We couldn’t celebrate our 10 years in business without shining a light on some of the people who make up our global team. So, in the first of a two-part series, we speak to Judy-Anne, Stephanie and Luke, each of them from a different global region and with varying tenures, about how the Peerpoint business and their role in it has changed over the years and their thoughts about the future of our business.
Judy-Anne Patulot, Client Development Manager, UK
When did you join Peerpoint and in what role?
I joined back in March 2016, and I believe I was Peerpoint team member number 14! It was still a fairly small team with an even smaller client development team (there were four of us). I joined as client development assistant with no prior experience in the world of legal consulting and while the UK business was still establishing itself, particularly with clients. It was a really exciting time as there weren’t any other magic circle firms doing what we were doing!
How has Peerpoint and your role changed since you joined?
The business is so different now to how it was when I first joined. We’ve expanded into different markets, increased the size of the team, our consultants work across different jurisdictions, and we’ve grown our client base. It’s great to see how much the business’ strategy has come to life over the years and being involved in various parts of it has been integral to my development. I’ve trained and supported junior team members in Singapore, completed a six-month secondment to California, co-led on a new client offering and much more.
Where do you see Peerpoint heading in the future?
With the upcoming merger, I’m sure the possibilities of what Peerpoint can do and where it goes will be endless!
Stephanie Szeto, Head of Peerpoint, Asia
When did you join Peerpoint and in what role?
I joined in 2016 when Peerpoint was just starting out in Asia Pacific. When I joined, I remember thinking how many friends I had who would be interested in Peerpoint as both legal consultants and clients. I was excited to learn something by building a new business and knew that even if it didn’t work out, it would have been interesting to be part of. It was a similar thought process to when I first moved from California to Hong Kong, when I thought I’d go on an adventure for a couple of years – I still love Hong Kong after living here for 15 years. I was new to the legal consulting industry when I joined, but very familiar with law firm business, strategy, and client service.
How has Peerpoint and your role changed since you joined?
Peerpoint has evolved and grown both globally and locally, yet we still have the same values that were central when we launched. We’ve identified a need that we can meet while working with top talent and brands, by applying our own approach to quality client service and consultative conversations. We started the business with the intention of adding to the market, as opposed to copying someone else. It has served us well to be committed to meeting that need, shaping Peerpoint according to what we knew we could do well and without overcomplicating our service.
What looks very different compared to 10 years ago is the legal landscape. The way legal services and advice are being delivered has changed and continues to change at a rapid pace. This evolution is one of the major changes in the market, for the better. In-house legal teams and legal talent have more choice than they are even aware of. ‘Alternative’ legal services are not alternative any more, and in fact many can be found through integrated offerings, such that clients get variety and efficiency at the same time.
Where do you see Peerpoint heading in the future?
As with all things in life, our business is ready for a higher degree of technological enablement, which will support our high-touch service. Peerpoint in the future will be the best of both worlds: quality interim legal support served efficiently.
Luke Wilson, Senior New Business Development Manager, Australia
When did you join Peerpoint and in what role?
I joined Peerpoint in 2021 to cover parental leave – I had just finished at Deloitte as I wanted to step away from the Big Four. I perhaps serendipitously received a call from Vicky Feros, the Peerpoint resourcing manager in Australia at the time and she asked if I might be interested in exploring an opportunity back in law (having left law firms five years before joining Deloitte) but with a business focused on flexible resourcing and creating a third career pathway for lawyers.
The opportunity to be part of a business that was moving from its start-up phase and backed by a global law firm was an interesting proposition and felt like a nice fusion of my law firm experience in business development and my experience working across the matrix of businesses and service lines at Deloitte, particularly through what I had learnt working with strategy consultants.
When I joined, the team was relatively small, five in Australia, with the luxury of still having Carolyn, Peerpoint’s Managing Director, in the market in Australia which provided a fantastic platform to learn from the best in the business!
How has Peerpoint and your role changed since you joined?
My role has certainly evolved over time, with several opportunities each year to extend and expand my focus and capability. The business also looks quite different to what I experienced when I joined. There has been a significant diversification of our client portfolio, which has been deliberate to ensure both a well-hedged business in Australia and globally, as well as to enable us to broaden the reach of the skillsets and lawyers that we are able to engage on our panel.
I have a passion for new business development, and it has been fantastic to watch the Australian business extend into new sectors. It is exciting to bring new clients to the firm and watch those relationships develop and extend.
We’ve also seen the broader legal consulting market mature in Australia where in-house legal teams are using platforms like Peerpoint to augment their needs in sophisticated ways, helping to manage budgets and legal spend and how they bring specialist capability into their teams and businesses as and when they need it.
Where do you see Peerpoint heading in the future?
Consistent with the opportunities I have had since I joined the business, I will shortly embark on another new adventure as I cover the parental leave of our head of UAE business in a remote fly‑in/fly-out capacity, which is another fantastic opportunity I am very grateful for.
From a broader business perspective, I am excited to see how we will bring technology into our business ever more to deliver a service which continues to be high-touch and personalised, alongside the efficiency and speed that technology can bring.