Legal Analyst Q&A with Joshua Williams

At Ashurst Advance, we have a team of over 80 Legal Analysts across Glasgow and Brisbane. The team are highly-trained law graduates who undertake work traditionally undertaken by trainees, paralegals or junior lawyers. They are an important part of Ashurst Advance's NewLaw capability and provide legal resource to be deployed, under supervision, on projects in order to complete work efficiently for Ashurst's clients.

In this article, we hear from Joshua Williams, one of our Senior Legal Analysts based in Brisbane who tells us more about his role and the career path ahead of him.

What does a typical day look like for a Legal Analyst?

There is no such thing as a typical day as a Legal Analyst – we are involved in such a wide variety of work and every day is different. We are trained across a wide number of areas so that we can scale up project teams across the firm as and when required, ensuring efficient use of resource. One day I might be involved in a document review in response to a regulatory notice, and the next I will be conducting due diligence on a corporate transaction. I get to work across areas like dispute resolution, banking transactions, native title and property, and even some of the pro bono work that Ashurst engages in. But it's not all about the work – as a Legal Analyst, I get to work collaboratively in a great team of law graduates and broaden my technical and people skills through Ashurst's fantastic learning and development programs.

How has your career developed since starting with Ashurst Advance?

Since starting with Ashurst Advance just over a year ago, I have had the opportunity to learn so much. Having worked on some of the high profile matters that a firm like Ashurst is involved with has allowed me to build up my skills and experience in the world of corporate and commercial law. This has set me up for success in my role,demonstrated by my promotion to a Senior Legal Analyst position. This development in my career has allowed me to focus on my leadership and people skills. My responsibilities taking a lead role on many of the projects my team works on, including coordinating a team of analysts and liaising with clients. I am also responsible for mentoring junior team members and developing their technical skills and experience within the legal work they do. Within my role, I am also required to consider the commercial aspects of the legal work being undertaken, by ensuring that these are delivered in the most efficient and cost effective way possible. My career development so far has been exciting and I'm looking forward to taking on even more opportunities in the future.

What are your #careergoals for working with Ashurst Advance?

I want to learn as much as possible, and I believe Ashurst Advance offers so many great opportunities to learn and grow professionally. In particular, I'm keen to be more involved in other areas within the division, including Legal Project Management and Legal Technology. There is such a range of opportunities within the NewLaw industry and I'm very much looking forward to seeing where my career will take me within Ashurst Advance.

The Legal Analyst role is new in the Australian legal market. How has the position met and/or exceeded your initial expectations?

When I first started at Ashurst, I had very little idea about what a Legal Analyst actually does. Being a new role in the market, there were not a lot of comparable positions. The Legal Analyst team was also brand new within the firm in Australia and as such we were expecting a slow build-up of work over the first few years. I'm happy to say that now, just over one year on, the position has exceeded my expectations. The scale of the projects my team is involved in, and the variety of practice areas we work in, is far greater than I ever imagined. The position is constantly evolving to meet the needs of our clients and I'm really excited to see how the Legal Analyst position continues to expand and offer more opportunities to young law graduates.

What advice would you share with any young graduates considering alternative law careers?

I remember when I was a new graduate and had no idea what I wanted to do with my law degree. The traditional 'graduate' role didn't particularly interest me and I wanted something different. I was fortunate to have found myself in this career with Ashurst Advance as it has allowed me to explore a diverse range of skills. I would say to new graduates that an alternative legal career can be extremely rewarding as you get to experience a broad range of legal practice areas and develop your practical skills as well. Plus, by working with Ashurst Advance, you get to learn from the best in the business and enjoy the advantages that come with working for an industry leading firm.