O shaped, an organisation set up by former senior in-house lawyer, Dan Kayne, has a clear purpose - ‘Making the legal industry better for those in it, those who use it and those entering it.’
Photo courtesy of the O Shaped website.
To recognise and celebrate the work of lawyers who embody this mission in a practical way, the inaugural ‘O List’ was announced this year - which included the qLegal Director, Karen Watton.
The 25 first ever ‘O Listers’ were selected from over 170 nominations across the legal sector. They were chosen as they demonstrate the five aspects of an ‘O’ mindset and related attributes:
O shaped recognises that being a so-called ‘I shaped’ lawyer – someone who has merely a deep vertical of legal expertise - or a ‘T shaped’ lawyer, with deep legal expertise plus some knowledge of marketing, tech, finance and so on, is no longer enough. As tech becomes increasingly prevalent in the legal world and can outperform humans on some cognitive tasks, the focus is more on the value lawyers add through their additional social and emotional intelligence. Lawyers need to be well-rounded if the profession is to become more human.
Under Karen’s leadership, the qLegal team is committed to fostering innovation in both legal services delivery and legal education. qLegal’s mission is to help the next generation of lawyers help the next generation of clients to create value in the world. Through its various experiential learning programmes qLegal helps postgraduate law students from all over the world prepare for the future of law. This includes training students on how to be more O shaped. The students receive practical guidance on how to give and receive feedback, manage stakeholders, and collaborate in interdisciplinary teams, for example, which is embedded as they learn by doing.
The O-Listers joined Dan and the O shaped team at a celebration event on 22nd February. Karen was surprised and delighted to be on the O list, believing it to be a strong testament to the work of the whole qLegal team. She commented how inspiring it was to hear all the stories of people making a difference in law.
The qLegal team extends heartfelt congratulations to all O Listers, wishing them all the best in their future endeavours as they contribute to reshaping and advancing the legal profession!