In that episode, Mr Betts discussed the need for partners to embrace discomfort and also avoid intellectual arrogance. 

Although he has been involved in litigation for almost two decades and is currently a guest professor at the University of Sydney Law School, Mr Betts is still open to new ideas and embraces change.

Mr Betts acknowledged that adjusting to change “is always a challenge”. Expressing that he doesn’t love the idea of having to adapt new methods annually and continuously learn new information.

“We don’t love change; we don’t like feeling uncomfortable. Maybe we don’t have all the answers today, and we don’t like that. We don’t like areas that we don’t understand well, like cryptocurrency. But that’s the space; that is the profession now. And unless you’re there, you’re probably looking back rather than forward,” he commented.

Mr Betts added that nine times out of 10, discomfort is good because it means you’re thinking in an unconventional way and looking for unconventional solutions.

“A goal that I set is to actually feel uncomfortable. If I feel a little bit uncomfortable, it means I’m pushing myself and my team. But obviously, there is a balance there. I think forgetting this notion that you’ve always got the right answer and there is always one right answer is critical, even for a litigator.”

Reflecting on the three awards he won at the recent Partner of Years Awards, Mr Betts said: “It’s such a great honour”, pointing out, “there are a bunch of failures that no one ever sees, and you don’t receive an award for that”.

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“To think that I’ve done something with my career and so it’s obviously working, and that formula will continue to work, is probably wrong.” 

He shared that, even if you feel like you’re at the top of your game, stay grounded in the fact that even the best can have bad days and even lose sometimes.

“I don’t think that I’m always going to succeed. And it doesn’t mean I like failure, I really hate it, but I can’t beat myself up for it. If I’m swinging for the fences, I’m not always going to hit the ball over the fence. It’s a balance here,” Mr Betts continued.

“Also makes you feel that the successes are actually meaningful. And those moments where you feel like you’ve done something, you savour those because you remember the failures.

“In my career, I’ve had as many failures as I’ve had successes,” he made clear.

“Failures can take so many forms. One might be, there’s a choice between choosing our firm and choosing another firm. And a client, occasionally, might choose the other firm. I regard that as a failure, even though it’s not something you take personally.

“I don’t ever feel comfortable that my client is satisfied with me. My mindset is, there’s always a little bit to prove here.”

The transcript of this podcast episode was slightly edited for publishing purposes. To listen to the full conversation with Jason Betts, click below: