Stewart Rasmussen’s Post

Attracting Legal Talent: The Competitive Edge Goes to… It’s exciting to see a recent client now highlighting perks like AI in their job postings! In New Zealand, legal career paths often include joining the Bar, climbing their current ladder, moving to innovative smaller firms, or taking the classic OE to places like London, Australia or wider common law jurisdictions. Who said Kiwis are flightless? So what are the factors that are considered when making the next move? As of yesterday there are 89 Associates and 36 Senior Associates job ads across NZ on Seek. With this in mind consider this scenario, Person X is an Associate. They are driven, capable and looking for progression and further responsibility. Person X has had their “confidential chats” with two litigation teams and are presented two job offers with identical perks—remuneration, growth opportunities, client exposure, strong leaders to learn from. Before deciding on where Person X applies their trade firm (A) shows them their new AI platform they have recently trailed, tested and adopted. Will this commitment to innovation be a deciding factor on where Person X applies their trade? I’d love to hear from those hiring, contemplating their next move, or preparing for or reminiscing their OE. Will tech adoption impact current and future career choices? #LegalTalent #LegalTech #CareerGrowth #NZLaw #Innovation #LegalCareers Nice March 2024. The Azure waters or The Mountains. Now that's a hard choice where to spend the day.

FUTURE-PROOFING YOUR CAREER... Dylan Mountford has put together his advice on ensuring your career moves in the right direction ... "How do I future-proof my career? It's a question I get a lot getting a lot at the moment from many excellent lawyers in an ever-changing legal landscape. Chatting with my colleagues we have put together 5 key strategies to help propel your career forward: 1. Embrace Continuous Learning: Stay abreast of legal developments, emerging technologies, and industry trends. Engage in professional development opportunities to enhance your skill set. 2. Tech Fluency: Familiarise yourself with legal technology trends. Embracing innovative tools can enhance efficiency and make you a valuable asset in an increasingly tech-driven legal environment. 3. Cultivate Adaptability: Develop a mindset of adaptability. The ability to navigate change and pivot when necessary is a crucial skill for long-term career success. 4. Network Strategically: Build a robust professional network within and outside the legal realm. Networking provides insights into industry shifts, career opportunities, and access to mentorship. 5. Demonstrate Business Acumen: Understand the business intricacies of your organisation. Align legal strategies with overall business goals, showcasing your value as a strategic business partner. Here at Beacon, we’re committed to empowering legal professionals for sustained success.” Get in touch with Dylan Mountford or another member of the Beacon Legal team to collaborate to help future-proof your legal career. M: +61 478 111 848 E: dylan.mountford@beacon-fs.au #futureproof #auslaw #aussielawyers

Does your career need a glow up? Or maybe you're just thinking about something a little different this Monday morning as you face up to another week in the same old job... (And even if you're not this one is worth a read to the very end. I promise.) But if you are, then Weightmans may have the answer for you. As our Product and Innovation Team is continuing to grow. This time we are looking for a senior lawyer for a split role to help disrupt how we deliver legal services: ⚡ Or in other words, we're looking for a Product and Innovation Partner for Insurance. 💡 Joining our existing Innovation Partners and Principal Associates Colette Morgan-Ford, Michaela Nicholas, Simon Forster, Oliver Haddock and myself and led by Dr Catriona Wolfenden and Stuart Whittle, you'll be part of an crack commando unit who've escaped from a high security stockade to the Los Angeles underground... sorry no, that's the other group I'm part of. 🔮 This role will see you sit at the intersection between Operations, Client and Product Innovation, working across all stages of the product and innovation lifecycle to help explore, adopt and harness technology and ideas to produce the best solutions possible for our clients. 🧠 Blended with retaining your existing fee earning/client role to ensure you maintain your expertise and understanding of clients' changing needs. 🗺 We also don't care where you're based - you can be in any of our offices (Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester or Newcastle). 📺 And we'll also fill your days with countless cultural references (except telling you to look between y and I on your keyboard to see our ideal candidate profile), a banging soundtrack (TTPD included) and endless TV and movie references. Interested? Or know someone who may be then the deets are in the comments below. And if nothing else you can see what a glow up can do for someone's career below, and Zuck doesn't do it for you then swipe right for Exhibit 2. For that one alone this post must be worth a like 😍 Sent from my iPhone #legaltech #innovation #lawfirmjobs #recruitment #jobs #seethepossibility

When I started my legal career, this was exactly my situation (picture👇). I had no connections and no job opportunities. I only knew some professors and lecturers from the university, but they did not want to invest any time in my development. I had to work for a law firm for free and struggled to find a better place. This hindered my development for several years. I wish someone had given me the advice that I am giving you today: network, connect with people, try different areas where legal skills are valuable, go to the right parties, and don't let this happen to you! Never underestimate the power of networks, friends, and relatives. Never think that any of your work experience is worthless - it's not! My experience at construction sites helped me a lot to find the best path; not to mention the managerial work, sales, and psychological practice that I used to do. All of that shapes you as a professional. And nowadays, it's even more important. This is one of the reasons why we founded LEGID and this is one of the reasons why we host the FutureLaw Conference! Networks matter, seeing people matters, using technology matters! There are many things out there to make the path easier for yourself. My generation did not have this that much. You do. Use it. It's worth giving it a try! #networking #legaltech #connectingpeople #futurelaw24 #nextgenlawyers #lawstudents

Building a company from scratch has been one of the most rewarding things I've ever done, and we can't wait to launch the new web app. This entrepreneurial journey also turned out to be a much-needed break from what I had been doing for 20+ years. I feel refreshed, energized, and eager to return to in-house leadership. If you're looking for an experienced in-house leader who can jump in and contribute right away, here I am, ready to go. I grew up as a litigator and started my in-house career leading global litigation at Groupon. Over the years, my scope and skills expanded, and I've had the privilege of working as general counsel in different industries. So, what's next? It depends on the opportunity. I'd love to find a global DGC role focusing on litigation, corporate compliance, international legal work or all of the above. I know what you're thinking. "But you were a GC." Yes, and I'd do that again, too, with the right opportunity, but there are a lot of (too many) faux GC jobs. Titles can be misleading. A great GC job would be, well, great, but I don't want my experience to be my barrier. I truly enjoy the hands-on legal work and mentoring that comes with DGC roles, love working globally, and am not title-obsessed. To me, it's all about playing to your strengths, the scope of the role, and the people you work with. Sometimes, learning the ropes from someone who already knows the business, the people, and the culture is the best way to start fresh. What does this mean for Jolo? Nothing. The web app will launch soon, and it's as important as ever. When the web app launches, I hope it helps a lot of people. It's a zoo out there for job seekers.

10 years ago, I entered the legal profession, unemployed with a 800 EUR allowance. I leave France to try luck in the UK against conventional wisdom. What I did not know was: Going against conventional wisdom was going to a recurring theme to this day ⬇️ 2015: I leave France for the UK for an internship. Conventional wisdom calls pointless and a waste of time The internship was a scam, I could not find a legal role. I start working in a coffee shop. Conventional wisdom was right. 🥊 CW: 1 - SO: 0 ⬇️ 2016 I land my first an in-house role in the U.K. CW says it is impossible for a non-solicitor to practice in the U.K.. 🥊 CW: 1 - SO: 1 ⬇️ 2017 I start a sole counsel role with less than 3 years experience under my belt. CW calls this impossible. Even more so as a foreigner. 🥊 CW: 1 - SO: 2 ⬇️ 2020 I build a legal team from scratch, hire lawyers more senior than me and run a legal and privacy function at 29 CW says I am too junior and inexperienced for this type of responsibilities. 🥊 CW: 1 - SO: 3 ⬇️ 2021 I quit in-house for legal technology. My LinkedIn presence earned me a bespoke role and help me start a side hustle. CW calls it risky and uncertain. I had it good in-house, why change? I end up fulfilled and find hapiness in my new path for my career. 🥊 CW: 1 - SO: 4 ⬇️ 2023 I leave the comfort of a 9-5 to take my side hustle full time. CW calls this, risky. What if it doesn’t work? It feels uncomfortable but I get on with it, sacrifice short term wins for long term gains. I continue to grow the business and starts hiring help. 🥊 CW: 1 - SO: 4 ⬇️ February 2024: year one in business. I close my books. I hit my first $100K in sales. 🥊 KO ⬇️ 2022- : I bet on self-marketing and the need for lawyers to learn how to leverage social media. CW calls it a gimmick. Law firms rely on their corporate social media presence and don’t invest in their people to learn. But the solos and small business owners are adopting it. Employees of ALSP, Legal Tech and Ops attract hundreds of GCs with my help. The progressive partners in bigger firms are contacting me to finance my services themselves. The aspiring partners in top law firms contact me to start building their pipeline. So far my gimmicky methods led to: - multi 6-figures in leads and sales - helped 4 people start their business - helped an associate with their partnership application. ➡️ that’s the thing with ignoring CW. To get the things you’ve never had, you must do things you’ve never done. Try things others don’t believe in. You can’t stick to old, safe, predictable ways of doing things and expect a different outcome. If you’re unhappy where you are, go against conventional wisdom 🥊 You may lose at times, but your gains will be 100x more. If you’re ready to go against CW and build your profile, attract clients. ➡️ I am making it easy for 3 legal professionals to get started for $150. DM me to find out more

I am happy to share a few insights from my collaboration with Legal OS. Check out this interesting blog by Martin Bregulla, of which I am also a part. Definitely worth a read 🚀 ! #LegalTech #Collaboration

Some recent questions answered.. ❔ Why are we taking membership subs? There are a few reasons for this. The main reason is that in order to scale and have the impact we are hoping to achieve we need to put a lot of time and resource into curating and gathering content, managing mentor-mentee relationships, moderate networks, administer special projects and listing the latest roles. The other reason is that we want to retain our independence as a resource. We're proudly independent at The Legal Technologist so don't have a commercial agenda for creating it. We don't want to be beholden to legal tech companies to keep this resource going basically! ❔ I'm a legal ops person out of a job but not a student. Which membership should I get? Please message this page and we'll provide you with a discount code. If you can tell us what you're looking for we can potentially do a shout out for you too. ❔ Are discounts available on subscriptions? Yes, on top of the one above there are a few others. Anyone that volunteered for the defining legal ops career path project (and is an active participant) gets 50% off. Anyone that volunteers to be a mentor gets free subs for six months. Anyone that contributes 4x articles or insights (500 - 750 words) to the knowledge base in 2024 and is happy to promote they are a Legal Ops Career member on LinkedIn will get a free year subscription. To take advantage of this please message this page. ❔ How do I become a member? For students looking to get a better understanding of the space, current legal ops professionals looking to develop their careers or for vendors looking to understand who you're working with better - get your membership here (https://lnkd.in/eppNUwKG) #legalops #legaloperations

Thinking about making a move to another jurisdiction? 🌍 It could be the career leap you've been waiting for! Relocating not only expands your professional horizons but also presents unique opportunities for growth and development. There are a number of key benefits we see as legal recruiters and have highlighted some of them below; 🌟 Building a Network: Moving to a new jurisdiction offers a fresh canvas to cultivate a diverse professional network. By connecting with local professionals, you not only establish yourself within the community but also lay the groundwork for future collaborations and opportunities. 🌟 Exposure to larger and multi-jurisdictional work: Embracing a new jurisdiction often means stepping into a more expansive legal landscape. You'll encounter larger and multi-jurisdictional projects that challenge and broaden your skill set, propelling your career to new heights. 🌟 Broadening legal knowledge: Diving into a different legal system provides a unique opportunity to expand your knowledge and expertise. Navigating unfamiliar territory sharpens your analytical abilities and enhances your versatility as a legal professional. 🌟 Access to a new client base: A change in jurisdiction brings with it exposure to a fresh client base with unique needs and perspectives. By tapping into this diverse pool of clients, you not only broaden your professional portfolio but also deepen your understanding of client expectations and preferences. Venturing into another jurisdiction is more than just a career move—it's a transformative experience that opens doors to new opportunities, challenges, and perspectives. Embrace the journey, build your network, and seize the chance to elevate your career to unprecedented heights! 🚀 #GlobalOpportunities #LegalInsights Ready to embark on your next career adventure? Let's connect and explore the possibilities together! 🌐

I have often been asked as to why I switched to a different role than traditional litigation or law firm culture, through this post, I wish to answer it for future budding lawyers and advocates. If you think that a different and challenging role is not for you? You should think again.The exciting field of Growth & Business Development (G&BD) is bursting with opportunities for sharp minds like yours. Here's why you should consider taking the leap: Leverage Your Law School Skills: Negotiation Ace: Your expertise in contract negotiation and drafting translates seamlessly to deal-making and securing win-win partnerships. Commercial Savvy: Your understanding of legal frameworks empowers you to draft airtight proposals that attract investors and fuel company growth. Research Rockstar: Remember all those late nights spent case diving? Apply those research and analysis skills to market analysis, identifying high-growth opportunities. But wait, there's more! Dynamic & Diverse: Be a chameleon! No two days are alike in G&BD. Explore different industries, meet incredible people, and keep challenging yourself. Impactful Career: Witness the direct impact of your work as you contribute to a company's growth and success.It's beyond satisfying! High-Earning Potential: Go beyond the billable hour! G&BD offers excellent earning potential with performance-based rewards. Still not convinced? Let's get interactive! ❓ Challenge the stereotype: Share your thoughts on legal professionals in non-traditional careers. Ask me anything: Got specific questions about transitioning to G&BD? Drop a comment below! ❓ Tag your law school friends: Let's spread the word!  #LawSquad Remember, your law degree is a versatile tool that can open doors to incredible opportunities. Explore, network, and embrace the growth mindset! G&BD is waiting for you. #lawgraduate #careeropportunities #growthhacking #businessdevelopment #legaltech #nonlinearcareers #networkingevents Let's rewrite the narrative and show the world the diverse capabilities of legal professionals! ⚖️