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, the guiding value is something unique: “stewardship”. As David Newman, partner and CEO at Maddocks, explains to me in this interview, stewardship is about embracing the concept of leaving the firm in a better place for the next generation of leaders and is just one of the reasons that the team at Maddocks have created a Great Australian Law Firm. In the last interview for 2021, David and I talk about innovation ..read more

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. Fionn decided there had to be a better way for lawyers to work and came up with an idea – ‘what if lawyers could sell their time back to law firms?’ Enter: Fionn’s firm, Bowd, a law firm for law firms with a focus on perfect-fit contract lawyers. She believes that when you need a particular skillset for a pa ..read more

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 firm that specialised solely in Wills and was met with a lot of criticism from her peers who told her that a specialist law firm wouldn’t succeed in a country town. She persevered, launched her firm Great Southern Wills in April 2020 and has proved the critics wrong, wi ..read more

After many years spent working at a traditional law firm, Jo established 3D HR Legal, a specialist employment law firm that operates in a completely virtual working environment. Jo quickly realised that the concept of being family friendly and flexible was a point of difference and the firm grew rapidly.  When COVID hit in 2020, Jo realised that her unique experience of managing her own remote team combined with her employment law expertise put her in the perfect position to support other businesses through the transition to remote work. Now it’s time to embrace flexible and remote work a ..read more

Anthony Curtin credits Christmas trees, in part, with being a better lawyer. Intrigued? Back in 2009 Anthony found himself stung by the GFC and losing his job to redundancy. Needing to draw an income between jobs, he started a Christmas tree delivery business, Melbourne Christmas Trees, which is still successful today. Anthony found that his business had a much bigger impact than he ever expected. More than just delivering trees, Melbourne Christmas Trees helped children to create happy memories and taught Anthony that business could be a vehicle not just to make money, but to contribute to a ..read more

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 hub, a community and a starting point for women who need advice. Reflecting on other businesses that have progressed or even been disrupted by automation and technology, Jacqui aims to keep the humanity in being a lawyer. She says it’s only a matter of ..read more

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 a COVID lockdown. While many of us would panic, Phil saw this as an opportunity to launch his new firm OpenLegal. Phil credits his success in part to those newly found digital marketing skills as well as to his experience with founding two other start-up businesses.  Those experien ..read more

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 we do that with a law firm?’. Focussing on communication, customer service and lasting client relationships, Tend Legal talk about how dealing with a law firm can be a positive experience and how the work they do leaves them feeling excited about their clients;’ hopes and dr ..read more

Kirsty’s biggest rule is ‘No court’.     After her own bad experiences and seeing her clients struggle mentally and emotionally with the court process, Kirsty has developed her business to focus on out of court solutions.   Kirsty took a big step in leaving the traditional law firm where she was partner for seven years to concentrate on helping people in her own authentic way. Through mediation, coaching and collaborative practice, Kirsty lives by a kinder, calmer approach to family law to help separating couples reach peaceful negotiations.&nb ..read more

The Doing Law Differently Podcast is back with the last season of 2021. Today, I’m joined by Stipe Vuleta, Managing Director at Chamberlains Law Firm. Back in episode 82, James d’Apice gave us a glimpse into life at Chamberlains and suggested I speak with Stipe to learn more about some of the law firm’s innovations. In this episode, I do just that. Coming from a sense of family and self-actualisation, Stipe reflects on his interpretation of what makes a good lawyer and what makes him excited to be in the industry. He shares his insights on the culture at Chamberlain’s and how their motto  ..read more