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‘It’s not all just about the lawyers’: The importance of external stakeholder relationships
Building relationships is a skill that Norton Law Group partner Gabriella Pomare has found especially relevant when taking over a firm — and while being a leader and a mentor to a number of junior staff.
Lauren Croft
Speaking on a recent episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, Ms Pomare spoke about what she’s learnt from being a legal leader at Norton Law Group and why good relationships are important both internally and externally.
“I think in family loss specifically, we certainly have moved forward dramatically in the last couple of years, and that’s obviously come from the reforms in the family law system. There’s a greater focus now on dispute resolution, collaboration, and those sorts of things. Where people are going, it’s hard to say.
“I think every firm approaches it very differently, but certainly, particularly with junior lawyers coming up through the ranks, we’re definitely seeing a lot more openness to reaching out and being more collaborative. There’s a big shift from everyone at the moment in a family law sphere. We were picking up the phone a lot more. That’s something I learned years ago that there’s no point [in] sending letters back and forth, engaging in higher conflict, creating more of a litigation-type matter. Pick up the phone, have a chat,” she explained.
“We all seem to know each other now. It’s the confidence to do that, though, and I think sometimes the younger lawyers don’t have that, so it’s encouraging. It’s sort of letting them know it’s OK to pick up the phone, have off-the-record discussion because a lot of these matters can be resolved if we just get together and put our minds to it as opposed to always rushing off to court and increasing that conflict.”
Ensuring optimal relationships with lawyers on the other side of the table can result in a range of benefits — both personal and business-related.
“It’s just that openness and willingness to communicate. A lot of the time, you leave messages at other firms and you’ll never get a call back, but my view is there’s got to be an open mentality to having that discussion and wanting to chat to the other side and working together a bit better. We’re certainly getting better at that, but I think there’s still a way forward in that sphere,” Ms Pomare added.
“There are several benefits to that now [in the] profession, and that’s because we’re going to continue working with these collaborative professionals over and over. It’s also important for a referral perspective and framework.
“If you get out there, if you form good relationships, you’re going to continue your referral network. Clients tell other clients when lawyers do a good job, when they get on the phone, when they’re speaking with other professionals, and when there’s been a good team of people helping them to work towards resolution.”
And this is particularly important in an emotionally charged practice area such as family law, according to Ms Pomare.
“Sometimes, we get caught up in the conflict and the emotion, and that’s a hard thing for family lawyers. A lot of our matters are high conflict. There’s a lot of tit for tat. Emotions are raised, and we feel like we need to step into the shoes of our clients and become aggressive or combative people, but we don’t. What I often tell my clients is it’s probably not going to help sending the high-conflict letters back and forth, me engaging in that aggression through angry letter writing,” she opined.
“Why don’t we sit back and say, ‘What are the ways are they to resolve this?’ There’s obviously an issue; there’s high conflict. What other methods of resolution can we use to assist? And that’s where things like family therapy or social workers or counsellors get on board. And my view is use them. We’re a team of professionals to help. It’s not all just about the lawyers.”
“I think it’s certainly adoption of the right mindset, and it comes on a matter-by-matter basis. With experience and adapting these principles and practices, I think you know that matter by matter what other tools or resources you can use. Keeping an open mindset, having a think outside of just the letter writing and legal side of things certainly helps in this aspect.”
The transcript of this podcast episode was slightly edited for publishing purposes. To listen to the full conversation with Gabriella Pomare, click below:
Lauren Croft
Lauren is a journalist at Lawyers Weekly and graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism from Macleay College. Prior to joining Lawyers Weekly, she worked as a trade journalist for media and travel industry publications and Travel Weekly. Originally born in England, Lauren enjoys trying new bars and restaurants, attending music festivals and travelling. She is also a keen snowboarder and pre-pandemic, spent a season living in a French ski resort.
