Get to know your next President

Rebecca Sandford will assume the role of President of the Law Society on 1 January. In this Q&A, she talks about what has led her to this point, what she’s passionate about, and how the law can respond to the numerous challenges it faces – and how those challenges can be turned into strengths.

Incoming President Rebecca Sandford

Bulletin: Can you please give a brief overview of your career to date?

Rebecca Sandford: I began as a clerk and then a lawyer in the dispute resolution team at DMAW Lawyers, where I worked on a broad range of commercial litigation matters. I moved to HWL Ebsworth in 2016, and am currently a Special Counsel in the litigation team there, practicing primarily in intellectual property law, media, technology and privacy law, competition and consumer law, and general disputes. Outside of legal work, I have been involved with the Law Society (Council and committees) since 2011, including past roles as Chair and Deputy Chair of the Women Lawyers’ Committee, and as a member of the Gender Equity Working Group and the Mandatory CPD Regulatory Committee. I currently chair the Legal Technology Committee and am a member of the Ethics and Practice, Corporate Governance and Audit & Risk Committees. I have also sat on boards and management committees for other organisations, including the Women Lawyers’ Association of South Australia, YWCA Adelaide, Spence Club Inc, and the Flinders Law School Board of Advisors, and was a co-founder of Women At The Table, a not for profit group established to foster business, career and leadership opportunities for South Australian women by creating networks and building relationships across industries and professions in SA.

B: What drew you to a career in law?

RS: Well my parents told me that I was good at arguing from a young age, which seems to have stuck! For me the practice of law often seems like a puzzle, and I find it fascinating how different elements of fact and law can fit together to generate solutions to people’s problems. It was a close call between law and teaching (I was a swimming instructor for over 8 years before becoming a lawyer) but I went to a Flinders University open day for Law and found myself nodding along with everything that was said, decided to give it a try, and have so far found it a rewarding choice. I also love that I get the chance to deeply understand lots of different industries and businesses, without having to change careers all the time.

B: What drew you to your current workplace/area of law?

RS: I am particularly interested in intellectual property because how people and businesses stamp their mark on the world intrigues me - there’s no one universal approach that applies for everyone, bundles of different IP rights get pulled together in unique ways, and I like that it keeps me connected with my creative side too. The media work is fun and interesting, rapidly changing and has given me great insight into what goes into news and current affairs reporting, and I find the competition and consumer area rewarding too because it lets me draw on my economics background and requires a deep understanding of my clients’ businesses and the markets in which they operate.

B: Why did you nominate for Council?

RS: I nominated because I was interested in learning more about how the profession operated, and a Junior Member position on Council seemed like a great place to do that - it was only after I joined Council that I really came to understand the breadth and depth of the Society’s role. I also was - and remain - interested in representing views and interests of those who might have difficulties getting to sit at that table, and working to make it easier for them to have a seat and contribute in future.

Rebecca Sandford

B: What have you got out of being a Council Member?

RS: I attribute so much of how I work now to my involvement with the Council and the Society from the early days of my career. As a junior practitioner, to have close access to experienced practitioners from such varied practice areas and backgrounds was invaluable in shaping my approach to my own practice – often it’s easy to become focused just on the things that affect your own everyday work, but I have needed to understand a much broader range of matters affecting different aspects of practice, and of life and society in general, in order to deal with the varied issues which come before the Council, and that has meant my approach to my own practice often now involves more lateral thinking than I expect it otherwise would, which benefits my colleagues and clients. I’ve also made great friends through Council and had some interesting experiences due to my involvement with the Society, which I’m grateful for.

B: What do you see as the key challenges for the legal profession?

RS: Dealing with and supporting mental health and wellbeing in the profession will be increasingly important, especially after events in 2020 which have affected us all in some way. Different sectors of the profession will and do face different challenges, but none of us are immune - lawyers consistently rate in the top few occupations with the highest prevalence of mental health problems, and some unique factors associated with the practice of law make it more likely that lawyers will face mental health challenges when compared to other types of work. Awareness and understanding of those issues has increased over time, and the work that has been and continues to be done by the Wellbeing and Resilience Committee in this space is to be commended (as are the support services offered by the Society including Law Care and the Young Lawyers’ Support Group), but I think we can still do more to provide assistance - individually and collectively - to those dealing with mental health difficulties in the profession, and to identify contributing factors and change some of the habits and behaviours which are prevalent in legal practice but can prevent us from operating at our best.

We will also need to keep grappling with how we meet expectations of clients and the broader public whilst dealing with rapid technological change which affects how we work. The need to pivot quickly to online and remote solutions to continue delivering high quality service to clients during the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated how important it is for us all to have at least a basic understanding of technology to address our clients’ needs. We will have to balance retaining the positive parts of the deep traditions that guide our profession, whilst ensuring we don’t find ourselves stuck doing things in outdated ways just because that’s how they’ve always been done or we think they will be too hard to change - clients and stakeholders including the Courts are increasingly demanding different approaches to the delivery of legal services, and those who can’t or won’t adapt to those changes are likely to really struggle.

B: What do you see as the key opportunities for the legal profession?

RS: Our challenges also present us with great opportunities to shift the ways we have historically worked to better support our clients, our colleagues and our profession into the future. The practice of law teaches us to think in creative problem-solving ways, and to quickly assess and make use of new information, which are useful skillsets when it comes to adapting to change. Everything I’ve done over the last decade in working with the Society has also shown me that lawyers can be some of the most passionate and giving people, and tend to be incredibly hardworking and generous in support of a good cause - knowing that, I have great faith that we will continue to identify and offer innovative solutions in response to our challenges.

B: What do you think the Society should be advocating for to increase opportunities and improve the standing of the legal profession?

RS: In addition to the changes that are currently being discussed locally and nationally to address sexual harassment, bullying and discrimination in the profession, I also believe we need to keep actively working to increase all forms of diversity in the profession, particularly in our leadership - doing so means we can bring different perspectives to decision making, connect with and show the many varied faces and experiences of legal practice, and ensure our leadership is genuinely representative of the profession and broader society.

The Society has also been advocating in recent years for mandatory CPD on mental health, wellbeing and resilience - this would increase education on this important topic, and help promote and embed positive changes so lawyers can improve and better maintain their mental health (and healthier lawyers are better able to create and take advantage of opportunities).

B: What advice would you give to practitioners who are interested in serving or improving the legal profession?

RS: Please get involved in whatever way you can! It’s immensely rewarding and beneficial to do both personally and for the profession, and your contribution will be appreciated. For example the Society has over 30 special interest committees, and numerous panels and support services, so there are many ways that you can meet and work with colleagues across the profession to improve the practice of law (and of course there are many other great organisations and bodies that you can support too). In my experience it helps to have a good understanding of your own strengths and interests, and to work with things you are passionate about and people you connect well with - you’ll get far further with things that light you up than by sinking time into something you think you “should” do but which causes extra stress or doesn’t bring satisfaction. Also, getting involved doesn’t always have to mean taking on a huge commitment - even a few hours can make a big difference, to you and to the cause or organisation you’re assisting.

B: What are some of your interests outside of the law?

RS: I am an enthusiastic supporter of South Australian businesses, especially our great hospitality offerings, so a favourite way to spend an evening or a weekend is exploring our local markets, restaurants, bars, wineries, distilleries and cafes (subject to restrictions these days of course)! I also practice yoga, love to watch movies and read something other than Council papers whenever I can, and enjoy getting back in the pool for a few laps as well.