Episode 182 – It’s all a matter of perspective with Justin North
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In this week’s episode of the ‘Happy Lawyer Happy Life Podcast’ I had the pleasure of interviewing Justin North. Justin is not a lawyer but he may as well be one- he is the son of, brother of and married to a lawyer and has spent his entire career working within the law. I have come to know Justin through his work with his legal consulting firm, Janders Dean. Now it has taken me a solid 3 years of pestering to get Justin on this show and it seems it took a pandemic to get me over the line! But whatever the reason, I am grateful- this was a wonderful chat with someone who really gets life in the law.
I have had the privilege, like so many others, of Justin’s generosity and support in my own career so in some ways this was the opportunuty for me to say a ‘Thank you’ to someone who prefers to shine the light on others than to accept praise himself. He is a true trailblazer in our industry and it was great to hear his optimistic outlook on the future of law, pandemic or not! We talked changes in law from the 90’s to now, the future of law, wellness in our industry, the billable hour and of course the joys and challenges of the partnership model. Neither of us have all the answers, but I did take away from Justin’s perspective that so much has changed for the better- diversity, wellness and a genuine focus on service- that we can be excited for the future as the building blocks are in place we just all need to keep building on them.
In this interview, Justin and I also chatted about-
- Although Justin is not a lawyer he is surrounded by lawyers in both his work and family life.
- How Justin’s interest in service based industries started in his teens.
- Justin grew up on the northside of Brisbane, although these days he calls London home.
- Justin started out in the law in the mid-’90s after his sister encouraged him to apply for a role at national firm.
- The impact of COVID-19 on the legal industry an Justin’s predictions for the impact short and long term.
- Psychology and behavioural traits in lawyers and support staff and what this means for legal businesses.
- Justin’s early career working between London, Sydney and Brisbane in legal consulting.
- Janders Dean, a law firm advisory business, founded by Justin in 2007.
- The beginning of Janders Dean and Justin’s goals for the business and how they still hold true today.
- Justin shares the beginning of his now famous event series, JD Horizons and how and why he turned legal events on their head.
- Law without Walls, which encourages innovation in the legal space to build a product to solve a problem.
- Justin’s perspective on what the legal industry is doing well.
- The challenges we face in the legal industry and the changes Justin would like to see in the coming years.
- The people to watch in the legal industry for the future.
- Justin’s Happiness Tip!
Sit back and enjoy this interview with Justin North.
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