Doing Law Differently

If you ask a law firm leader to list their firm’s top values, there’s a good chance you’ll hear words like “access to justice”, “innovation”, “excellence” and “integrity”. For Maddocks, though, the guiding value is something far more unique: “stewardship”. As David Newman, partner and CEO at Maddocks, explains to me in this interview, stewardship is […] The post Great Work + Great Culture = A Great Australian law firm. David Newman, on how Maddocks is combining clients and culture to continue to grow (ep 98) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Fionn’s idea was simple – to have the flexibility to do the work she loved doing and to do it the way she thought it could be done. But with a background working in with big firms and big companies with traditional values, Fionn found she was not given the opportunity to explore her ideas. […] The post Hire for now: perfect-fit contract lawyers for short-term needs with Fionn Bowd (ep 97) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

After 20 years’ experience in estate law, Bernadette Duell saw her fair share of inadequately drafted Wills and thought, ‘there must be a better way.’ After moving to Albany in the south of Western Australia, Bernadette saw her opportunity to fix the problems she’d encountered at their root cause. She decided to establish a law […] The post Proving the critics wrong – Growing a specialist law firm in a country town with Bernadette Duell, Great Southern Wills (ep 96) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

In this episode, Jo and I talk about the benefits of working remotely, but also about boundaries, being able to “switch off” and keep home and work life separate when there is no physical office. Jo also introduces us to her 6-step ‘REMOTE’ framework to build a thriving, distributed team who work from home (at least some of the time). The post Building a Homeforce in law and beyond with Jo Alilovic, 3D HR Legal (ep 95) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Working with founders, tech companies and the people that like to invest in those companies, Merton Lawyers bring the values and creativity from their other successful enterprise, Melbourne Christmas Trees to the legal field, even employing staff from Christmas Trees and creating opportunities for their staff and clients. The post Oh, Christmas Tree! Embracing creativity in law with Anthony Curtin, Merton Lawyers (ep 94) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Jacqui Brauman has spent time delving into the psychology of the ‘missing middle’ and understanding the barriers that prevent upwards of 80% of people from getting professional advice. With the goal of creating a safe space for women to access legal services, Jacqui started Legally Wise Women, which she describes as an information and education […] The post Targeting the “missing middle”: Prevention is better than cure with Jacqui Brauman, TBA Law (ep 93) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

After leaving a litigation role in London and feeling a bit disconnected from the world, Philip Evangelou signed up to a Nomad MBA, where he spent three months studying digital marketing in South Africa. Fast forward to 2020, and he then found himself at the end of an employment contract and at the beginning of […] The post OpenLegal: Removing barriers through fixed price subscription services (ep 92) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

The covid pandemic forced the world into a whole new way of thinking and for Alistair and Shona, it marked the creation of their innovative new law firm, Tend Legal. Having the opportunity to design their firm their own way, Alistair and Shona took inspiration from creative agencies and tech companies and asked, ‘Why can’t […] The post What if it doesn’t look like a law firm? Taking inspiration from clients, not lawyers (ep 91) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Developing her business to focus on out of court solutions, Kirsty Salvestro talks to us about her processes for taking a kinder, calmer approach to family law to help separating couples reach peaceful negotiations. The post What are we fighting for? Out of court solutions for separating couples with Kirsty Salvestro, Flourish Family Law (ep 90) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Stipe reflects on his interpretation of what makes a good lawyer and shares his insights on the culture at Chamberlain’s around how their motto ‘We’re with you’ is more than just motto, it’s about changing people’s lives. The post More than just a motto: Building long term client relationships with Stipe Vuleta, Chamberlains Law Firm (ep 89) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.