Claire Byrne

Director

Why did you become a board member of Lawlink?

Two key reasons: Firstly, Gibson Sheat gets a great deal of value from its Lawlink membership. I saw my involvement at Board Level as a way to enhance the relationship further. Secondly, I am a director of a number of not-for-profits and I wanted to increase my experience and understanding of Governance in a different environment.

What value does Lawlink add to its member firms, staff within those firms, and clients of those firms?

At a practical level there are so many benefits such as the precedent database, which our lawyers access on a daily basis, the library resource, the bulk purchasing arrangements, and the ability to tap into the knowledge and expertise of other Lawlink firms in specialist areas.

Collegiality is a key component of Lawlink firms – there’s a real connection between the people. Staff are put in contact with their counterparts in other firms, which brings a different dimension and makes it easy for them to pick up the phone if they want to tap into another firm’s expertise.

This, in turn, benefits clients because they have access to a greater range of specialist expertise. If clients are travelling or based away from their lawyer, they can go into a local Lawlink firm’s office to attend to things that need to be done in person. If they move away from an area and want to deal with a local firm we can put them in touch with people we know will do a great job and look after them.

Where do you see the future of Lawlink?

The collegiality and access to specialists around New Zealand is something we can use to our advantage. Lawlink is like having a third arm. Going forward, we’ve got the ability to harness technology to provide a seamless experience where lawyers in various Lawlink firms service a client according to that client’s needs. Essentially, we’re able to cover all areas of New Zealand and have people on the ground where the clients need us. Technology not only makes this possible, but probable.