CEO Today UK Awards 2021

What led you to start your own law firm? I founded Law 365 in 2014, knowing that the traditional legal system was broken. As CEO, I am disrupting the legal profession with a new business model, selling legal services on a monthly subscription, charging for outcomes rather than minutes. As well as running the business, overseeing the legal services, nurturing members and winning new clients, I also feel personally responsible for maintaining the wellbeing of my team. What makes Law 365 unique? There are 3 things that I think set us apart. First is our ‘Forever Promise’ to our clients. We sell our legal services as a subscription for members, like Spotify or Netflix. Clients pay a flat monthly fee tied to tangible results instead of the minute-counting that comes with the old law firm model of billable hours. Our clients love this as they have a fixed price every month, no surprises. But “how does it work?”, one may ask. At the beginning of our relationship with each client, Law 365 makes a lasting commitment to them, which we call our “Forever Promise.” We promise that we will partner with them long term to make sure their business is in the best possible shape and has a solid foundation for sustainable growth. As American Express articulated in their famous ad campaign: “Membership has its privileges.” As well as providing excellent and specialist legal advice, our subscription membership includes a “book club” for 40+ of our client members, which has been so popular, severalpeople have emailed to asked how they can join. We are also expanding the member privileges to include coaching and networking opportunities where Microsoft Partners can mentor each other as their businesses grow. Secondly, Law 365 is also a happy place to work. I don’t just want to be disruptive in the way law firms work with clients, I want to be disruptive in the way employees are treated too – employee engagement is my main KPI. All employees work with a professional executive coach, for two hours every month. There are team coaching sessions too, yoga and meditation weekly, and special treats like gong baths, chocolate making and cooking classes. When the country went into lockdown last year, we sent food and wellness care packages to the homes of all team members. Plus…champagne and glittery cocktails for the online party to welcome new staff and celebrate birthdays! Happiness and wellbeing are the heart of the business. Third, but perhaps most important, is the fact that Law 365 works exclusively for Microsoft Partners. We know our clients’ businesses as well as they do, and sometimes we know it better because it’s rare to come across an issue we haven’t seen before. We act as advisers, not just lawyers - helping their businesses to grow with less risk. What have been the firm’s key achievements over the past 12 months? We’re growing fast - Law 365 has quadrupled in size during the pandemic lockdown. We’ve grown from 3 employees to 17, and from 10 clients to more than 40! Our employment practice is the perfect complement to our existing commercial services and has really been essential for our clients as they navigate challenges like COVID, Brexit and IR35. Another achievement is that our Executive Performance Coach has come on board full-time, which I see as us cementing the foundations of the wellbeing goals I have for my business. What do you hope to achieve in the future with Law 365? At the moment I’m focused on changing the business model – implementing our subscription model pricing and creating a true member organisation where clients feel inspired and delighted by our service. This is like nothing else in the legal market. What we offer is a true gamechanger for our clients – they get our expertise in an easy to use, and easy to buy, format and become part of an incredible membership of their peers. We are also developing technology to enhance our services. Law 365 is working on some incredible Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools that will come to the market in the next few years and will be available for our existing clients before that. We also recruiting and growing fast so that we can support the demand from Microsoft Partners. What’s your advice to other female founders and CEOs? We need diverse leadership! People need to see people who look like them leading the profession – female leaders, gay leaders, black leaders as well as white, straight men. We know that people unconsciously hire people who look like them and sound like them – so there needs to be diversity in HR and the recruiters too. We need to redefine what success looks like. It is not working 24/7 and clockwatching – that’s a revenue model, but it’s not a life. When I became a mother, it felt like I only had two choices – the law (lots of childcare support etc.) or motherhood (stepping off the career ladder). I’m showing my team that there’s a 3rd option. The most damaging expectation is that lawyers need to be available 24/7 - it drives people out of the profession. To accommodate diversity, we need to create an environment where everyone can flourish. IT Law 38 CEO TODAY UNITED KINGDOM AWARDS 2021