In this session, the Centre for  Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia- Pacific) launched its Women Legalpreneurs Special Interest Group with a panel discussion on “Thinking Like a Founder – Nature or Nurture?”

The session was facilitated by the Centre’s Executive Director Terri Mottershead, and brought together seven outstanding women working in the legal ecosystem in Australia. The panellists shared their backgrounds and experience about what it takes to conceive, develop and run a legal business today - the experiments, failures and successes.  They also discussed the importance and power of things like collaboration, empathy, listening, curiosity, resilience, well-being, diversity, inclusion, equity, and the role these play in great decision making and transformative leadership. The panel comprised:

• Genevieve Collins, Chief Executive Partner, Lander & Rogers
• Fiona Craig, Founder, Fiona Craig Consulting
• Sacha Kirk, Co-Founder & CMO, Lawcadia
• Riz McDonald, Founder and Director, Foundd Legal
• Schellie-Jayne Price, Inaugural Chair of ACC Legal Technology Committee; Senior Legal Counsel at Chevron Australia
• Sarah Rey, Founder and Managing Partner, Justitia Lawyers and Consultants
• Caryn Sandler, Partner + Chief Knowledge and Innovation Officer, Gilbert + Tobin

Topics discussed included:

1. The meaning of the term “Founder”
2. The importance of recognising and running with business opportunities
3. How to overcome business challenges
4. Separating hype from reality – the real opportunities offered by tech for legal businesses today
5. The importance of networks, relationship building, and strong personal connections in building a business
6. The answer to the question…is it nature or nurture?

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this session, you’ll find the video in our CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here.