About me

 a LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME…

I couldn’t believe my luck when my first job as a lawyer was in a tower office with a spectacular view of Sydney Harbour. I loved the view and I never got tired of it. And I loved the friendly team that that took me under their wing and taught me how to be useful. Like most of the lawyers I have had the pleasure of working with, they cared deeply about getting to the bottom of complex disputes and coming up with a creative solution. We worked for the insurers of professionals who had been sued. It was fascinating work because in each case you needed to understand what that person did (whether it be a mine engineer, brain surgeon, freeway designer or chiropractor) work out what had gone wrong.

I eventually moved on because I wanted to work more closely with individuals who were directly involved in the litigation. I joined a smaller team. We were busy and always running interesting cases in court.

In a small team I became interested in how I could use tech tools to operate more effectively. I was able to manage large scale document discovery single handed using e-discovery tools. I could perform document review, identify potentially privileged documents, prepare chronological bundles and produce accurate detailed lists of documents for a fraction of the cost of using paralegals. And I needed to because there no budget to spare.

Working in a small team also taught me how to be strategic about the work that was done (and not done) in a dispute. We didn’t have time to chase down every scenario. I worked with my clients to look at their options and identify a plan to achieve their objective within their budget.

Failing to thrive…

One of my clients invited me to a seminar on thriving in the workplace. Over those two days I saw that my bad habits - working too long, not enough exercise and skipping lunch breaks - was quite a common problem.

The idea that a healthy workload, alignment with your personal values and an open collaborative network could make your business more profitable was a bit revolutionary for someone who had been hanging round lawyers so long.

Lawyers are trained to see risks and downsides in any given situation. Law firms are full of people who trend towards introversion and perfectionism. Plus a traditional business model which measures achievement with rigid daily billing targets rather than effective outcomes. It can make it a difficult environment to effect change.

I started to seek out other lawyers who also believed that there were smarter ways to work. Some of them had started NewLaw firms. Some of them were working in traditional law firms. But they all proved that is possible for lawyers to change how they work, to make use of new tools and be flexible about what a successful business looks like.

Most importantly, that it is not compulsory for a successful lawyer to also be miserable.

looking for another way

I studied for a graduate diploma of Legal Business at the College of Law, soaking up everything I could about strategy, legal operations, change management and fundamental technologies shaping legal practice. And I started contracting - seeking out opportunities to put what I’d learned into practice.

I believe that today, and in the future, successful lawyers must be more customer-centric and able to work collaboratively. Other professional services have undergone enormous change as a result of digitalisation. I want to be a part of improving the way lawyers operate in a digital enabled world.

I’m still lucky to work with smart lawyers who care about getting a good result for their clients. But now the tools that can help us to deliver those results are improving every day. Yes, the pace of change is overwhelming but I prefer to think that it’s hugely exciting.

outside work

I read a lot - mostly novels but I’m also a sucker for the latest organisational psychology trend by writers like Adam Grant. I love to swim (very slowly) and while the coffee in Melbourne is top class, I do miss the beaches and sparkling harbour pools of Sydney.