In a series of interviews for Legal Eye CI, we speak to those heading up some of the wide range of law firms found in the Channel Islands. From major multi-national players to boutique specialist firms, we find out their thoughts on the industry.
In this profile, we meet employment law specialist Advocate Louise Hall, the managing partner of Walkers in Guernsey. Having set up AO Hall in 2005 with Alison Ozanne, the firm became part of Walkers in 2016. The name may have changed, but a strong female presence has remained a constant for the Guernsey firm.
What path did you take to qualify as a lawyer?
A rather indirect one! My first degree choice was Greek and Latin, but I quickly decided I wanted to do something more vocational so moved to Management Sciences. The only subject that interested me was an employment law module which I took in my third year, so I went knocking on the doors of a few of the Magic Circle firms to ask for a bursary. Luckily one of the firms agreed to fund me though the Common Professional Exam (now known as the Graduate Diploma in Law) and the Solicitors Finals. It was clearly the right path as I’ve never wanted to change career direction since then.
What do you find rewarding about your role?
Problem solving. As any employment lawyer will tell you, a lot of what we do is about helping to resolve tensions at work. If I can do that in a way which helps those involved move forward constructively, so much the better. If the parties have to go their separate ways, hopefully I help them achieve this as amicably as possible.
What are the challenges of your role, and how do you overcome them?
Probably the biggest (and most constant) challenge is juggling being a senior manager, fee earner and business developer rolled into one. I have a huge amount of support from a dedicated team all of whom have their own multi-faceted roles, so it’s not really a question of having to overcome the challenge, rather it’s a case of everyone doing their bit to support each other.
What is the professional success you are most proud of during your career?
In 2005 Alison Ozanne and I co-founded AO Hall. Ten years later, we were on Walkers’ radar as a merger partner and, in 2016, AO Hall became Walkers (Guernsey) LLP. I was incredibly proud that our team at AO Hall had created a firm whose culture and standards matched those of the largest offshore law firm. Four years on, having doubled in size and increased our partner bench by 50% without compromising our culture and standards, I’m even more proud.
What do you consider to be the main challenges facing the legal industry at the moment?
Technological change is having a huge impact on the practice of law just as it’s having an impact in other areas. In particular, law firms are having to think creatively around how AI can be used and applied in the context of data organisation, retrieval, storage and dissemination to improve both client services and their internal systems. We’re now part of an international law firm, so we get the benefit of learning from the best of how different businesses are working across different countries and sectors – things really are changing all the time, and we’re in the lucky position of being able to learn from best practice around the world.
We’ve just moved into a new decade, how do you see the industry changing over the next 10 years?
I think there is a strong likelihood of the legal profession developing into two branches: firstly, a form of commoditised law where most of the work will be done through automated systems, be that document generation, computational models of evidential reasoning, data mining or otherwise; and secondly, a more traditional profession with the sort of legal advisers you see today. The challenge will be to make sure that the traditional advisers grow up with enough knowledge and experience gained from doing the basics to be able to advise on the more complex issues.
Do you feel that there are any particular challenges facing women in the profession, or is law a fairly even playing field?
Law is an even playing field for anyone who is prepared to put the hours in. The challenge for the profession (rather than for women) is to restructure service delivery in a way that enables competent lawyers (be they women or men) to progress without having to make unacceptable compromises.
Have you seen any changes in the attitude or approach to women in the legal profession during your career?
I think because I have always seen myself as a lawyer, rather than a female lawyer, I haven’t been conscious of any negative attitudes directed towards me personally. I am aware that the number of women in the profession has increased since I first qualified in 1989, but the number of women in senior positions in law (particularly equity partners in law firms) is still disproportionately low. Increasing female representation on the partnership bench is on the agenda of most if not all law firms and it is certainly something that Walkers is alive to. Our global managing partner is a woman and in Guernsey over half of our partners and over three quarters of our legal staff are women.
What lessons did you learn from setting up your own law firm (as AO Hall prior to becoming Walkers)?
So many lessons! Law is a service industry, just like any other service business and the same commercial rules apply – you need to win business, keep clients happy, keep a tight rein on credit control and pay your bills. To do all that you need good staff. I also learned the difference between being an employee and a business owner. It’s slightly like becoming a parent, people can describe it but until you do it yourself you don’t actually appreciate the mix of pleasure and pain it can bring.
Describe your management style.
I’d like to say consultative, but you’d have to ask those I work with.
If you weren’t a lawyer, what would you be?
Whenever I’m asked this, I always say ‘a lawyer’. I’d just find a way. I’ve been privileged to have loved my chosen profession and been able to work in it now for over 30 years.
