The Boiling Frog
The theme i’m going to explore came up several times in this past week. The reason I thought timely to share it now us because I had one particular conversation that was a long time coming. But first, a little of my story that makes his-tory…(don’t mind the triple entendre 🤓)
In the Beginning
In the throws of my Law degree I grew to realize that I was leaving uni to enter into a profession and world that already had me on the back foot. I was coming to the realization (as i’ve heard countless other students and graduates express) that from my academic scores, to my ethnicity, to just being a graduate - which for the most part is treated as a liability for the first few years in the legal world - I was going to have a rough ride. To be clear, it had nothing to do with aptitude or capacity - this pathway is far from merit-based, and to the extent it was: the merit was defined by the narrow ruling of a singular, entrenched class of people (I’m alluding to the interplay between the Market, Regulators and Institutions that perpetuates a cycle of tradition).
At the time I saw a clear distinction in the pool of budding young law students:
The students who were embedded into the legal profession by birth into a family, relations, favors and scores.
Everyone else who had to prove themselves worthy.
The first group wasn’t necessarily exempt from the toxic economy of “bottom of the food chain” liability labeling, but it was clear their creativity was limited by the mere fact that they had a “hall pass” by some means, an upper hand in entering the profession. This upper hand encouraged a narrow focus, set a pre-destined path and formula that is well known to the fraternity as it had endured for so long. As I explained in my posts here and here, the University track follows a pro-forma approach which supports this life-cycle of tradition, amplifying the characteristics of “the process” of becoming a lawyer most of us have experienced.
As an example, these phrases may come to mind when you contemplate what that upper hand could be: “you might as well, we have 3 generations of lawyers in our family”, “your brother/sister has done well at his/her firm”, “I’ll get you into a decent firm, just keep your scores up”, “I know someone I can talk to”, “i’ll call a favor”, “I’ll help you out with that assignment” etc.
(It is important to understand that at any point on the timeline of this Profession, what the current leaders tout as necessary for the practice of law was in large part handed down from their own experience and those before them. I’m all about the #futureoflaw and have explained before that this is a unique time in history where the amount of change is disruptive enough to have us asking for a new sandbox to play in. As I’ve always said, it doesn’t discount the road taken to get to this point - but to think the global Legal Industry isn’t fundamentally changing is a failure of insight.)
And so, my personal and individual experience going through University and qualifying as a lawyer was far from easy or clear. But, it was because of that same diversity of background, capacities, talents and self-awareness that got me to where I am now. While I was going through this and searching for answers, I found a website which caught my attention…
The Legal Forecast
The Legal Forecast (TLF) was a group of young law students who decided to come together and break status quo, to challenge the position emerging lawyers had in the industry and give voice to young law students who didn’t have it. As Milan Gandhi (its founder) put it to me: it was supposed to be a leadership engine for future lawyers.
I’ve had a great journey with TLF - I was a founding member of the South Australian chapter and while I was finding my feet I thought it might be an channel for what is now FutureLab.Legal. There were a few fundamental points of difference which led me to see us as partners in common instead. I won’t explore those differences here - in the end they are not as important as what The Legal Forecast has become.
I told Milan in our recent conversation that I saw The Legal Forecast as an Institution. What has been achieved and how TLF is perceived, the voice it has given students at scale and how it has systematically allowed us to express ourselves in our diverse and creative ways is fundamental to the future of the Australian Legal Industry. It was the most suitable response of its time, a huge step forward and breaker of molds.
With time, it was clear that by nature of its existence it also shared a symbiotic relationship with the environment it wished to change. The challenge therefore is to recognize The Legal Forecast’s limitations, some of which have more to do with the way it is structured, funded and the way it interacts with the Market. Nevertheless, it is doing what it set out to do.
It will be important that participants and contributors to TLF understand the responsibility that falls on them to take this amazing opportunity and community in stride and continue to drive the voice of law students and graduates forward.
At the core, The Legal Forecast has achieved and surpassed the aspirations that formed its existence. In effect it has become a fixture in the Australian Legal Industry, the home for young lawyers who want to ask questions, have opinions, passion and a desire for action and change. It has allowed the voice of law students and young graduates to be heard.
What happens next is now also as important:
Now it’s up to those who join to put their stake in the ground and build something that would sustainably change the Market dynamic. It doesn’t have to be a business, it doesn’t have to be tech. It does have to be YOU.
In my experience and through my network I haven’t seen anything close to what has been done here. The Legal Forecast is a model that has shifted a time-old power dynamic, bringing the unheard voice of law students/graduates into the conversation. It should be considered a template for other jurisdictions as we continue to see its purpose be served in gradual, symbiotic change in a heavily resistant industry. They are successfully “boiling the frog” and I believe in time will be seen as a milestone in the continuum of legal transformation.
Updates and Shout-outs
Obviously, had a long overdue call with Milan. Between helping out with computer parts (a shared geeky pleasure) and talking career pathways, I think it’s the start of something wonderful - I envisage closer collaboration between The Legal Forecast and FutureLab.Legal on the horizon 🔥
With a few serendipitous conversations and moments last week and time to unwind, I posted on LinkedIn in a way you may not have expected, have a listen. Alternatively, you can stream it here 🤓🎶
Caught up with David again on our weekly mentorship session. We broke a glass ceiling (pretty chuffed about it) as we discussed the Practice Management System (PMS), economic impact of LegalTech and how the Future Framework for Legal Practice ushers in a new model to the business of law.
Catch up with Phil from NEXL, talking about the vision and challenges of building his platform, making some introductions across borders and jumping on a LinkedIn Live to discuss our work together in the near future.
Had a team meeting with Margaret and Anja from the Future Law Institute. We talked about trust, how we work like a family and the insatiable connection that meta-legal system-thinkers seek with the like minded. To me it seems so rare, but we are building a community around it through the Global Covid-19 Policy Response initiative and doing something truly international.
Great to catch up with Nara from 4CLegal to look at some new international projects and opportunities they are launching, with a bonus meeting of our young ones from across the world 🧒
Andrea and I recorded a video last week and it’s finally up!
Finally, please share the Lab if you find it valuable and let me know what you want to read more about! I hope to continue inspiring you 😊
As always, the future of law is in our hands 🔥
Q.
Photo by Trevor Cole on Unsplash