The Progressive Law Movement with Karen Finch

Karen Finch is an inspirational powerhouse! She is an ambassador of the progressive law movement and as the Founder of a startup herself, Karen is a strong supporter of the Australian startup ecosystem.

In addition to her non-practicing lawyer role as the CEO of Legally Yours, Karen is Vice President of the Australian Legal Tech Association, Legal Tech Editor for Idea Spies, Law Reference Advisory Member at CQ University Law School and a Lead Organiser of the Silicon Beach Australia startup community.

Join me on today’s episode of The Uncharted Leader for an electrifying conversation about some of the challenges Karen faced in her own journey in law and how she decided to turn adversity into opportunity.

What is your vision and what is the problem you’re helping solve?

Lawyers traditionally charge by the hour, often presenting the bill at the conclusion of their services, or worse, sending you a ‘surprise‘ invoice you weren’t expecting because they have not been clear about their costs upfront. We believe there is a more progressive way in a world that is ever changing.

We created Legally Yours to give people access to a range of lawyers who provide agreed upfront quoting and deliver their services in a way that is convenient for their clients. Our vision is to be the number one platform for legal services, providing the community with valuable connections when they need it the most.

We also support lawyers who are delivering legal services differently. 

We do this by providing education and information sessions aimed at enabling their firms to thrive; connecting them with a community of like-minded lawyers to cross-refer business and recruit curious and innovative law students, law graduates and early stage career lawyers for internships and roles; and we promote their profile and service offering so they can build trusted, long lasting relationships with clients.

Why is this so important to you?

I was a teenager when my parents lost their business and our family home. Having experienced first hand the devastation lawyers can cause to their clients from a lack of communication and poor service, I vowed to create change in industry so no client would ever suffer like my family suffered.  

A leader is someone who inspires others by their actions, remains strong in the face of adversity, and is committed to leaving the world a better place after they are gone

What’s one of the biggest challenges you’ve faced and what did you learn?

The first 3 years after Legally Yours launched was tough.  Trying to change the industry was way more of a challenge than I envisioned. I thought I could convince lawyers to change the way they delivered their services and how they communicated their value because of the 70-80% of business they were missing because clients were too afraid, too confused or simply didn’t know how to find a lawyer.

This was not the case! I faced rejection after rejection, predominantly from white, middle aged male partners who told me I should just give up and do something else, as they would never move away from billable hours because ‘it was too profitable and their clients loved it’.  

When I asked, ``How do you know?”, their response ‘they pay my bills’ was disheartening.

I realised I needed to hold on tight to my convictions, values and passion, and even though I often felt like giving up, I knew that if I could just convince some lawyers to practice differently, I could make a huge impact on the accessibility to legal services.

What’s one of your greatest accomplishments?

Launching Legally Yours.  I’m incredibly proud of the community of lawyers and legal professionals we’ve gathered across Australia to support them in their mission to deliver legal services beyond the billable hour; and the 100s of clients we’ve helped with the legal advice they needed without the shock of a massive bill and a lack of customer service.

Connect with Karen on Linked In and for a pre-approved lawyer you can trust visit Legally Yours and download the podcast on Apple iTunes, or Spotify.

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