The Aitken Partners principal calls on the legal profession to respond to the arrival of AI
Alister Bayston believes that becoming a lawyer was “fate” for him. Not only were his father, sister and brother-in-law lawyers, he went on to marry one in his fellow Aitken Partners principal lawyer Leisa. He and Leisa launched and ran their own law firm, Bayston Group Business Law, before they made the move to Aitken Partners – an experience that has given Alister a love for seeing businesses thrive.
In this February interview, Alister shares why lawyers need to be listeners, and the downside of having AI record information.
What made you choose a career in law, and what's your favourite part of the job?
There were too many lawyers in my family to NOT become one: father/sister/brother-in-law and my wife, so it was fate. As a business owner myself, I love to see businesses thrive, and in providing legal services, it's about removing blockers and opening up opportunities for our clients.
What in your opinion has been the most memorable event of your career to date?
Starting my own law firm in 2007 was a very proud moment and one that enabled us to reimagine how legal services are provided. As a sophisticated user of legal services I understood how not to do it and what clients want from a lawyer.
What’s the biggest lesson you learned in your career and what advice can you give fellow lawyers about it?
Lawyers too often get caught up in process, but businesses are about outcomes. Clients like to talk, so ask your client what that outcome needs to be, listen carefully and work out how to get them there. It sounds trite, but if you're talking, you're not listening.
What should the profession focus more on?
We need to demonstrate the value we bring to clients' needs. In commercial law, if we've done a stellar job (such as with a contract), the client might never know unless things go pear shaped. We have to make our peace with that but there's advocacy required to help clients understand how what we do has solved their problem.
What challenges are particularly pressing in the country’s legal industry?
Undeniably the arrival of artificial intelligence or advanced machine learning requires a response. Even if lawyers intend to step back and observe, we already have this early-stage technology attending meetings through AI assistants and integrated web tools such as Microsoft's Copilot. Clients and other parties bring their own technology into our interactions beyond our control.
These tools may record, summarise and distribute information with high risk of confidence breaches, distortion or loss of privilege.
What are your thoughts on new technology and its impact on the legal profession?
Technology has always been an enabler, whether it was word processing, email or digital signing. Like fire, it's a great servant but a poor master. The technology does not wait for regulation or wait for an ethical framework. We must ensure that the technology we use is reliable and helps lawyers discharge their duties to the law, the courts and the clients.
What are you looking forward to the most in the coming year?
I’m really excited to have joined Aitken Partners and solving client problems with new colleagues is my whole focus for 2025.
If you could relive one day in your life, which day would it be and why?
That time when you turned up to the lolly counter at a milk bar in the 1970s with twenty cents and the business owner took the time to painstakingly curate a little white paper bag of lollies to your specification and budget. Do I need to explain why?
