The legal profession needs diversity and inclusion, the Duncan Cotterill partner says
While their application evolves and changes, Kieran O'Connell believes that core principles of the law - integrity, competency and respect - don't change. The world needs a legal profession that is diverse and inclusive, representing broader society, and that is focused on looking out not just for lawyers, but for others too.
In the second half of this December 2024 interview, the Duncan Cotterill discusses AI's impact on IP law and expanding the firm's trade mark presence.
What is going on at the firm?
Duncan Cotterill is in an exciting growth phase, especially in the trade marks space. The team has been expanding its trade marks capacity to better support clients and meet the growing demand both locally and internationally. It’s a great time to join – I came on board with Jonathan Aumonier-Ward and Damian Broadley who I have worked with previously for many years, and we’ve joined an outstanding, well-established team that includes talented colleagues like Katy Rostovitch, Michael Moyes and Peter Fernando. The Duncan Cotterill IP team offers significant trade marks experience backed by the resources and expertise of a full-service law firm.
What should the profession focus more on?
I recently completed the Stepping Up course and I found it to be a good reminder of some of the fundamentals of the profession, and the responsibilities to our clients, our communities, and each other as lawyers. The core principles don’t change, like integrity, competency and respect. Their application needs to keep evolving and adapting as society evolves and adapts.
We need to adapt to client expectations around technology and access to information. We need a diverse and inclusive profession that is representative of broader society. We need to make sure we create environments that look out for our colleagues and where we can look after ourselves.
What challenges do you expect in your practice, and in the business of law in general, going forward? What challenges are particularly pressing in the country’s legal industry?
The rise of AI is only going to bring more challenges in the intellectual property space. Technology has already made counterfeiting easier, and AI is making it worse. AI can quickly generate fake products, logos, and designs that are hard to tell apart from the real thing, and it can be generated cheaply, making it harder to monitor and enforce IP rights. On top of that, and more broadly, our ability to distinguish truth from fabricated information is going to become much more difficult and this will have implications on research and case analysis.
What are you looking forward to the most in the coming year?
I am really excited about the opportunity here at Duncan Cotterill - growing my practice and expanding the trade mark team’s reach. What makes it even more exciting is working alongside old and new colleagues and friends.
