The Duncan Cotterill partner talks a major impact he and his wife had on the Ultimate Frisbee™ world
A man of many talents, Jonathan Aumonier-Ward is an Ultimate Frisbee™ competitor who has played for New Zealand. The sport would wind up leading him to inspire a former teammate on a global scale.
In the second part of this December interview, Aumonier-Ward shares why the legal profession needs to focus on the humanity of its work, and his firsthand view of what early AI adoption means for the legal landscape.
The legal profession should focus more on the humanity of our work. As our industry becomes more commoditized, relationships will become increasingly important. Clients will choose to work with those they like and trust, so it is crucial to maintain the human connection in our interactions.
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?
It sounds cliche now, but AI is going to have an increasing impact on our business. As a member of the Emerging Issues committee of the International Trademark Association, I get to see firsthand what early adoption means for the industry and the likely challenges and opportunities it will afford us. Additionally, economic pressures will lead to tighter budgets and a demand for more cost-effective legal services. It is essential to be proactive, engage with clients, and continuously improve our offerings to retain and attract business.
My better half Amy and I met playing Ultimate Frisbee™ in the mid-2000s. We’ve played together since competing at the World Championship on the New Zealand team. Around 2013 we formed a club to compete overseas at various events, the idea was we would take a few kiwis and invite some locals to join us for the event. The first we played at was the Singapore national championships where we won the most prestigious award of the tournament, the Spirit of the Game award. This is given to the team with the highest level of spirit, like sportsmanship. Since then, we compete at other international events every year or two.
All of which brings me to the “day”. After a decade or more of doing this, Amy and I received an email from a former teammate who had played with us in one of those early tournaments. He shared how our team's spirit and ethos had reignited his passion for the sport and inspired him to start his own team in China, which now competes internationally. Knowing that our influence had such a positive impact was incredibly rewarding.
