Retaining junior lawyers was nominated as one of the main challenges confronting the profession by Senior Associate category finalist Andrew Maynes (pictured) from King & Wood Mallesons.

Maynes spoke to Lawyers Weekly ahead of tonight’s (8 August) awards ceremony, which is being held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney.

He explained that as clients increasingly demand faster and around-the-clock service, “at times we do, as a profession, struggle to keep some good lawyers”.

Minter Ellison’s Karen Payne, a finalist for The Partner Award, proudly sponsored by Dolman, agreed that retaining talent is a problem for the profession that does not have a universal solution.

“Finding ways to help people meet the demands of their career and other demands in life can be very individual and sometimes up to the individual,” she said.

Payne added that offering a range of flexible work options is not only a good start in tackling the law’s retention problem, but it is also “good for business”.

Lawyers Weekly also spoke with Scott McDonald from DLA Piper who is a finalist for The Pro Bono Award, proudly sponsored by Negocio Resolutions.

He said the fragmentation of the legal market and the variety of services on offer meant “the question of value is now critical”.

“That is a real issue because costs have increased, the costs of the service has increased and we have to find an answer to that.

“We are doing it, but slowly.”

Check out the video below for the full interview with our finalists who reveal what they love about working in the law, who has inspired them throughout their career and what success looks like to them.

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