What the music industry taught this BigLaw firm head about leadership and service delivery

In that same conversation, Kelly reflected on how coming to Lawyers Weekly’s offices in North Sydney was as a “bit of a full circle moment” for her, given she previously worked in the lower north shore suburb of Sydney in the artists and repertoire department for a major music label, a role in which she would sign and manage local artists.

That iteration of her career, she said, was not only hugely interesting, but also “allowed me to be, in a lot of ways, a better lawyer and a better leader”.

Such work, she said, was “a gift”, as it taught her to be as proactive as possible when leading a business or team, rather than simply reacting to every problem that comes her way.

“One of the things that you learn very quickly is that you have to anticipate anything that the artists need. I was working with local artists, and before that, I was [in a role] where we only focused on international artists, managing their tour schedule, dealing with high-pressure situations every single day. And the demands that I had to deal with then have certainly carried forward into leading a firm and being able to anticipate what both clients need, but also what our people need,” she said.

Working with musicians, Kelly continued, “really shaped” the way she deals with law firm clients, as she learnt that when you are working with people, one has to realise that “it’s their whole life”.

“When you’re dealing with companies and they or their representatives are calling you, they are dealing with potentially (certainly in the work that I do on the litigation side) some of the worst days of their lives. So, managing their expectations is very, very similar to managing artists’ expectations when they are about to go on tour or release an album,” she said.

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She was also able to transfer a sense of service from her time in the music industry to the legal profession. “I’m of service to the people that I manage, I’m of service to the clients that I have. But I’m also a consumer of services,” Kelly said.

At Clyde & Co, she said, “we obviously engage with third parties, we deal with barristers, we deal with forensic accountants, we deal with a lot of different service providers, and so even as a consumer of those services, I know what good service looks like”.

These lessons serve Kelly well in navigating the myriad market headwinds facing professional services firms in the current climate, and have reinforced the belief that there is no room for reactivity as a BigLaw firm leader. Instead, one must be on the front foot, and “be really open-minded”.

Such thinking, she said, must also extend to considering what law firms can and should look like in the future.

“Law firms have historically been very hierarchical, very formulaic in the way that one enters, and you go to the top, and then you’re a partner. I think that what that has done for a lot of people is that they’ve limited their own growth. But it also means that we’ve not allowed for other types of service delivery,“ she said.

The emerging generation of lawyers is among those bringing new ideas to the table about how law firms could best complement their existing service offerings, Kelly said, noting that it is essential for firm leaders to be receptive to such new ideas.

“[There is a need to be] open-minded about what a law firm is going to look like in 2030: is it going to be the same, hierarchical approach where there’s one partner and two senior associates in each team, where we’re doing the same sort of work? Or, are we going to work far more collaboratively with our clients and partner with them on the delivery of our legal services?” she said.