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.

In this episode I talk you through the five stages of law firm development - from traditional law to having a thriving product ecosystem The post The five stages of law firm development (ep 88) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

The COVID-19 pandemic has radically changed the way people live and work, and law firms are no exception to that rule. Many of us have seen increased working from home arrangements, more flexibility, better use of technology and a more sustainable work-life balance, while others have experienced a negative impact on morale, health and well-being […] The post Law firm welfare – assessing the impact of COVID-19 with Simon Tupman (ep 87) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Karen Finch is the CEO of Legally Yours, an Australian legal marketplace that enables everyday Australians to access quality, experienced lawyers without the bill shock. She is also a passionate ambassador of the progressive law movement and a very wise one at that. In this interview, not only do we dive deep and learn the […] The post The progressive law movement: Reinventing the delivery of legal services with Karen Finch (ep 86) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Mel has worked in house across multiple industries and is a passionate advocate for what I call “doing law differently in house”. For Mel, this includes shining the light on in house lawyering as a legitimate career alternative to the single narrative we're led to believe at uni. The post High tech, no tech, and everything in between: why it matters for in house lawyers with Mel Scott (ep 85) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Doing law differently is about new business models, pricing, customer centricity and so many more things we often talk about, but it is just as much about authentic leadership, stepping out from behind the title and showing our authentic, human selves. The post Stepping out from behind the title: leading through authenticity and vulnerability with Niti Nadarajah (ep 84) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Joshua Baron is an Attorney at SB Legal, a criminal defense practice, based in Utah. I connected with Josh on LinkedIn a few months ago and two things instantly stood out about him. First, his friendliness and genuine interest in the people he connects with (try it for yourself and see!), and second, how upfront and honest he is […] The post How to build a practice you and your clients will love with Joshua Baron (ep 83) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

In today’s interview, I’m joined by James d’Apice who you may know better as “the guy who does Coffee and A Case Note”. James’ simple but unique way of marketing his practice is to record short case summaries from his local café while he enjoys a nice cup of coffee.  Then he uploads them to social media […] The post Coffee and a Coach Note with James d’Apice (ep 82) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Lisanne is a conflict resolution specialist and mediator who believes that there’s a lot of unnecessary suffering when it comes to conflict resolution and her mission is to reduce that. The post Reducing the unnecessary suffering in conflict resolution with Lisanne Iriks, Life Mediation (ep 81) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

If you have any interest in business leadership or deliberately designing workplace culture, you won’t want to miss this episode! Nick Humphrey is the Managing Partner of Hamilton Locke, a corporate and commercial law firm that is one of Australia’s fastest growing law firms. They focus on aligning the interests of their people with their […] The post An evolved approach to BigLaw – with values, culture, innovation and collaboration at the core with Nick Humphrey, Hamilton Locke (ep 80) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

After over a decade leading law firm transformation, I’ve created a six-step blueprint to take law firms from traditional law to a thriving product ecosystem. It’s called Productise and Profit. In today’s episode, I talk you through those six-steps. The post The six-step blueprint to reshape your firm and regain your life (ep 79) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Michael Bradley, today’s guest, gave me an unusual answer to a standard question. I wanted to know how his law firm goes about charging clients on value as opposed to time. I asked, “How does this work in practice?”   And he said, “Really well, actually!”   So, either Michael had a really good sleep that night […] The post The trailblazers: A law firm that’s banned metrics – Michael Bradley, Marque Lawyers (ep 78) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

About 18 months ago, Perpetua Kish and her business partner Jono packed their bags and left a traditional law firm to start Balance Family Law, a firm that they call an ‘evolving micro-practice’. The lovely Pepe joins me today for a frank discussion about fixed fees, the benefits of starting a micro-practice and taking a collaborative approach to family […] The post Separation through the collaborative lens of an evolving micro-practice with Perpetua Kish, Balance Family Law (ep 77) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Justine Lamond leaves no stone unturned, no term unexplained and no room for doubt when it comes to what she means about company culture. We talk about the importance of defining values and building a culture in terms of creating a supportive internal environment for staff and what that looks like and Justine makes a very compelling business case that would satisfy even the most mercenary of CEOs. The post Why does company culture matter? Practical tips and a compelling business case (ep 76) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

As we automate repetitive, low-risk tasks, we free ourselves up to focus on high-risk matters or maybe even the stuff we enjoy most. But have we lost anything? What mindset do lawyers need to adopt in a technologically-driven, innovative business environment? And, importantly, what is the mental impact of increased automation? The post Innovation, automation and mindset: What do we need to do to prepare for the future? with Anna Lozynski (ep 75) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself what it takes to run a successful law firm? In this episode, I share the four essential elements to law firm success. The post The Four Essential Elements to Law Firm Success (ep 74) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

As I am often preaching on this podcast, lawyers of the future and successful lawyers of today will need to be more business-minded. A question that often comes up is what does that mean in practice? What are the key skills that modern lawyers should be equipped with?  Today’s guest, Peter Connor, has the answer.  […] The post The T-shaped lawyer: Developing people, not just technology (ep 73) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Lucy Percy joins me to talk about about the intricacies of working with families and having sensitive conversations, the challenges of marketing to that audience and the politics behind generously sharing expert information – something that Lucy wholeheartedly embraces. The post Estate Planning Reimagined: How to attract clients when your legal work is proactive? (ep 72) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Jordan Furlong spends his life talking to law firms and institutions around the world, delivering speeches, consulting and sharing his insights into ‘lawyer formation’ and the future of law at large. In this episode, I had the privilege of talking to him for forty minutes about his thoughts on the impact of Covid-19, tangible ways to improve the business of law and - the headline story – the process of preparing young lawyers for practice and how we might be able to do more to mitigate the ever-lurking imposter syndrome. The post Is ‘Faster, Better, Cheaper’ Really What Clients Want? A Conversation About Lawyer Formation and the Future of Law With Jordan Furlong (ep 71) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Laura Keily is a barrister, an entrepreneur and the founder and managing director of Immediation, a tech startup that’s not dissimilar to Netflix... for lawyers. In this episode, we talk about innovation, automation and the wider battle for access to justice which sits firmly at the top of Laura’s priority list. The post ‘Netflix for Lawyers’: A Story of Overcoming Fear To Tackle Access To Justice with Laura Keily, Founder of Immediation (ep 70) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

For the first episode of 2021, I'm encouraging you to consider where the opportunity lies for you to Do Law Differently. I share three tips for planning for the year ahead. The post Are You Ready For Another Year Doing Law Differently? (ep 69) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Today’s guest is Jennie Pakula, Manager of Innovation and Consumer Engagement at the Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner.  Jennie describes The Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner as a modern regulator who is trying to perform their role in a risk-based, innovative and consumer-focused way.  Jennie’s unique role sees her spending her time understanding […] The post Regulatory Barrier Busting with Jennie Pakula (ep 68) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Are you running a law firm and wondering how to approach value-pricing? Have you already started to value-price and struggled to get to grips with it? Or, are you simply interested in exploring what value-pricing even means? If so, this episode is for you. The post Pricing with Stanislav Roth is Atypical, Value-Based and Client Centric (ep 67) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Last week was the official launch of my new book, It’s Time To Do Law Differently: How to Reshape Your Firm and Regain Your Life! One week on and the book has already hit #1 best seller status on Amazon and I’ve received dozens of messages and emails of thanks from some of you who […] The post It’s Time To Do Law Differently – book launch (ep 66) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Rather than using ruthlessness to build his business, Michael has adopted a much more wholesome approach: curiosity. More than a word, it’s an attitude that’s embedded in everything he does: curiosity in building relationships, a team with diverse backgrounds that wants to be kind, figuring out how to create a safe environment and in dissolving hierarchies. I’m extra happy about his 50/50 male-female managing director team. The post Fostering Curiosity in a 21st Century Workplace with Michael Morrissey (ep 65) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

How does legal innovation in a 15-person law firm compare with that in a 400+ person law firm?  Well, as I discover in today’s interview, it’s not all that different!  Kim Trajer is the Chief Operating Officer at McCullough Robertson and she joins me today to talk about what doing law differently looks like at her 400+ […] The post Innovation Isn’t Just About the ‘Big Ideas’, It Also Requires Discipline (ep 64) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Whenever I walk down the corridor to ask our software developer to build me a new feature in our practice management system, I always think of his work as some kind of magic. I might have the ideas, but I have no idea what goes on behind the scenes to bring those ideas to life. […] The post Magic or Data? Robyna May Helps Me Figure it Out (ep 63) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

My new book It's Time to Do Law Differently: How to Reshape Your Firm and Regain Your Life is now available for pre-order in Australia! The post It’s Time to Do Law Differently – Pre-order now available! appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Of all the things that separate Foundd Legal from typical firms, perhaps the most important is Riz’s mindset: “Don’t think like a lawyer, think like a business person!” The post Systems, Social Media and Subscription Pricing with Foundd Legal’s Riz McDonald (ep 62) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

I give a broad overview of what my book is about, why I wrote it and how I dealt with the overwhelm of writing 40,000 words. It’s a big undertaking – getting all the stuff in my head into one place – so it has truly been a journey. The post The Behind-The-Scenes Action of my New Book (ep 61) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Today’s guest on DLD is Mitch Kowalski: a globally acclaimed author, innovation consultant and a Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management in Toronto, Canada. I came across Mitch when he came to do a talk in Perth a few years ago and since then I’ve gobbled up everything he’s written. I love it, everything he says starts with “Let’s blow it up and start fresh.” We talk about inertia in the legal industry, the coulda-shoulda-wouldas of Covid-19 and the many possible futures of education. The post World-Renowned Mitch Kowalski has One Thing to Say: Let’s Blow it All Up and Start Fresh (ep 60) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Today I’m joined by a very special guest, my friend and mentor, Clarissa Rayward in a refreshingly unfiltered conversation about her law firm, her ‘side hustle’ and the world’s best legal conference that she runs annually. Clarissa has been in family law since forever and has been running her own law firm, the Brisbane Family Law Centre, since 2008. Clarissa is also something of a guardian angel for 130-odd lawyers, businesses owners and professionals around Australia (of which I am one) who all hang out in the online space that she created: Happy Lawyer Happy Life. The post ‘It Does What It Says on The Tin’: A Lesson in Simplicity for Business and Life with Clarissa Rayward (ep 59) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Welcome to this week’s episode of DLD where I am proud to introduce today’s guest, founder and director of Proximity, Sean King. I first found out about Sean - and subsequently asked him to feature on DLD - when Proximity’s name was listed as a finalist in 6 categories in the recent Lawyer’s Weekly Australian Law Awards. They clearly had something to share. We spend most of the episode talking about the history, business strategy and systems that got Proximity, and Sean, to where they are now. As usual, this article is only a summary - if you want to learn the ins and outs of Sean’s practice, you’ll have to listen to the podcast! The post The Anti-Artisanal Approach that Makes Sean King More Than a Lawyer (ep 58) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Today’s episode is all about surrogacy, finding your niche and running YOUR business the way YOU like it. To crack down on the topic I’m joined by Australia’s best surrogacy lawyer, podcaster and author: Sarah Jefford. Sarah works exclusively with surrogacy teams - made up of parents and a surrogate - to manage and nurture the human side of their relationship just as much as, if not more than, she handles the legal stuff. The post Sarah Jefford on Building Her Niche Legal Practice Around Her Passion (ep 57) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

My conversation with Matthew Karakoulakis runs the full gamut of law - from technological innovations to how Matthew applies his brown belt in Jiu Jitsu to the practice of law. The post A Brown Belt in Social Purpose: Matthew Karakoulakis of AMK Law (ep 56) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Today’s guest, Anne-Marie Cade, is a knight in shining armour for thousands of couples going through what might be the most stressful time in their lives. I am, of course, talking about divorce: Anne-Marie is a mediator, divorce coach and self-proclaimed nerd for conflict resolution. Get ready for a comprehensive discussion of modern divorce, new ways of practising law and how to deal with human emotion. The post The Narrative-Altering Power of Mediation and Divorce Coaching: Anne-Marie Cade (ep 55) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Today’s guest, Sheetal Deo, wears many hats (it’s over-said, but true). She is the co-founder and President of Ethnic+, a not-for-profit that provides access to justice for the ethnically and linguistically-diverse Rainbow community and its allies. In the day time she works with Law students at QLS and in February of 2020 she became the fabulous, multi-faceted […] The post Combining personal satisfaction with business acumen to boldly go where few lawyers dare (ep 54) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Today’s guest is Lazar Krstic, a commercial lawyer in an award-winning NewLaw Firm, Hitch Advisory. Lazar’s energy is infectious and his ideas, hand-in-hand with his firm, are bold. No wonder he got picked by Lawyers Weekly’s 30 under 30! Listen for a conversation about what it means to be a NewLaw firm and what it’s like to work for one. The post Do What Feels Right, Even if it’s Different – Lazar Krstic of Hitch Advisory (ep 53) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

In 2014 , Tara Lucke co-founded a boutique law firm. Today, she graces the virtual floors of DLD with the story of why she quit full-time law at the age of 30 and how she went on to become the founder of The Art of Estate Planning, a part-time Nexus lawyer and a full-time mum. The post Success Isn’t Making Partner: Tara Lucke on Passive Income (ep 52) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Today I’m joined by Caralee Fontenele, director of Collective Family Law, a Gold Coast and Brisbane-based law firm specialising in family law. As a divorcee herself, Caralee wants to help families get through the process as quickly and as easily as possible. Now she’s learning what it means to manage up-and-coming lawyers who share her […] The post Is Letting Go the Secret to Success With Caralee Fontenele (ep 51) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

Back at the start of 2020, when Corona was just a brand of beer and we all still worked in an office, I spoke to today’s guest Helen Kay about her plans to start her business, borne out of her frustrations with traditional law. Today, I’m incredibly proud of Helen who is now the owner […] The post Understanding the Law is Expected. It’s Business Savvy That Counts (ep 50) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.

First off, today’s guest and I have one thing glaringly in common: the names we’ve chosen for our respective businesses. But Shelby Timmins’ business name, Divorce Done Differently, isn’t the only reason I was desperate to get her on the show.   Divorce has historically been played out in courtrooms, fuelled by anger and resentment. Shelby – […] The post Divorce Done Differently: A Better Alternative To Fighting It Out In Court (ep 49) appeared first on Lucy Dickens.