From startup to acquisition – one family lawyer's journey of innovation

<p>In episode no. 89 my guest is Fiona Kirkman, CEO and co-founder of FamilyProperty. We cover:</p> <ul> <li>The functionality of expert system FamilyProperty that Fiona and her co-founder (husband!) Tim developed;</li> <li>The journey of FamilyProperty from an idea to MVP, to market, to acquisition;</li> <li>The integration of FamilyProperty with global practice management software, Smokeball bringing the ‘business of law’ together with effective delivery of legal advice;</li> <li>How technology is always changing and the need for ongoing maintenance (especially when court forms change!);</li> <li>The importance of beta testing and accurate data mapping;</li> <li>Benefits of this use of technology for lawyers and clients;</li> <li>What it is about the people that adopt these new methodologies and the organisations in which they work, including their size and what that means for change management;</li> <li>The impact of the pandemic on the legal industry;</li> <li>Where you fit on ‘the innovative scale’;</li> <li>The importance of understanding users’ pain points and how technology can assist with that, as well as empower the professionals to do more of the ‘human work’;</li> <li>Plans for scaling and expansion of FamilyProperty in the USA;</li> <li>Unexpected uses of the financial aspects of FamilyProperty and a model that Legal Aid is piloting;</li> <li>Constraints that Fiona and Tim have come up against recently;</li> <li>The importance of confidentiality and cybersecurity;</li> <li>Fiona’s 3 passions and how they relate to her numerous roles;</li> <li>What lawyers will need to be effective mediators in the future; </li> <li>What is the ‘resolution revolution’?; </li> <li>The importance of collaborative practice and multidisciplinary input; </li> <li>When Fiona became comfortable with being labelled an ‘innovator’; </li> <li>What she is most proud of along the journey of both joys and challenges;</li> <li>How technology is an enabler of access to justice; and</li> <li>Fiona’s definition of legal innovation.</l