Fiona McLay from Rankin Business Lawyers is our first enrolee in the new Master of Legal Business. We asked her about her role and her motivation to enrol in the program.

You’ve had a solid career to date in commercial litigation. What interests you in this area of practice?

I enjoy getting to solve problems in a wide range of businesses, industries and personal circumstances. Across my career I’ve helped all sorts of people caught up in disputes – brain surgeons, mining companies, power stations, start-up digital agencies, mum and dad retail businesses and widows batting with their step children. It is a real privilege to see such an enormous human spectrum.

I find it interesting to learn how things work and, once a dispute has arisen, to unravel what went wrong.

I get to help people who have been treated unfairly work out what their options are. And I help them navigate the process of finding resolution – either by negotiation or court.

Going to court for your client is nothing like it looks on TV. On good days it is exciting and, even on dull days, you never know when you will need to respond to something unexpected. So, I always look forward to a day in court.

How does your role of Special Counsel differ from being a Senior Associate?

A Special Counsel role is for someone who has significant experience and skills but has chosen not to pursue being a partner or director in a law firm. You have more autonomy and responsibility than a senior associate and more personal interaction with clients.

Do you find your studies in economics have assisted you in commercial litigation practice?

Definitely – being able to understand financial statements and ledgers is an enormous help to tracking financial transactions. It has been essential when dealing with disputes about valuing a business or fraudulent misappropriation from a business.

I can work closely with my client’s accountant and with expert forensic accountants who are assessing the claim.

Another lasting benefit has been that I can use formulas in Excel - which can be a great shortcut.

How did you find out about the Master of Legal Business (MLB)?

I heard about it at the ALMPA Summit in September 2018.

What is your motivation for enrolling in the MLB subjects?

An opportunity to learn from people who are actually working at the coalface about what has worked, what hasn’t worked and what they are going to try next.

I believe that today, and in the future, successful lawyers must be more customer-centric and able to work collaboratively.  Other professional services have undergone enormous change as a result of digitalisation. I want to be a part of improving the way lawyers operate in a digital enabled world.

What interested you in the program?

I did some short courses with the Centre of Legal Innovation and was impressed by how practical the content was. It was really useful to meet people who were innovating legal practice and running new law firms.  Some of those people are involved with the MLB.  So I am interested in a longer course, with a similar practical approach, taught by people who are working in the legal industry.

Why have you chosen the subjects that you did (Building Trusted Client Relationships: Strategy and Practice Design, Innovation, Op Excellence Continuous Improvement)?

Building trusted client relationships is a fundamental skill. It will become increasingly important as access to quality online legal information improves. Lawyers won’t be able to rely on being the only people able to interpret complex legal rules for much longer.

There is a lot of talk about Innovation in the legal industry but implementation is critical. I want to learn about introducing innovations that our clients need – not things that make a law firm run better.

I’m interested in Operational Excellence because I’ve seen how it hard it can be to introduce improvement. Lots of lawyers are very analytical. I think there are opportunities to use data to identify areas needing improvement. You can then measure and defend the change using objective results.

What do you hope to gain from undertaking the subjects you have enrolled in?

I’m hoping to:

• increase my knowledge and understanding of what is happening in the legal industry - both overseas and in Australia.
• develop some skills to better drive effective change and help me stay relevant in a rapidly changing legal marketplace.
• meet other like-minded “happiness hunters” – lawyers who want to do great work unshackled by inefficient practices and timesheets.

What are your career goals?

I want to work in a team that works smarter (including, but not exclusively, using technology) to improve the delivery of legal services to make lawyers and their clients happier and law firms more resilient.

Read more about the Master of Legal Business

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