in place for a successful Virtual Conference. After determining the client objectives and sponsor requirements, Conference Organisers built a custom OnAir virtual event platform.

KEY OBJECTIVES

• To deliver a smooth and professional live virtual event

• To ensure that all of the speakers were looked after, trained for their live presentations and comfortable with accessing the platform and using it’s features

• To ensure sponsors achieved comparable opportunities to the physical event

• To make conference resources easily accessible to attendees

• To build an on-demand library so that sessions could be viewed post-event

SNAPSHOT

SPONSORSHIP

The conference attracted four large sponsors, including a headline, a platinum, a gold and a supporting sponsor. Depending on their sponsorship level, sponsors were offered opportunities such as the inclusion of a sponsor video, complimentary registrations, speaking slots and brand coverage throughout the event.

KEY OUTCOMES

• Delegate numbers matched that of previous years

• A flawless technical delivery from the Conference Organisers in-house team

• All speakers were at ease and impressed with the virtual set-up

• Attendees were able to easily access conference documentation via the Resource Gallery

• Registered delegates can access the conference recordings on demand via the platform

• Sponsors were pleased with the level of coverage and contacts made

• BICBA plan to host numerous virtual events with Conference Organisers following the success of this event

FEEDBACK

• A really impressive online event – Thank you

• Wanted to extend my gratitude for the successful virtual conference

• Many thanks for the opportunity and for the excellent organisation of the event

CLIENT TESTIMONIAL

On a personal note, thank you for all of your help delivering the conference.
To say the least, it has been a challenging year in which to deliver a conference. At times, I am sure you felt like it would never get over the line!
It has been a pleasure working with you again and I look forward to doing so again in the future.
Jonathan Forrester: Cleaver Fulton Rankin, Conference Chair

A particular word of thanks to the team at Conference Organisers who have taken on quite a challenge in putting together the virtual event. We knew how good they were at organising the old-fashioned physical conference and I have to say I’ve been very impressed by the efficiency and slickness of the way in which this virtual event has been put together.
Michael Humphries QC: Bar of Northern Ireland, Conference Committee Member