Q&A: Belinda Cohen – “You have to connect with your people, you have to be interested in your people. I do not think you can fake that.”

This article is an edited version of a podcast. Listen to the full interview via this link.

In short:

• As a people-management expert, Belinda Cohen brings a different perspective and skillset to the table as the CEO of Gilchrist Connell, a leading defendant insurance sector law firm with offices around the country.

• Formerly the Chief People Officer at the firm, Cohen says to get the best out of people you must genuinely connect with them, be interested in them, and understand their motivations.

• Cohen encourages partners and other staff to regularly engage in intellectual discussions related to operational improvements and innovations, using these discussions as a tool for cognitive diversity and getting the best business results.

Belinda, you took over the reins as CEO of Gilchrist Connell earlier this year. What are your reflections, to date, on the new role?

The past six months have been demanding, but at the same time it has been deeply rewarding to transition into the CEO role during a period of significant industry change. This has really reinforced for me the importance of clarity and adaptability, and those elements have been a priority in the early months as we continue to evolve the business. I was lucky enough to be in the business as Chief People Officer as it went through a rapid period of growth, which we suspected was part of the COVID-19 boost that many law firms experienced at that time. We thought it would taper off, but that growth appears to be sustaining. This has reinforced the importance of all the things that we need to continue doing from here, including focusing on client-service excellence; adapting and responding to technological change; and paying attention to our culture and people.

You have taken over from Richard Wood, the founder of Gilchrist Connell. What are your goals in the post-Richard Wood era?

When you take over a role from someone who has been so established for a very long time, it’s natural for people to make comparisons. One of the principals in the firm reflected back to me very early on, commenting that, “Well, you are actually in unchartered waters.” And I think that is correct. The firm that Richard built, along with the firm's principals and the executive team, is not actually the firm that I am leading from this point on. It is an evolution of that firm, but the job is necessarily different. It is about taking something that rapidly grew, positioning it to further scale, and then also adapting and evolving that business having regard to technological change and shifts in clients’ expectations of their legal service providers. So, I think it is an exciting time to be in the business and an opportunity that I am really grateful to have.

It is somewhat unusual for a firm to have a CEO with a people and culture background, even though most firms say people are their priority. What advantage does this give you as you lead the firm?

Law firms are a people business by their very nature. If you go back to any of the good writings about how to build a legal business, there is the old adage of the trusted advisor that naturally has a sense of relationship to it and connection that comes with it. Therefore, people are critical in that – there is the service we offer, but the relationships are crucial. In any leadership role, whether it be for a law firm or any other business, the human capital on the people side of it is critical. That is what makes everything work. It has only reinforced for me how lucky I am to have a people-management background because the game at this point is really about helping to inspire and motivate our people in service of our clients. That is something I really love.

I also understand as a people professional that if you really want to build a robust, high-performing culture, it is a living ecosystem and it is something that requires work every day. And it must be not only in how you show up and lead, it must be embedded in how you approach your work and the systems of operation. So, I find that hugely rewarding because when you get it right and you see the response in your people and then how that plays forward to the clients, that is an excellent piece of work to be part of.

Can you offer any advice on the secrets of people and how leaders can get the best out of them?

I am what you might refer to as a people anthropologist. I have for a very long time been fascinated with people because I am curious about why people do what they do. Why do they perform, why do they not perform? What inspires and motivates them? My approach is that you must have a true north that motivates people, that inspires them to get on board – a cause they want to be part of. Then it really does come down to the individual playing their part and having a connection into that higher-order purpose or cause. That is all about the Simon Sinek stuff around “Start with why.” But I love all the forensics and the diagnostics and it was one of my favourite things to do as Chief People Officer – to understand what is an individual's version of that. People often ask, “How do you progress with people, or how do you get them motivated?” And it is really about getting to know them. You have to connect with your people, you have to be interested in your people. I do not think you can fake that. You are either genuinely interested in them, or you are not. When people sense that authenticity, they respond. I take a genuine interest in my people. I like to know what they are doing and why they are doing it and how we can help them to make the most of their career. We spend a lot of time at work and I think that as an employer we have a duty to make sure that people grow their skills, develop and that work can be a fulfilling part of their life.

AI is clearly a big talking point for law firms. What is Gilchrist Connell doing on this front?

We are running a range of pilots across our business in relation to AI to develop our individual use cases, and they are aligned to what we are trying to achieve with client service. We are an insurance sector law firm with complementary practices in employment and property and regulatory work. So, it is really about looking at where AI fits in with our current work model and adapting and leveraging those tools. In essence, we are probably doing what many other firms are doing – experimenting. We have the luxury, though, of having our specialist focus, which allows us to be a little bit more targeted in our approach with AI. It is the ultimate adaptive challenge where we say, “Well, this is what we produce, we have got to trial AI and apply it and continue to frame it all the time.”

LMJ has a law firm management focus. How would you describe your management style?

I am collaborative and transparent, and I value building relationships and trust. I think some people give you trust up front; with others it is trust earned. I take the view that I am going to be better in a village working with others and collaborating with many minds, rather than attempting to do it solo. I also love giving people an opportunity to have agency in their work. It is amazing what people can do when you give them the space to take a piece of work and run with it and make it their own. I had an opportunity in my former role where I just was not aware of where someone was at in their development, so I was giving them all manner of tasks. Then someone came in and said, “Gosh, that is unusual that they are doing that. They are not at that stage.” Well, I did not have the boundaries in my thinking to think it was not possible and, lo and behold, this person was a superstar. I really love seeing those things happen. I think it is important to give people clarity upfront around what success looks like, and it serves two purposes. First, it is fair so people can understand what success is, and, second, if they get off track it makes that conversation of getting them back on track easier. One theme has been consistent for me coming back into the legal practice business from consulting – and that is the importance of clarity in business. Even with the reading that I did coming into this job, there was a paragraph that I read in one book that said, “Even when you think you have been clear about something, you are probably going to have to say it another 57 times before it lands.” It is about keeping the messages simple, keeping the messages clean and repeating them, and understanding that people capture those messages at different points in time. The repetition helps.

You have spoken in the past about the importance of having intellectual debates with colleagues as you pursue best-practice outcomes. What do those discussions look like, and how can they make a difference?

Intellectual debates are especially critical now because we are solving lots of problems that we have never encountered before. The ability to have all voices in the room to challenge the ideas, not the person, is really important to get the most robust outcomes. My early experience with that came when I was in-house because we were not tied to the billable hour. We would discuss legal problems with great legal minds around the table. I found that hugely stimulating and I learned a lot. In the spirit of progress, continuous improvement and innovation, I think it is one of the best tools we have and it means that we are going to get the best cognitive diversity and the best results.

In five years, what do you envisage for Gilchrist Connell – and yourself?

The firm will continue to grow and be bigger. The scale of that growth remains to be seen and that will be influenced by our clients, the markets, technology, all of those things. I think we will continue to be true to who we are. We will be data-driven, we will be tech-enabled and we will continue to focus on our culture. That is the thread that attracted me to the firm in the first place and that continues to hold true – and it is a critical factor in our success. We will continue to deepen our relationships with our clients and look at how we can continue to better partner with our clients to help them meet their commercial objectives. So, it is really more of the same at scale and with evolution across the way as the world does its thing. In terms of myself, I have not even thought about that! I have been so focused on what is in front of me. I am happy to let my career continue to zigzag and see what shows up at the right time.

The numbers

• Gilchrist Connell’s 5-year average growth rate is 19% firmwide.
• The firm now has global staff numbers of 324.
• The principal group has grown 14% in five years.
• The gender split across principals is 50/50.