Powered by
MOMENTUM
MEDIA
Marshall Bromwich’s generation is perhaps the first cohort of leaders to manage a demographic coming through the ranks that may know more about new ways of working than them. To this end, he doesn’t want Norton Rose Fulbright’s graduate and junior practitioners “just sitting in the background” – he wants them at the table.
Norton Rose Fulbright’s new Australian country head Marshall Bromwich, who was appointed to the role early last month, recently appeared on an episode of Legal Firesides, in which he discussed, among other things, spending the entirety of his legal career at the global firm, how to lead in the current climate, and where he sees opportunities in an evolving landscape.
In the same conversation, Bromwich also reflected on the challenge of leading one of the biggest firms in the country at a time when all lawyers are learning about new technologies in real time, as opposed to simply teaching the younger generation about how things have always been done. This, he said, is a “really exciting” prospect.
“I think we’re potentially the first generation of leaders where our young people know a lot more than the more experienced people in the business do [about new technologies]. So, the information exchange is much more two-way than it has been in the past,” he said.
“We really look to our young people that are AI natives, or have grown up with technology, to be leading voices in how we adapt.”
When asked how this prospect makes him feel about the makeup of the workforce, Bromwich said that NRF’s Australian operations are structured such that the firm offers and supports leadership opportunities from a very early stage. “We don’t want people just sitting in the background, grinding out legal work,” he said. “We want them fully engaged in the client relationships and the broader firm.”
NRF has a “next generation board”, he noted, with around 24 professionals from across the global firm’s EMEA and APAC offices, that feeds recommendations to the formal management committee. “We’re trying to give people that leadership experience at a very young age,” he said.
Young lawyers, Bromwich reflected, should be looking at the pace of change in the age of AI optimistically, given how the low-value, high-volume work that’s traditionally not been as engaging can be absorbed by new technologies. In light of this, the role of lawyers is evolving, which again should be viewed as a good thing.
“What clients are really looking for now is lawyers that partner with them and understand their businesses. They expect you to be sitting on the same side and be working alongside them to help achieve their goals, rather than being an external service provider,” he said.
“Our most trusted relationships are the ones where we can deliver the best advice when you feel like you're working as part of the client’s team.”
The future also remains exciting, Bromwich added, for those coming through the ranks given what he called the “continuing globalisation of law”.
“They’re going to get some opportunities to work on matters across borders, work on really complex work with really sophisticated clients, and be challenged. Every lawyer I've ever worked with really loves an intellectual challenge – that’s what drives us to do the work, and the complexity of the matters and the sophistication of clients will just continue to increase.”
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.
You can email Jerome at:
