Simon Playford is a young, driven legal practitioner who is shaking up traditional law. Using his business acumen, people skills and innovative spirit, he founded Bolter – a niche firm that provides a complete legal solution to start-ups.

While an advocate for the evolution of the legal industry, he warns that we must not lose sight of our clients as we race to embrace new tech and more efficient ways of working. Instead, we must ensure that this disruption genuinely enhances the client experience – in every way.

Keeping the client at the centre

“Continued success for any firm is about ensuring client outcomes are number one,” says Simon.

“It’s vital for the legal sector to continually innovate, especially when it comes to the operations side of our businesses. This will allow us to invest more time and energy into client-facing interactions and deliver the quality service they expect at competitive prices.

“I believe that the biggest threat with adopting new technologies is losing sight of why we’re here and who we work for,” says Simon.

Simon gives the example of elderly clients working with a solicitor in wills and estates.

“Say you’re asking elderly clients to fill out online forms so that you can create their will. That might be an efficient option, but it’s not being considerate of the client, who might not feel confident using those digital forms. We always must remember to align technology to the client,” he says.

Providing a holistic approach

Simon says that we’re living in an age where clients want broader solutions from their professional partners.

Perhaps they’re looking for business growth advice with legal consultancy alongside. Or maybe they want a partner who can offer a 360-degree M&A solution. Whatever the field of law, he believes firms need to integrate more into their offerings by bringing in multidisciplinary professionals.

“I created Bolter with this goal in mind. I wanted to provide corporate business expertise to start-ups – as well as advice on intellectual property. But at the same time, I wanted our clients to have just one point of contact.

“Rather than having to speak to several practitioners across different areas of the firm, they’re seeing one person who understands all faculties of their business. So, they’re getting a truly client-focused manager,” says Simon.

Delivering certainty – in fees and outcomes

“Clients are becoming increasingly sophisticated. They want more control over what they’ll get, when they’ll get it. And more to the point, they want to know at what price they’ll get it,” says Simon.

“When creating Bolter, I wanted to offer fixed rates for certain services. This might not be an option for every practitioner in the legal industry, but I knew it would be for us.

“This is because start-ups, regardless of the sector they are entering, tend to have similar legal needs – including things such as foundational documents for their website, trademark applications and so on.

“And because I knew we would be delivering these services regularly, we wanted to find a way to deliver them with speed, efficiency and precision. It’s the perfect example of how innovative thinking and technology can translate to time certainty for the firm – and price certainly for the client.

“This is a huge boon for our clients, since many start-ups are understandably price sensitive. That said, there are always some clients who are more interested in finding a solicitor they align with and who has their back. With them, prices aren’t really a factor,” he says.

Having your client’s back

According to Simon, firms that can find a way to offer personalised services at competitive rates will lead the future.

At Bolter, he aims to achieve this through what he calls, ‘the 360-degree approach’.

“A potential client comes to us with an enquiry about one of the common issues we solve. And this is where we differ. Traditional firms will go, ‘Yeah, we can solve that’ – and then they put their blinkers on, looking only at that issue and that issue alone.

“But at Bolter, we start with a mind-mapping process. We go, ‘So you’ve come in for this issue, but let’s go back a step. Tell us about your start-up and how your business works.’

“We get to know the business owner and understand the road that they’re on from a legal perspective. Then we explore what other legal issues are likely to arise as they continue on their journey,” he says.

Collaboration and innovation at every tier in a firm

Simon sees the biggest room for growth and innovation within the legal industry is for leaders to recognise their most valuable assets – their people.

“Partners and managers need to view employees as an untapped pool of new ideas for processes, workflow efficiencies and client relationships.

“I think all firms would benefit from allocating some non-billable time for staff to turn off their legal brains and consider what their firm could do differently to get a competitive edge.

“I say this for two reasons. Firstly, in a never-before-seen precedent, 40% of members of the Queensland Law Society are either aged under 35 or have fewer than five years’ industry experience. So, although we’ve still got many older practitioners with knowledge and wisdom, we now also have a massive body of young, eager lawyers who know how to think differently and champion new technologies.

“Our profession should be making it easier for the younger and older professionals to collaborate on solutions.

“Secondly, there’s the threat of not allowing the younger professionals to express their creativity. If firms don’t give their innovators a voice and the space to share their ideas, these people will take their passion elsewhere. They might even create their own businesses.

“But by working together, I believe we can have the best of both worlds,” he says.

Advice for new entrants in the legal field

“Given my own journey, I believe young practitioners should try to diversify their experiences as much as possible. This will help them think from different perspectives and understand the business side of law,” he says.

Simon knew from a young age that he was passionate about the law. But even in his youth, he ensured there was space for all his interests to flourish.

“Although I was fascinated by legal studies at high school, I also enjoyed IT and accounting. So, I have always been interested in business too. Given that I was drawn to both fields, I decided to do a double degree – a Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Laws – at the University of Southern Queensland.”

This diverse skillset was pivotal to Simon creating his niche practice.

However, just as valuable to his career trajectory was Simon’s decision to volunteer with the not-for-profit University of Southern Queensland Student Guild, where he worked as the organisation’s director. He was only 18.

“Through that experience, I was able to connect with the business community from a young age. I was brushing shoulders with people a lot older and more senior than me through the regional networking events.

“I was exposed to new ways of thinking, and I honed my people skills,” he says.

Assisting legal professionals to collaborate

“Legal innovation and technological advancements are happening so fast right now. It’s important that we share ideas and work together to keep the industry relevant to client needs.

Simon acknowledges the Centre for Legal Innovation (CLI) for facilitating this much-needed collaboration.

“CLI is so valuable because it enables lawyers to learn about and connect with other legal professionals who are shaking up our industry.

“The free webinars, workshops and networking events ensure our sector never stops learning about and adapting to the latest innovations and technological trends.”