The Proximity expert advisor shares why it's important to work with non-legal experts
Felicity Cooper didn’t want to have to restrict herself to being just one thing. The seasoned lawyer, who led the government and regulatory practice at KPMG Law, made the jump to Proximity in order to maximise her full skillset, which includes consulting and commercial experience.
In the first part of this interview, Cooper tells Australasian Lawyer what she thinks will be the biggest challenge to overcome in her new role, and why lawyers give themselves an advantage when they educate themselves beyond the law.
What aspect of your new role with Proximity are you most excited about? What’s the biggest challenge you expect in this role?
Proximity has a multidisciplinary offering of legal, commercial and consulting services. Whilst this is not necessarily rare in professional services firms, Proximity's structure and operating model treats these as integrated rather than separate offerings, encouraging and enabling collaboration across groups.
As a qualified lawyer who has also worked in consulting and commercial roles, I'm looking forward to being able to work across different streams and draw upon my entire skillset, without having to "make a choice" as to whether I am a lawyer, a commercial advisor or a consultant. The biggest challenge, while not insurmountable, will just be educating myself quickly and comprehensively on Proximity's capability and experience, and finding the synergies with my own.
What do you see as being the biggest adjustment for you in shifting from your previous role at KPMG Law to this new position?
KPMG Law is proud - rightly so - of its history and the heritage of its brand. Compared to a Big 4, Proximity is a relatively "young" firm which has largely written its own story and set its own strategy. There may be a cultural adjustment for me in the short-term in getting used to how agile a smaller firm is able to operate and make decisions, with less stakeholders to consult and interdependencies to manage.
What do you think is the most important thing you learned in your time with KPMG Law, and how do you intend to incorporate that into your new role?
Be curious and never stop learning. I am a strong believer that lawyers are most useful to their clients when they adopt a broader perspective beyond the law. At KPMG, I worked alongside engineers, data analysts, technologists and policy experts. Whenever I was dealing with a legal matter, I sought out relevant (non-legal) technical experts and educated myself about that field. Displaying curiosity, and seeking these different perspectives, enabled me to understand the technical substance of the legislation or contract, and enhanced the value of my legal advice. I will adopt the same approach at Proximity, and fully leverage the raft of different skillsets and experiences we have in this firm.