What we covered
Mary’s journey from law student and litigator to founder, sparked by her own struggle to secure a training contract and the obvious disconnect between eager junior talent and firms needing support
How she made the leap into entrepreneurship, including raising external funding to create a real proof point before leaving practice
What Flex Legal is and how it evolved: from a platform focused on paralegals to a broader model supporting lawyers and in-house teams
The social mobility mission behind Flex Legal, including the impact of the SQE route and the creation of training contract pathways
The real impact of AI on junior legal careers: why Mary is optimistic, what’s changing in role requirements, and why junior lawyers still matter in an AI-enabled workflow
The skills that will define successful lawyers in 2026 and beyond: curiosity, judgment, EQ, relationship-building, and commercial awareness
The story behind the Mishcon acquisition, and why relationships and long-term networks matter more than people think
Mary’s new role as GC Relationships Director and how it reframes law firm client relationships through a “customer success” lens
The shift toward productised legal delivery: breaking work into strategic vs BAU components, combining people/process/tech, and designing pricing that works for both sides
Why client feedback and pilots are essential to successful innovation, especially when firms are building new service lines
The GC Academy: a structured programme designed to build financial literacy, leadership, legal ops and legal tech skills for in-house leaders
Lessons from 10 years of building: staying optimistic through the lows, maintaining energy, and treating startup life as a marathon
Biggest takeaways
Purpose and profit are not opposites
The best businesses can deliver real commercial outcomes while creating measurable social impact.AI is changing job specs faster than it’s changing demand
The work juniors do will evolve, but the need for people who can operate with judgment and quality control is only increasing.Curiosity is a career superpower
The ability to ask better questions, learn fast, and deeply understand client problems will outperform almost any technical skill.Human skills are the long-term moat
Judgment, empathy, and trust-building remain the parts of legal work that are hardest to automate.Networks compound over time
The acquisition story is a reminder that consistent relationship-building creates outcomes years later.Productisation only works with real client input
Build with customers, pilot early, learn quickly, and iterate before scaling.Founding a company requires durable optimism
You need enough energy and belief to keep going through the inevitable difficult moments.
Book recommendations
Patrick Lencioni (especially The Five Dysfunctions of a Team)
Stephen R. Covey — The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
