Stevens also highlights the need for connections and collaboration in the work from home world
Last week, Rigby Cooke’s new medical negligence practice head Adam Stevens talked to Australasian Lawyer about finding the perfect middle ground between medicine and law in his area of legal specialisation. In the second half of this interview, Stevens discusses the importance of specialisation, as well as the major legal and ethics issues he expects to arise from AI use.
What has been your proudest accomplishment in the last year or so? Or what’s the biggest lesson you learned in your career and what advice can you give fellow lawyers about it?
My proudest accomplishment in the last year would have to be becoming lead partner of Rigby Cooke’s medical negligence practice. Giving advice to fellow lawyers is always a difficult task and I do not profess to have all the answers. However, in my experience, the key to career advancement and delivering an exceptional experience for clients is “specialisation”. It more often than not leads to more effective services, efficiencies, better outcomes and allows young lawyers strategic direction in their career. The sooner you specialise the better, in my view.
What should the profession focus more on?
I have thought about this question mainly from the post-pandemic setting. In my view, the profession should focus more on facilitating connections and collaboration. I have noticed that the profession is becoming more siloed as a result of working from home arrangements and blended working. Lawyers are busy people, but networking and collaboration are important to professional development. Innovative ways to develop connections and maintain collaboration is likely to be something that the legal professional will need to grapple with in the coming years.
What are the challenges you expect in your practice, and in the business of law in general, going forward? What challenges are particularly pressing in the country’s legal industry?
I see the use artificial intelligence (AI) as a key challenge facing medicine and the business of law in general. While AI no doubt has benefits and efficiencies, I anticipate that there will be some significant legal and ethical issues arising from its usage. Any use of AI in the medical and legal industry needs to be carefully considered and cautiously implemented. However, in circumstances where AI is already being used by many industries, it is equally important that the legal industry keeps pace with these advancements (particularly from a regulatory perspective).
What are you looking forward to the most in the coming year?
I am excited about building a practice with a team that is focused on providing outcome-focused and pragmatic legal assistance to medical professionals and medical service providers. It is incredibly motivating to build a specialised team of legal professionals at Rigby Cooke that understand the medical industry and understand the value to the community in ensuring that medical professionals and providers feel sufficiently supported in what they do. I look forward to making a meaningful impact in the coming year.
