How one legal practice regulator is effectively engaging with lawyers and consumers with Jennie Pakula

Reimagining Justice

In this episode no. 32 I speak with Jennie Pakula, Manager of Innovation & Consumer Engagement at the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner. We covered a lot of ground in this interview, charting the role of regulator from traditional disciplinarian to modern stakeholder solving challenges of both clients and lawyers; examples of effective uses of technology in the profession; and the purpose of a regulatory inbox.

We covered the kinds of issues lawyers are looking to professional and regulatory bodies for guidance upon, including the whole legal information/advice divide and where issues arise regarding unauthorised practice of law. Jennie was very open in sharing the kinds of questions that come into the regulatory inbox, which will provide insight into the type of innovation currently moving the profession forward.

Jennie discussed the work of the new consumer advisory committee at the commission and whether regulation has actually been fulfilling its true role in protecting the consumer.

Jennie has been an innovator for many years and is passionate about making legal services better. Her “great desire is to see lawyers reinventing legal practice so that it meets the needs of a whole new market of consumers.”

After being admitted to practice in 1988 Jennie spent around 5 years in commercial law before joining the NSW Law Society in 1994, where she worked in ethics and complaints for 12 years. In 2006 Jennie moved to Melbourne and then took up a role at the Victorian Legal Services Commissioner where for 8 years she managed the front end of the complaints and enquiries process, reading a whopping 14,000 complaints. In December 2018 Jennie was very happily appointed to the new role of Manager, Innovation & Consumer Engagement.

You should listen to this episode if you are concerned that the innovation you are considering for your practice may breach current rules of professional regulation; if you would like to know the best way to approach your state regulator with your ideas; what kinds of technological applications are unlikely to fall foul of current regulation and how the Victorian regulator at least is working with the profession to address the emerging needs of lawyers and clients.

I’m very grateful to Neota Logic for sponsoring the podcast. Neota Logic is a leading no-code AI automation platform, providing professionals with a wide range of easy-to-use tools to rapidly build applications that automate any aspect of their services.

Today’s episode is a conversation about the relationship between consumers, lawyers, technology and ethics, all of which will remain live issues, if not become more important as this current crisis continues, and resolves…

This episode brought to you by Neota Logic.

Links:

• Victoria Legal Services Board and Commission
• Aurecon
• Neota Logic

Andrea Perry-Petersen – LinkedIn - Twitter @winkiepp – andreaperrypetersen.com.au

Twitter - @ReimaginingJ

Facebook – Reimagining Justice group