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Partners must avoid intellectual arrogance
Many characteristics come to mind when we think about lawyers, including strength, charm, and ambition. Humility is a trait that HSF partner Jason Betts has found to be fundamentally important to the practice of law.
Keonia Swift
Speaking recently on an episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, Herbert Smith Freehills partner and global co-head of class actions, Mr Betts, discussed the importance of avoiding intellectual arrogance.
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“We are all privileged. We grow up through a system that rewards high achievement,” he said.
Mr Betts has acted in the majority of Australia’s largest class actions, including major securities and product liability cases.
To date, he is one of only a handful of Australian defence attorneys who have litigated shareholder class actions.
In October 2020, he defended shareholder class action litigation against publicly traded engineering services company Worley. After a lengthy trial, this was the first occasion in Australia that a shareholder class action against a defendant was dismissed.
With an impressive career, he highlights how the line between arrogance and self-assurance is thin. Commenting: “I think it’s important for lawyers, and especially partners, to approach their work with a humble mindset.”
He argued that intellectual arrogance is counterproductive when dealing with clients.
“Clients are looking for lawyers who can provide them with a clear route forward and who are willing to try new approaches and put their ideas to the test. Frankly, changing a view, or changing your mind, that sort of intellectual flexibility,” he said.
“To think about the right answer and the wrong answer in black and white terms. And so we get to a station where we think we have a view of how to practise law that is correct, and other ways are incorrect.
“And maybe that’s baked into the way we compete with our competitors. We are right, they are wrong. I don’t think it’s out of the profession, and I’m talking to myself here as well.”
Reflecting on his journey, Mr Betts said: “If someone’s got a better idea than me, I absolutely want to hear about it because I don’t want to be right and ultimately get the answer wrong.”
He further remarked that he believes the mentality of “I know all the answers and everyone should follow me” to be incorrect.
The key, he said, is to think about the client’s commercial needs as you move from Point A to Point B.
The transcript of this podcast episode was slightly edited for publishing purposes. To listen to the full conversation with Jason Betts, click below:
