Building a positive future for lawyers – what does ‘success’ mean anyway? (ep 47)

In today’s episode guest Sam Burrett and I ask ourselves what we can do to create a more positive future for lawyers.   Sam is a lawyer by training, but before coming to the law he founded and ran a fitness company which gave him invaluable experience of the trials and triumphs of small business ownership.   Sam hopes to make a meaningful contribution to the legal industry by illuminating alternative legal business models, the key traits of successful lawyers and alternative career paths for the lawyers of the future.  He runs the NSW arm of Plexus Engage, a flexible resourcing firm which provides top legal talent on secondment to GC’s across Australia.  In this interview, Sam and I touch on lots of topics relevant to the future of law, including: * Plexus’ technology platforms that capture input data and automate triage in a legal function to #freethelawyers to spend time on more strategic work* the widespread dissatisfaction and mental health issues experienced by up-and-coming lawyers and how we can address this by changing the way juniors enter the law * what does success in law mean? For Sam, it’s ownership over his own trajectory, more than job title and following the traditional route to equity partnership * the money question – lawyers may earn above average salary, but what we don’t speak about are the trade offs * how Plexus Engage “parachute in” staff to take on short terms secondments and help resourcing meet demand, turning the tides and providing alternative paths for lawyers #FreeTheLawyers * Sam’s advice for someone who wants to do law differently – read more and connect with people Links   * Connect with Sam on LinkedIn or check out his new podcast, The Leading Lawyer Project wherever you listen to your pods* Subscribe to Doing Law Differently on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or Spotify    * Download my latest e-book, 80 ways to modernise your law firm, full of short, sharp and practical tips to help you firm your foundations, sort your strategy and optimise your operations  * Connect with me on LinkedIn   * Are you keen to share how you’re Doing Law Differently? Get in touch here.  

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Discover how the world’s most progressive law companies are doing law differently. There's lots of talk about why we need to change the legal industry, but much less about how to do it.  The Doing Law Differently podcast taps into the valuable knowledge of those who are walking the talk of NewLaw. Host, Lucy Dickens interviews leaders of progressive law companies who are reinventing traditional legal practice and transforming the profession for the better.  From alternative fee arrangements and new technology to innovative business models and new ways of delivering services, find out what NewLaw looks like from the inside.    Join Lucy Dickens in her weekly conversations with forward-thinking leaders in law who share how they’re doing law differently.