The CIE Legal senior lawyer highlights the rapidly changing world of legal work
For Lisa Splawa-Neyman, really devoting time and mental energy to mentoring junior lawyers is critical to the legal profession. The CIE Legal special counsel is passionate about not just practicing, but teaching law as well.
In this interview, she talks what attracted her to the law, the challenge of time, and why she enjoys teaching.
I was attracted to the academic rigour of studying law and the fact that exceptions to the law are often as complex as the laws themselves. I really do enjoy black letter law, and I guess that’s why I pursued the opportunity to teach law as well as practise it.
The focus on optimization at CIE Legal is really interesting. There’s a philosophy of “do it once and do it well”, which means everyone is looking for ways to make things simpler and more efficient. For example, within the first couple of days here, I noticed that it’s actually a pleasure to create an engagement letter and matter-scope, because as much of the process as possible has been automated. It’s very slick, smooth and consistent. It’s evident that a lot of thought has gone into setting up the essentials beautifully, and this makes a real difference.
I’m very proud of the complex procurement matters we’ve worked on this year. It’s really satisfying to work with parties engaged in a competitive tendering process for weeks or months on end and eventually see them reach a deal they’re happy with. That said, it’s equally satisfying to help a client with a simple template agreement that can make their day to day work easier: I enjoy the small wins as well as the big.
It’s so important to invest in junior lawyers, and I mean not just talk about it, but give up time and mental energy to do it properly. As the world of work and legal work changes rapidly, it’s incumbent on us to be thoughtful about how that affects early-career lawyers, and then adapt our mentoring to suit.
For me, the challenge is around time. People assume that delivery timeframes should constantly shrink, yet as lawyers, we still need the space to fully digest a problem and craft an appropriate solution: efficiency will only get you so far. So, for me, the challenge is to know when to go fast and deliver, and when to go slow and reflect. As an industry, we would benefit from more conversations about pace in the practice of law.
My move to CIE Legal has been hugely exciting and I’m looking forward to embracing all the new opportunities that offer fresh perspectives, new connections and innovative projects.
I would definitely be a teacher. I think it’s because I like packaging up knowledge in a way that’s accessible and breaking down complex concepts. I have been fortunate to be able to incorporate teaching into my career through a sessional lecturing role at a leading Australian university, and think that this has really improved my skills as a lawyer.
