Celebrating One Year
This month marks my one-year anniversary since starting my sole practice, Good+Law. I want to thank all my clients who have placed their faith in me and my representation to help them navigate some difficult and sometimes painful situations.
Why I went into Law
Looking back, I have had a unique career path: I started out as a social worker before moving into IT in the mid-nineties, and I now work as a lawyer.
As a Social Worker, I investigated allegations of child abuse and supported children and families dealing with mental health, housing, and financial challenges. As an Information Technology Specialist, I was responsible for solving problems in a commercial context and maintaining key customer relationships.
One of the catalysts for changing to Law was seeing how people’s careers can be severely disrupted by simple things such as technology changes. For example, when technology changed, skills could quickly become redundant (and I could see that potentially happening to me unless I kept pushing and developing myself!).
Although IT was a complete contrast to social work (and to law), looking back on my different careers, I realise that I have continued to use my problem-solving skills in each context. Those skills have stayed with me in law. The legal context is new, but my problem-solving skills continue to be useful.
And although computers were exciting, they are nowhere near as interesting as people; I am glad to be back working with people. The experience and insights I’ve gained from working in such diverse backgrounds intersect well with the complex and intricate world of dispute resolutions. Today, I am dedicated to realising best-outcome scenarios for my clients (with a touch of pragmatism) and bringing a sense of clarity and transparency to each case.
Starting Good+Law
Last July I made a big decision to start my own practice. I knew it was a risk, but I already knew this is what I wanted to do. I had some idea of what I was doing, but I have learnt an enormous amount. I saw setting up my practice as an adventure and had to give it a go.
It has been essential to get good advice about things I am unfamiliar with, such as accounting, marketing and business development. ilumin has been tremendous with easy-to-understand business and accounting advice. I have also had some extra support with my marketing, thanks to the team at Gecko Marketing. Business Mentors NZ has helped me navigate the inevitable challenges of today’s competitive business environment and has been valuable support (thanks, Brian Calder!).
What I learnt in the past year
This year has been quite a ride – starting up a new business in the middle of a global pandemic has its challenges – but the year has genuinely been one of my most rewarding experiences so far. I now realise that 1 year on this journey is only 1 year in, and there is a long way to go before I can say I am fully established.
I am most grateful for the confidence and trust my clients put in me. I value it, I cherish it, I am a little bit awed by it, and I have enjoyed building a team with my clients to accomplish the best outcomes we can.
I am looking forward to kicking off year two. I would like to focus on growth and service improvement and becoming a better lawyer. I’m generally pleased with the results I have obtained for my clients this year but will look to keep improving again where I can.
Thank you to everyone who has helped in my journey so far and to all my clients who have put their trust and support into me.
