The Law Squared corporate lawyer loves being part of a business
While she commenced her legal career in private practice, Georgina Gane considered herself “an in-house lawyer at heart”. The Law Squared corporate and commercial lawyer, who was appointed to lead Law Squared as a Service (LSaaS) offering earlier this year, enjoys collaborating with people possessing different skills and coming from diverse backgrounds.
In this April interview, Gane talks about usually being involved in arguments at home growing up, becoming a mum for the first time, and finding joy in helping to bring the best out of people.
What made you choose a career in law, and what's your favourite part of the job?
Growing up, my parents often used to half-jokingly suggest that the law would be a good career choice, because if there were ever an argument in our house, I was usually involved! I’ve always enjoyed words and solving problems and getting a law degree seemed like a practical way to build on those skills, with plenty of career options. I just happened to choose the most obvious option (working in a firm) straight out of university and the rest is history.
Although I started out in private practice, I’m an in-house lawyer at heart. I love being part of a business, collaborating with people with different backgrounds and skillsets, and helping get them to their ‘yes’ wherever possible. I’m lucky to be able to keep doing that in my current role.
What is going on at the organisation? Are there any new programs and initiatives that you’re particularly interested in?
I’ve come onboard to coordinate the Law Squared as a Service (LSaaS) offering, which is our scalable, monthly fixed cost offering that provides legal support to businesses and in-house teams.
LSaaS gives GCs the dedicated resource and budget certainty of the traditional contractor model, but with the breadth of expertise and scalability of a commercial law firm. We’re able to develop the deep understanding of the client’s business that’s necessary to deliver quality work in a corporate environment, whilst maintaining a flexibility that allows us to step seamlessly into the shoes of an in-house counsel at any level and in any capacity, whenever we’re needed.
As a former GC, I know first-hand how challenging it can be to manage stakeholder expectations within the unique time and budget constraints of an in-house legal function. I genuinely believe that LSaaS is a game changer for in-house teams looking to boost their capability.
What tech-related initiatives adopted by the organisation, if any, are you most excited about?
We’re lucky to be supported by a dedicated Digital + Innovation team at Law Squared who are continuously pushing us to improve our processes, our technology and our data. I’m looking forward to bringing these internal learnings to our LSaaS clients to help modernise and automate more of their contract and matter management processes too.
What has been your proudest accomplishment in the last year or so?
Becoming a mum for the first time. It’s been amazing the perspective that bringing a tiny human into the world gives you.
What should the profession focus more on?
We’ve become a lot better at addressing mental health issues but we still have a long way to go. We need to stop rewarding the unrealistic and unsustainable behaviours that are the root cause of burnout and poor wellbeing outcomes if we’re going to truly evolve as a profession. There’s a better way of working (and living).
What are the challenges you expect in your area of law, and in the business of law in general, going forward? What challenges are particularly pressing in the country’s legal industry?
GCs and in-house teams are being asked to do more with less and I think this trend will only grow. It’s incumbent on us as service providers to build as many efficiencies into our engagements as possible – whether that’s using technology or operational solutions – so that we can concentrate on adding real value for our clients within the time and budget constraints that they are managing.
What are you looking forward to the most in the coming year?
Learning more about the fabulous Law Squared team and ways of working as I settle into the job, and helping streamline business for as many LSaaS clients as possible.
If you weren’t in law, what do you think you’d be doing as a career?
Probably a copy writer/editor. Drafting plain English content is one of my favourite things – often at the expense of my marketing colleagues’ patience!
Either that or teaching or coaching. I also find a lot of satisfaction in helping get the best out of others.