Leadership, grounded in flexibility and purpose, is disrupting traditional ways of working, one firm’s co-founder and managing director has argued.
Women now make up the majority of solicitors in Australia, outnumbering men 53 per cent to 47 per cent, according to the Law Society of NSW. Since 2011, the number of female solicitors has surged by 67 per cent – more than double the growth rate for men.
Ahead of her appearance at the upcoming Women in Law Forum, Danielle Snell, managing director and co-founder of Elit Lawyers by McGirr & Snell, said the recent rise in women-led firms has amplified pressure for family-centric reform.
“The COVID-19 pandemic changed the landscape to allow for lawyers to operate outside of the traditional law firm models and embrace technology and flexibility whilst also drawing closer to clients,” said Snell, a former winner of the Managing Partner of the Year category at the Australian Law Awards.
Technology has been a key driver of this transformation, with 59 per cent of legal practitioners reporting their firm increased investment in emerging technology during the pandemic, according to Thomson Reuters.
For Snell, the shifting landscape presented an opportunity to establish a values-driven firm on her own terms.
“I co-founded Elit Lawyers in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic when I was seven months pregnant. This was particularly important and life-changing for me, with a young family and a new business,” she added. The legal profession has long equated success with billable hours, a measure Snell sees as outdated.
“This metric is rigid and doesn’t consider the responsibilities of women,” she said.
“As a managing partner of a law firm, I am constantly being pulled in different directions. The expectations [with] billable hours, [on top of] being a mother, a wife, a friend, and managing a firm, can be the most challenging.”
Snell urges firms to take a more holistic view of success – for both men and women – recognising impact, leadership, mentorship, and client outcomes.
“There needs to be more acknowledgement of the exceptional work female lawyers are doing, especially in high-stakes, male-dominated practice areas,” she said.
To hear Danielle Snell speak further about how women are redefining success, come along to the Women in Law Forum 2025.
Run in partnership with principal partner Mary Technology, the event will take place on Thursday, 27 November 2025, at Crown Melbourne. Click here to buy tickets.
To learn more about the event, including speakers and agenda, click here.
