Providing our members with the resources and support to adapt to the technology and innovation that is transforming the legal profession has been a major priority for the Law Society this year. Guided by the recommendations outlined in the Law Society’s ground-breaking Future of Law and Innovation in the Profession (FLIP) Report of 2017, we have rolled out a record number of FLIP initiatives in 2019, including our regional roadshows, the FLIP conference, hackathon, CPD seminars on cybersecurity, the bimonthly “Behind the Buzzwords” series and our FLIPstream research collaboration with UNSW.

Last Tuesday’s “Behind the Buzzwords” event on change management, attended by more than 100 members of the profession, was a fitting way to conclude our program for 2019 and pre-empt our FLIP offering for 2020.

Panellist Dr Justine Rogers, who led the FLIPstream project, said we often hear that lawyers are not well equipped to manage change, a sentiment supported to some extent by research findings. Yet there is little to no research on change management or change leadership in the context of legal practice. This is critical, since more and more lawyers are hearing that they must innovate, adapt and embrace change.

As a result, the 2019 FLIPstream research on change management, based on interviews with experts working in the area of legal transformation projects, identified key issues and recommends how these challenges can be overcome to successfully implement change in legal practice.

According to Dr Rogers, the change management research revealed that leadership style is crucial to effective change; she compares the new model of change management to a set of golf clubs where you use different golf clubs according to different contexts.  Examples of effective leadership styles outlined by Dr Rogers include the “tenacious implementer”, the “thoughtful architect” and the “measured connector”.

I am pleased to advise that a primer on the 2019 FLIPstream change management research will be available for our members in March 2020. Until then, as this is the final Monday Briefs for 2019 and my last as President, I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. It has been an honour and privilege to serve as President in 2019 and I look forward to continuing my association with the Law Society and continuing to work hard for the benefit of all our members. I wish incoming President Richard Harvey every success in the role next year.

Elizabeth Espinosa, Law Society President

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