Q&A: Simon Playford – “Bolter is really, in essence, a start-up law firm for start-ups and we try to capture that ethos and energy on a daily basis.”

In our Q&A, Simon Playford, head of new Queensland-based law firm Bolter, outlines his goal for the firm to become to go-to legal advisor for start-up businesses in Australia, and how his father’s death has inspired him to give back to the community.   In April last year, just as COVID-19 hit business markets, you […]

Latest news – Pro bono record for Australian firms; Graduates acknowledge Allens; Employees value culture most of all

Firms report record number of pro bono hours The Australian legal profession is performing more pro bono work than ever before, despite the turmoil caused by COVID-19. According to the 7th National Law Firm Pro Bono Survey, respondents in 2020 reported performing a record 457,216.4 hours of pro bono legal work, and the highest recorded […]

Flipping the traditional law firm – the case for a decentralised model

A ‘cluster model’ is a way that law firms can shift from traditional ways of operating to a new and adaptable culture where the emphasis is on the value that employees deliver rather than their length of tenure, writes Demetrio Zema. For traditional law firms, July 1 often represents the day when promotions and title […]

Learning and development 2021 – breaking it down and building us up

As the year unfolds, firms should be flexible with their learning and development planning and ensure that they listen to feedback and adapt and improve any initiatives along the way, writes Leonie Green.   My daughter recently started high school. I had expected a bit of an adjustment in the first week or two, but […]

Why investing in high-performing leadership teams adds up

For firms to be truly collaborative and successful, they require a culture in which there is a focus on developing leadership teams rather than individual leaders who do their own thing, writes Keegan Luiters. The case for a high-performing leadership team is strong. Across industries, global consulting firm McKinsey has found that firms had 1.9 […]

Latest news – Sick of video calls; Rethinking office space; Baker McKenzie on top

Professionals suffer ‘video call fatigue’ A new study from global staffing firm Robert Half suggests that a high proportion of workers are suffering from “video call fatigue”. The survey reveals that more than three-quarters of professionals say they participate in virtual meetings, with respondents indicating they spend almost a third of their workday on camera […]

Latest news – Sexual harassment targeted; Salary snapshot for lawyers; Commerce, insurance lawyers in demand

National Action Plan to cut sexual harassment Eliminating sexual harassment in the legal profession is part of the Law Council’s long-running commitment to inclusion and diversity in the legal profession. The recent release of the National Action Plan to Reduce Sexual Harassment in the Australian Legal Profession (NAP) heralds the start of a united and coordinated process […]

10 takeaway lessons from the World Masters webinar series

In the first of a two-part article, we report on the recent World Masters of Law Firm Management webinar series and the key lessons that emerged for law firms as they start planning for 2021. The World Masters webinars consisted of five sessions covering: 1. Strategic overview (Joel Barolsky – Barolsky Advisors) 2. Pricing (Colin […]

World Masters – Colin Jasper, principal of Positive Pricing: “The easiest thing to do is to compete on price, but as soon as we do that we focus less and less on the creation of value.”

In a recent World Masters of Law Firm Management webinar, Positive Pricing principal Colin Jasper answered the big questions for firms struggling to get their pricing right. In this edited summary of the session, he provides tips for leadership teams and partners to follow. Why is pricing so important for law firms? There is a […]

Web marketing at top of the list for firms’ information delivery

Now is a great time to reset the profit strategies of law firms – and one of the best places to start is by keeping clients and other stakeholders informed about things that matter, writes Rob Knowsley. The pandemic has dominated the landscape and practice-management writings for too long. I suspect we’re all getting tired […]