Beyond Billables

Jess Harvie has made an incredible journey in her life, from working as a corporate lawyer in Sydney, to joining a flower delivery startup, to starting a career in tech. As Diversity & Inclusion Manager at Justworks, a tech company in New York City that designs human resources solutions for small to medium-sized businesses. Jess’ work finds her helping develop human resources programs for businesses, promote diversity in her company and make real, genuine relationships with clients.

On today’s episode of Beyond Billables, Jess tells us how her skills learned as a lawyer were invaluable as she made the leap to a new career path. She describes how quitting her law gig with no jobs lined up gave her the motivation she needed to get serious about finding a career path that was both challenging and emotionally rewarding. If you’re ever been curious about how people make the transition out of law, you’ll love this show.

Listen to the full episode to hear things like:

• How law culture can stifle creativity
• Why Jess had to learn to sound “American” when selling herself to potential employers
• How having a law background opened up opportunities in Jess’ newest job
• Why it’s important to become comfortable with criticism
• The importance of recognising your true skills
• How the tough nature of law can keep you from realising your value
• How leaving your city (or country) can change your perspective
• Why it’s never too late to change your career

Links:

Jessica Harvie - LinkedIn

Justworks

If you don’t love what you do and are struggling to figure out your next step, today’s guest on Beyond Billables may be exactly the right person to listen to. John Poulson is a seasoned attorney, an ex-managing partner and is currently the principal of People Passion Performance. He has deep, hands-on experience in creating and developing workplaces where people have a shared vision and purpose, are fully motivated, engaged and empowered.

In our conversation, we talked about how to create the kind of cultures and workplace structures that make people happy and productive. We also agreed on a call to action of sorts for those who are unhappy in the law profession: find something else. John’s energy and philosophy are infectious - this conversation isn’t to be missed.

Listen to the full episode to hear all of the above, plus all of this too:

• How to build mentally healthy workplaces
• The key to career longevity
• The value of building a non-hierarchical office
• Why you should prioritise people before clients
• What most professional service firms get wrong
• John’s advice to unhappy lawyers
• The difficulty of instilling change in institutional law firms
• Why firms need to refocus on people in the age of automation and AI
• What to do about high attrition rates
• How John dealt with pressure and intensity during his career
• How the expectations of the current generation of lawyers are playing out
• Ways in which technology is making solicitors’ jobs more difficult

Links:

LinkedIn

People Passion Performance

Masterchef

Do you feel unhappy in your current role but unsure if the situation is fixable or not? This week’s guest on Beyond Billables has been in exactly that same situation and shares her insights on how to navigate uncertain waters. Jessica Kinny is an ex-Dentons solicitor turned founder and principle of Kinny Legal.  

Jessica works with start-ups, high net worth individuals, SMEs, ASX-listed companies and not-for-profit organisations. She’s an experienced commercial litigator and business lawyer, and a recognised aged care and retirement law specialist.

In our chat, we talk about Jessica’s journey in the law, how she got to a place where she knew change was needed and how she approached the uncertainty of the unknown. Jessica’s very sharp and has a lot of wisdom to share, despite still being relatively early in her career - this one’s not to be missed.

Listen to the full episode to hear all of the above, plus things like:

• The genesis of Kinny Legal
• The biggest challenge Jessica’s faced as an entrepreneur
• The power of delegation
• How Jessica’s entrepreneurial path has given her more freedom
• How Jessica realised she didn’t want to be a partner
• How to face stepping into the unknown
• What prompted Jessica to start her own firm
• The ways in which new law firms are approaching attorney-client relationships
• The ways in which generational and technological tides are changing legal practice
• Kinny Legal’s approach to marketing
• Jessica’s go to exercise/de-stressing method

Links:

Website
Facebook
LinkedIn
Kinny Legal
Products
Explanation of what our products are: https://www.kinnylegal.com/about-our-online-products/

Interested in the revolutionary potential of artificial intelligence when applied to legal practice? Want to know how you can position yourself for the future? Today’s episode of Beyond Billables hits on both of these topics with the help of Zegal CEO, Daniel Walker. Daniel leads an incredibly talented group that makes up one of the fastest growing legal tech companies in the Asia Pacific region, as well as Europe.

As someone on the frontlines of technological disruption in the legal industry, we picked Daniel’s brain on issues like AI, machine learning, changing business dynamics and law firm structures, and the types of culture that will support lawyers of the future. Daniel is a sharp guy and well worthy of a listen.

Listen to the full episode to hear all of the above, plus things like:

• Daniel’s story of starting out in the law
• What Zegal does and why they have such a big team
• The challenge of pivoting into a new space
• Why Daniel left private practice
• Daniel’s advice for up-and-coming lawyers
• The work culture that Zegal is striving to build
• The state of AI in terms of the law
• How to make the legal tech space more attractive to top talent
• Why Zegal has rebranded three times
• The challenge in balancing the number of technologists and lawyers
• Why there will always be a huge requirement for legal knowledge
• The skills most highly valued in legal tech
• How Daniel unwinds and fights off stress
• The problem with the ‘get it done yesterday’ culture
• The value in unsexy or less-sexy businesses

Links:

LinkedIn

Zegal