Beyond Billables

Innovation is happening all around us in the industry at the moment and this week we take a dive into the unexpected and much maligned area of personal injury practice.

This week we speak with Nick Mann who after a long stint working with one of the country's top personal injury firms stepped out to create a firm with very different business model, approach to marketing and focus on clients who are often in terrible life circumstances. Bringing together a more empathetic approach together with a more accessible process for their clients underpinned by great technology means that Nick and Polaris Lawyers have entirely re-thought the standard approach to their industry.

In this episode we also discussed:

• Nick's career journey;
• The ins and outs of personal injury and compensation law;
• How Polaris Lawyers are doing things differently;
• How to build a flexible and healthy workplace;
• Legal marketing at the retail level and how to get cut through; and
• How to understand your clients and where they see most value in your services.

Links:

Polaris Lawyers - https://polarislawyers.com.au/ Nick Mann - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-mann-b064525b/ In the Press - https://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/newlaw/20890-former-slaters-head-opens-new-firm

The legal technology scene continues to grow from strength to strength in Australia and we love showcasing the amazing tech driven businesses changing the legal industry. So this week we had the chance to sit down with David Lipworth and Adam Long from Smarter Drafter about their journey in legal tech.  We discuss David's journey from Big Law to start-up founder and Adam's jump into the legal industry where fresh ideas and new approaches are so needed. Smarter Drafter creates advanced legal documents in minutes and aims to transform the document delivery process in legal which is big goal but these guys are very much on track to doing just that. We also discuss:

• The future of law firm business models and service delivery;
• Where is legal tech really from an “AI” perspective;
• What firms should be doing to drive efficiency and move to value based models;
• The entrepreneurial journey; and
• The interesting new skill sets that will be required of lawyers working in legal tech.

Links: Smarter Drafter LinkedIn

The legal technology scene continues to grow from strength to strength in Australia and we love showcasing the amazing tech driven businesses changing the legal industry. So this week we had the chance to sit down with David Lipworth and Adam … Read more David Lipworth and Adam Long – Smarter Drafter – The Legal Document Puzzle

Our latest guest on Beyond Billables originally came from a profession that is a bit left-field: sports journalism. Now, Michael Morrissey is managing director at Morrissey Law and Advisory, a law firm that specialises in the construction and infrastructure industries.

Michael’s main goals in his firm is to both be accountable (hence why he named the firm after himself) and to make his clients feel valuable. “If I’m not helping people sleep easier at night...then I’m not doing the job I should be doing,” he says.

This latest episode is a great listen for anyone interested in starting their own law firm. Give it a listen to gain access to an insider’s views on some of the tougher issues facing entrepreneurial lawyers today.

We also discuss:  

• How the shifting media landscape in Australia led Michael to become an attorney
• Why Michael doesn’t worry too much about failure
• What it means to be a “client-centric” firm
• How to deal with startups and other clients that might not understand the law process
• The challenging parts of setting up your own firm
• How to effectively hire junior lawyers
• Why Michael regularly asks his clients to criticise his firm
• The importance of emotional intelligence in employees

 

Links:

Morrissey Law and Advisory

Michael Morrissey - LinkedIn

It wouldn’t be overstating it to say that Michele DeStefano is a visionary in the legal industry. As a highly respected lawyer, academic, author, speaker, marketer and entrepreneur, Michelle is pioneering new ways of thinking about how we practice law and what the future of the industry looks like.

 

One of the many feathers in Michele’s cap is as founder of Law Without Walls, a virtual global collaborative group of some 1,500 change agents who are dedicated to changing how lawyers and business professionals partner to solve problems.

 

Michelle’s insights are marvelous for both practicing lawyers and students or younger members of the profession who are looking to understand where the future of the industry is headed.  

 

Here’s what we delve into in this episode:

 

• The biggest pitfalls of the lawyer’s mindset
• Why lawyers will need a range of skills beyond legal expertise
• The impetus behind Law Without Walls
• Why law is essentially a creative practice
• The difference between problem solving and problem finding
• The change in focus to how lawyers work not what they do
• Why lawyers need to find how to add value
• Why lawyers’ careers won’t be as straightforward
• C.O.S.T skills explained
• The role of T.N.T. innovation – tiny noticeable things
• The impact of marketing on the profession
• Why we need to get rid of the word pitch
• Why lawyers should consider marketing as a career
• Changing the way lawyers and clients collaborate together

 

Links:

 

Law Without Walls

Michele DeStefano - LinkedIn

Legal Upheaval - book

Today on Beyond Billables, we break down one of the most common career pivots for lawyers: a move into the banking sector.

Here to illustrate and serve as an example is a solicitor, hedge fund sales trader and startup founder, Travis Leon. Travis worked at Linklaters in 2008 before choosing a voluntary redundancy in the recession, he then worked as a sales trader in an investment bank and is now co-founder and executive director of XRef.

In our conversation, we chatted about many things but really focused on Travis’ career transitions, first from the law to Merrill Lynch and then to his stab at entrepreneurialism. Travis talks about the importance of ‘cutting your teeth’ in the right place, the crazy expectations for some junior associates and how doing his own thing has been so professionally rewarding.

Listen to the full episode to hear all this, plus things like:

• What drew Travis into the law in the first place
• How to deal with being overwhelmed
• Why the keenest and brightest lawyers often struggle the most
• The realities of life in corporate life
• The differences between legal practice and investment banking
• Travis’s experience working for Merrill Lynch
• The issue of transferable skills
• What it’s like to be in the world of entrepreneurialism
• The continued value of ‘soft’ legal skills

 

Links:

Linkedin

XRef

If anyone has got their hands on the crystal ball and can see what the industry is facing is our guest on this episode of Beyond Billables – Stevie Ghiassi. Technology change is coming thick and fast, and the law establishment is not immune, creating both exciting and scary times ahead for the law industry.

Stevie Ghiassi is CEO of Legaler, a secure online communication and collaboration tool for lawyers, CEO of Legaler Aid, a blockchain-based legal aid service that promotes access to justice, as well as President of the Australian Legal Technology Association and founder of Blockchain for Law.

To call Stevie a legal tech guru would not be hyperbole, and his knowledge and experience of that space where the law meets technology is immense – and his insights are a real eye-opener for anyone working in and around the law. If you’re interested in where the future of legal practice, and lawyers in general, is headed, then you won’t want to miss this episode.

Here’s what we’ll be getting our heads around in this episode:

•      Stevie’s journey from pro-tennis player to legal technology specialist
•      The birth and development of Legaler
•      How Legaler works as a tool for lawyers
•      Fundamental changes bringing lawyers and clients closer together
•      The technology factors changing legal practice
•      The inspiration and passion behind Legaler Aid
•      How Legaler Aid works – making it easier to do pro bono work
•      Distributed ledger and blockchain technology explained
•      The technological threats to the legal industry
•      The rise of smart contracts
•      A look into the crystal ball – the future of law and lawyers
•      Tips for up-and-coming lawyers

 

Links:

Legaler

Blockchain for Law

Australian Legal Technology Association

Beyond Billables

Book – Soft Skills for the Effective Lawyer by Randal Kiser

It’s true that the modern workplace is changing, with remote working and more liberal maternity and paternity leave policies dramatically shifting how we view our daily responsibilities as an employee. And law, of course, is no exception to this change.

Catherine Brooks is Principal at Moores law firm in Melbourne. She is also author of Let’s make it work, baby!, a book that looks at options around flexible work arrangements, control and autonomy over day-to-day schedules for new mothers and fathers.

On the latest episode of Beyond Billables, Catherine and I had a great a talk about this rapidly shifting professional landscape, and how any employee can make sure that they’re receiving the rights they’re entitled to.

We also cover:

• The definition of discrimination, and how to handle it
• How to refine your work flexibility request to make sure it’s accepted
• Why law firms sometimes lag behind when it comes to flexible work
• Why there’s an economic incentive for employers to help new mothers
• How to make sure you’re not being taken advantage of by employers
• The importance of realistic productivity for new parents
• How changing social norms have revolutionised the workplace
• What you need to do to make sure you’re being a responsible employee while on leave

Links:

Catherine Brooks - LinkedIn

Catherine Brooks - Website

Catherine Brooks - Twitter

Let's Make it Work, Baby! - Book

On today’s episode of Beyond Billables, we spoke to someone who is tackling the future of legal practice with the elegant touch of a designer. Meera Sivanathan is the co-founder and head legal designer at Dot. Prior to Dot. Meera worked as a lawyer for a leading international law firm in Sydney. She has extensive experience providing both legal and strategic advice relating to M&A, funds management, and private equity & venture capital.

In our conversation with Meera, we talked all about her work as a legal designer and how her team is developing innovative, human-centric and legally sound solutions for organisations, markets, and society. We traced her career origin story from Australia to Finland, talked about primary industry problems, improving end-user experiences, empathy, empowerment and touched on her advice for future lawyers.

Listen to the full episode to hear all of the above, plus things like...

• The mindset of Nordic design
• The transformational power of empathy
• Why fast, low-cost testing is often the way to go
• The danger in linear thinking
• The definition of legal design
• Examples of how legal design is being used
• How to bring about different divisions within a law firm
• A breakdown of the legal design process
• The difference of getting a simple legal document today Vs. past
• How legal design is empowering people
• What lawyers can do to prepare for the future
• Why the old student/teacher relationship of the attorney/client needs to change
• How good design is often simple design
• Why competing on expertise along isn’t enough anymore
• Why there is no such thing as a ‘bad’ idea

 

Links:

Linkedin
Legal Design
Dot. - resources