With vast challenges facing the legal profession it is essential for law firm bosses to rehumanise the practice of law, and “prioritise people over budgets, office politics, timesheets and bureaucracy,” according to a chief executive.
NewLaw firm Keypoint Law has just marked its five-year anniversary since launching in the Australian market. During this time it has grown from a smaller start-up to a firm that employs 40 partner-level lawyers across 16 practice areas, as well as a team of legal, operational, finance and marketing professionals.
Speaking about the journey so far, CEO Warren Kalinko said he puts the firm’s success down to having a people-centric approach that goes beyond what’s offered at a traditional law firm.
“The challenges facing the legal profession are well known: high levels of depression, long hours, attrition of women from the law, and the discarding of older lawyers. Keypoint shows these issues can be addressed by a law firm model that “rehumanises” the practise of law, and prioritises people over budgets, office politics, timesheets and bureaucracy,” Mr. Kalinko said.
“Our lawyers say that by making a move to Keypoint, they’ve been given the freedom to build closer client relationships, refocus on their career aspirations and achieve meaningful work/life balance. At the end of the day, what we are offering lawyers is the power of choice.”
Keypoint consulting principal Mark Addison backs the sentiment, having joined joined the firm in 2018 because it “offered the opportunity to break free from traditional conventions which hold many lawyers back”.
“I now run a solid commercial practice with all of the support I require, without the politics and artificial budget pressures of a traditional law firm,” he said.
“At Keypoint, I get to focus on doing what I am good at, on my terms.”
“We launched in Australia with a completely new business model, no existing client base or brand recognition, and ambition to drive transformation in the legal industry. In just five years, we’ve established a team of exceptional senior lawyers, partnered with market-leading clients and are recognised as one of the fastest-growing and most innovative firms in the country,” he said.
“By maintaining a steady focus on quality and giving clients access to a personable and value-driven service, we’ve steadily increased our market share and have emerged as a strong competitor to traditional law firms for both client acquisition and partner recruitment.”