By Sharon Abrahams
McDermott, Will & Emery

Fifteen to twenty years ago law firm retreats where huge expensive splashes of luxury and fun for attorneys and their spouses. It was a way of saying thank you to the attorneys for working hard and to the spouses for putting up with their absentee partners. In today's economy retreats may still be happening but many of them have been tailored down and changed to business meeting formats rather than just R & R.

As the firm administrator you might find yourself responsible for planning this year's retreat so the following are some helpful hints to keep the tab down while the success high.

To have a jumping off place, you need to understand the rationale for the retreat. Is this a thank-you bash for a year's worth of hard work or is it a planning session for another successful year? Is this retreat an opportunity for people who don't know each other to meet or for old friends to sit around and tell stories from the past?

If the firm has recently had a growth spurt then the retreat should be geared toward meeting each other and establishing working relationships. Activities should be conducted that will integrate new and old attorneys.

If the retreat is a strictly a celebration then it should provide opportunities for speeches, presentations and even an award ceremony. Treating everyone well and showing appreciation for all the efforts in the last year doesn't have to break the bank but it will push the credit card limit.

Prior to planning the retreat, meet with the managing partner or management committee to decide the goal of the weekend. If top management does not have a sound rationale for the retreat, then all the efforts will be misguided and people will not get out of the weekend anything memorable or valuable. Find out if they have any particulars that are important. Is there a budget? A location in mind? Do certain people need to be recognized via speeches, tributes or awards? Must you use a client's ranch in the mountains? Get as much guidance as you can from the top so you have a better idea which direction to go in.

Location can drive many aspects of the planning. If you pick a seasonal location, that will affect the overall cost. If you pick a hard-to-get-to place that will affect transportation. If you pick a full service spot, will you be able to control unplanned expenses? If you pick a small place, can they rise to the level of service you require? If you pick a place that has a variety of types of rooming will some people feel left out or undervalued if they didn't get the best view? Negotiate hard and get everything you want. You can always go somewhere else, so let the facility know that you will not accept anything less than what you want.

The facility you choose should fit your basic criteria for size, food service and activity. The size of the facility is important to insure that everyone who plans to attend can be accommodated on the main property. No one wants to be relegated to the motel down the street just because they found out at the last minute they could attend. Are there enough rooms of relatively same quality? Are all the rooms near the main social area or do some guests have to take a trolley to get to breakfast because the property is so spread out? Size also means looking at meeting space if the retreat has a business theme. Is the ballroom big enough for a theater style or classroom style setup? Are there enough smaller "break-out" rooms should groups need to have private meetings? All facilities can send you floor plans and property maps so you can look at the overall layout.

The size of a facility will also influence the food service available at the property. Large properties usually have full service dining facilities while smaller places may only provide breakfast or lunch. Food service can be accommodated at all size properties by using outside caterers or by transporting people to local restaurants. Dinner cruises, barbecues and other theme activities can be ways to work around food service issues.

Food can be influenced by location. If the retreat is near the water, fish or seafood might be in order. If you are on a ranch or in the mountains maybe a barbecue would be fun. The menu should offer options or preselection of meals should be requested.

When thinking about food, you need to consider all of the diners. Are some kosher, on the Zone diet or vegetarian? It reflects well on the firm if special dietary needs are addressed ahead of time so as not to embarrass the guest.

Social retreats need to have lots of social activities available. Whether your group enjoys skiing, sailing or hunting there is a location that will fill the need. However not everyone likes to do the main activity, so facilities that have tennis, golf, swimming, hiking, or near by sightseeing might be appropriate for your group. Many resorts have recreation specialists on staff to use as resources for ideas and even to plan group outings.

If the goal of the retreat is to integrate the attorneys then special care should be taken to structure activities. Conscientiously placing people in assigned groups in planned activities will force interaction and ultimately forge new relationships.

The location you choose will lend itself to the overall success for your retreat. If the property is beautiful, the staff helpful and the accommodations comfortable, the retreat will be enjoyable. Do a site inspection of any location you are considering to be sure the facility is attractive, well maintained and fulfills all necessary requirements.

Planning what to do at a retreat is where all the creativity and fun come into play. If the retreat is purely social, then activities geared around getting to know you can be fun. Team activities that mix up people from different departments or offices allow people to interact in a fun yet structured way. Depending on the risk-taking nature of your group you can plan activities based around conversational table top games, through the spectrum, to outside physical experiences. Teambuilding activities can be identified through training cites available through the Internet. Books are also available that outline how to plan and execute team building games. Physical experiences such as "Outward Bound" should be hosted only be qualified experiential learning professionals. Activities that are physically challenging can be intimidating, frightening and even impossible for some individuals so be sure to do serious research before selecting a program.

A hospitality suite open during free time creates a place to gather informally and visit. The suite should be centrally located for all guests. The suite should have an endless supply of snacks, sodas, water and drinks. Check with the facility to determine if you can stock the room yourself or if you have to buy from them. Even if you must buy some from them you usually can supplement with your own goodies Serving liquor in the hospitality suite has a twofold benefit. First, supplying the liquor will curb unexpected costs related to mini-bar usage and second you can keep a watchful eye on the excessive drinkers.

If the retreat has a business program then the agenda will take greater effort. You need to understand the goals and outcomes that are desired by the program. The agenda can have multiple topics or one theme addressed in a variety of ways. Think about times of day to best deliver a particular topic. For example addressing firm finances right after lunch would cause the audience to take an early siesta. The time directly after lunch should be reserved for topics that include interaction among the participants or that will get people excited and involved.

Speakers can be hired to facilitate or internal people can be coached to lead sessions. Speaker bureaus and local universities can be sources for qualified presenters. If you have topics predetermined, it will make the search for a speaker much easier. Once you determine the speakers you are interested in, be sure to ask for a videotape, audiotape or to see the person live. Never hire a speaker that no one in your firm has seen and can verify the quality of the presentation. Even if you receive references, your firm has its own unique culture and a speaker's style might not jive with your firm.

The timing of a retreat is important to maximize attendance. If you have a particular cycle of billing or collecting fees then a retreat bumped up to this would crunch the attorneys and many might back out if they haven't met their numbers. Summer, which is a good time for some locations, may interfere with planned family vacations. Looking at holiday schedules, school vacations and even major sporting events is critical to ensure the audience you want. Don't forget to look into major social events of the year like the annual black-tie ball that you sponsor a table at every year. Personal celebrations that would draw people away such as weddings and bar mitzvahs might impact who will attend the retreat as well.

A retreat planned just after the first of the year would be good timing to celebrate a successful prior year. A retreat planned for the fall would be good for strategic planning, budgeting and goal setting for the next year. You cannot expect 100% attendance at any event so plan around the most important people's calendar.

If a firm is small and manageable in size, the 'who should be invited' question might not be as overwhelming, but if your firm has more than 200 lawyers then the price tag for a weekend rises exponentially. Should all attorneys be invited? Just partners? Just senior partners? Should you have different retreats for different levels? An associates' one-day get away might be a lot cheaper to handle than inviting them to join in a weekend of resort living. A senior partner planning retreat can replace an all out bash for everyone and has an easier cost/benefit analysis to prove to the CFO. When deciding who should attend rest assured that someone will be unhappy especially if this year's roster will be different from previous years. In time everyone will forget the parties of the past and accept what's offered currently.

Associate retreats are often associated with summer associate recruiting. The summer get-a-away in which the potential candidates are wined and dined until they agree to sign on the dotted line. These retreats are decreasing in number and in its place is an associate weekend to which summer clerks are often invited. An all day Saturday, starting with breakfast and a half day Sunday, ending with a late lunch would eliminate the need for more than one night stay in a hotel. Associate weekends can also include a mandatory MCLE portion to help defray the cost as a business expense.

A basic plan that includes a time line is key to a successful retreat. Start at the end and work your way backwards. Of course there are two things that have to happen before you can even start your timeline. First you have to have the location and the date. Once these two things are chosen, you can start.

All good parties have a theme and let's face it, a purely social retreat is a weekend long party. Themes can coincide with the facility. A mountain top hideaway can lead itself to a rustic motif while a seaside resort can be filled with beach-style ideas. Having a theme planned will guide your ideas for activities, food and decorations. The hotel catering staff might have some ideas and even props that can lend themselves to your theme.

If the retreat is business oriented there should still be a theme. The theme however would be more of a slogan or sound bite like: "world class," "client-focused," "2000 by 2000". Theme material should appear on agendas, invitation and all correspondence to the participants. Gifts and take-aways should carry the theme as well: beach tote bags for a paradise island theme, wind breakers for a sailing theme or even money clips for an increasing revenue theme.

The first step is to secure your facility. Have all contracts reviewed by an attorney in the office. Look for hidden costs like maid and bellman charges or meeting room fees. Negotiate everything on the contract and ask for everything you need to be included. For example if you are serving meals at the hotel you should not pay for room fees. If you are buying all the liquor from the hotel ask for the bartender fees to be waived. If you plan a meal outside be sure there is backup space inside in case of inclement weather. Try to plan for all possible eventualities and place it in the contract.

To ease the billing process, request a master account detailing what charges can be placed on the master account and which charges should be considered incidentals. If you are at a resort that offers golf and tennis these charges should be on the master account because these activities should be previously arranged. However if the resort offers spa facilities, the guests should be made aware what services will or will not be covered, and those not covered should be billed to the individual's room.

Another area to look into is conference staff. Will you need to have separate contract arrangements for audiovisuals, business center facilities or recreational personnel? Be sure to review these contracts as thoroughly as you do the facility contract.

Once you have a theme, the dates and the location you can do the invitations. Use your creativity and produce something that reflects the culture of the firm and the attitude set for the weekend. Invitations can be produced in-house by creative people and copied on color copiers or you can go all out and have them professional produced. Sending the invitation directly to the attorney's home insures the spouse is made aware of the retreat in a timely fashion. As with all important events the invitations should go out at least 6-8 weeks in advance of the retreat.

Critical information on the invitation should include dates, times, location, directions and a full agenda of events. Information that is nice to include is dress code, special sites worth seeing in the area and a picture of the facility. The invitation will set the mood for the weekend and therefore should be well thought out.

In the initial planning stages you need to determine if you will be handling all travel arrangements, if each attorney will do their own or if you will delegate this to a travel agent. Depending on how many people will be coming to the location via air, you can make special arrangements with some airlines. Another cost to check out is whether or not an airport shuttle is available. These needs to be thought about when you are choosing locations because travel can be one of the most costly aspects of the retreat.

When the invitations are sent, you can begin to compile a rooming list. For control of the group you should have the guests respond directly to you and not the hotel. This will help you project other costs like food and transportation. As you receive names, you can decide about the appropriate room for the appropriate attorney. A VIP’S should be identified to the hotel and suites should be made available at the same rate as the other rooms.

At this point in the planning process you are down to the details. You need to begin planning locations for meals, choosing menus, hiring speakers, working on agendas and covering all the minor details that make a weekend superb.

Some Small Details:

sets of name tags for each change of clothes

room gift bags

gifts: jacket- shirt- key chain- watch

assigned seating

menus

special meals

audiovisuals

group transportation

restaurants

sightseeing opportunities

decorations/centerpieces

photo board

entertainment

meeting room set ups

handout materials for meetings

first aid kit

Timeline

Management decides to have a retreat

Choose dates

Book location

Decide on theme/agenda

Send invitations

Plan activities

Research speakers, if applicable

Hire speaker

Buy give-aways/ room gifts

Choose menus/location for meals