LEAP to ‘celebrate the many great achievements of the profession’
Face-to-face events will “always have a place in the legal profession”, LEAP CEO Donna Broadley said. And as Australia’s major cities move out of lockdown, it is critical to recognise the great work being undertaken by legal professionals of all stripes.
Leading cloud-based legal practice management software company LEAP, founded almost 30 years ago in Australia, recently committed to supporting three of Lawyers Weekly’s biggest annual events: the Women in Law Awards (as principal partner), the Partner of the Year Awards, and Australian Law Awards (as gold partner).
“Although the profession has access to a great range of solutions that support collaboration and remote working, face-to-face events still provide a prime opportunity for practitioners at all stages of their careers to network and build professional relationships that will continue to serve them, their firms, and their clients,” she proclaimed.
“Face-to-face events in a post-pandemic world will ensure that practitioners have opportunities to both celebrate the achievements of their peers as well as explore developments in areas beyond those they encounter in their day-to-day practice, such as in technology, innovation, client service and wellbeing.”
When asked why it is important for the company to support and celebrate the legal profession at this critical juncture of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Ms Broadley said that there aren’t too many other professions that required “such a swift response” at the onset of the pandemic and the subsequent restrictions that followed.
“The legal profession should be incredibly proud of how they responded and adjusted to the pandemic,” she opined.
“We’re now at a crucial time where firms need to remain agile and continue building momentum without the imperative of the pandemic, particularly as they adopt new innovations, platforms, and client service tools.”
The age of coronavirus has highlighted, Ms Broadley continued, how firms can adapt using hybrid working arrangements, online client meetings, flexible payment services, and collaboration tools, like those available in LEAP.
“At LEAP, we’re focused on supporting the profession as they begin to navigate a post-pandemic world. We want to celebrate the many great achievements of the profession and also provide first-hand support to the profession to ensure they can continue to remain agile and innovate in the way they operate their firms and serve their own clients,” she said.
With events for Australia’s legal profession now returning, Ms Broadley said, legal professionals will find that they not only have opportunities to network with peers and build new professional relationships but that “they also have opportunities to have important conversations with innovators in the profession about how individual firms have evolved throughout the pandemic”.
“These conversations can prove invaluable to all firms as we enter a post-pandemic world, particularly where expectations of both practitioners and firm clients have evolved,” she said.
“Upcoming events like the Women in Law Awards also provide key opportunities for practitioners to take time to reflect on and celebrate the achievements of practitioners influencing the profession in Australia. With innovation at the heart of everything we do at LEAP, we are eager to celebrate and recognise practitioners who are similarly advancing the profession in the work they’re doing.”
Looking ahead, Ms Broadley said that with the new normal approaching – one in which hybrid working arrangements will be mainstream – LEAP is motivated by the opportunity to connect with the profession in person again.
“Our approach to client service has always been characterised by helping firms on an individualised basis, with face-to-face meetings, training and advisory sessions with our legal practice advisors. We’re eager to bring back these face-to-face meetings with our clients post-pandemic,” she explained.
“What were once challenges posed by the pandemic are now opportunities for business growth for a lot of firms – from online client meetings to working remotely.
“With this in mind, we’re eager to connect with LEAP firms to assist them in navigating this ‘new normal’ – from helping them implement client service tools that encourage repeat business to automating manual firm processes that support productivity and the continued success of their firms.”
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly. A former lawyer, he has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. He is also the host of all five shows under The Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network, and has overseen the brand's audio medium growth from 4,000 downloads per month to over 60,000 downloads per month, making The Lawyers Weekly Show the most popular industry-specific podcast in Australia. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of Minds Count.
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