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In a recent episode of Legal Firesides, Dentons Australia chair and Australasia region CEO Amber Warren discusses her vision for the world’s biggest firm Down Under, creating meaningful career pathways for younger lawyers, and the need to make the workplace a fun environment.
On this latter point, Warren said, among other things, that injecting positivity and optimism into the office and de-escalating situations with humour leads to greater productivity.
In the same episode, she reflected on her key takeaways from leading the Australian arm of the world’s largest law firm, since taking over in late 2024. She has, she said, “loved absolutely every second of it”.
Over the last two decades, Warren’s focus has been on client service – which is “still really important to me” – but in her new role, her focus is on serving partners and staff, leading by example, moving Dentons in the right direction, and being an enabler for others to achieve.
“Our lawyers are their internal clients, and it’s about me saying, what are the barriers to those people serving our clients and how do I eliminate as many as possible?” she said.
She’s always been “really passionate” about the business of law, she continued, but coming into such a role, she’s learnt that patience is a virtue.
“I’ve really needed to slow down a bit, and make sure that I’m engaging with enough people to bring them along for the journey. I would say that it has been exponentially harder than I anticipated it would be. It’s a really challenging role because you are trying to juggle different views, different imperatives, and also keep your eye on clients,” she said.
To this end – and in the context of AI’s emergence – Warren said slowing down is “really, really important”.
“Instead of moving at pace, sitting back and thinking about two things [is essential]. Number one, have I got everyone in the room that I need in order to get a well-rounded decision? Because I don’t know the answers, I need to rely on people who are in particular roles to bring their expertise to the table and then put something together that works for that. The second thing is that you really need to be curious rather than jumping into a decision. So, sitting back and thinking, ‘OK, is this a decision I need to make right now, or is it something I can make tomorrow? And, am I the right person? Does this have to be done by me?” she said.
Curiosity, Warren said, is becoming increasingly necessary in lawyers’ skill sets.
“When I started law, we were very heavily reliant on precedents and case law and things like that, because the world wasn’t moving as quickly as it is now. Given that we are in a digital revolution and our clients’ businesses are moving at pace, you don’t have that crutch to lean on, because you’ll often have a legal issue that is quite novel because it involves a new technology,” she said.
“So, I think you need to have curiosity to understand how things work. You’re not advising clients on a business that has been set-and-forget for 20 years. You’re advising people on cryptocurrency or things that expose them to cyber risk or AI. And, unless you are curious as a lawyer, you can’t pretend to understand things like a technologist would or things like an accountant would. So, I think it’s become a more necessary skill.”
Jerome Doraisamy is the managing editor of professional services (including Lawyers Weekly, HR Leader, Accountants Daily, and Accounting Times). He is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in New South Wales, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.
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