In this video Katie Rosser interviews Paul Fontanot, Partner and National Practice Group Leader, Forensics & Technology’s at Clayton Utz.
Paul is the most recent winner of the FT Innovative Lawyers Awards 2023, New Legal Professional award.
Katie invited Paul to be interviewed after hearing his unique career story which sits at the centre of much of the change and transformation happening in the legal sector.
Despite the title of his recent award, Paul is not, nor has ever been a lawyer. He is a chartered accountant who has specialised in technology and forensics.
Clayton Utz inviting Paul into their business six years ago is not a new concept. Many legal firms have broadened their service offerings to cover a variety of consulting services (including Cyber, ESG, Risk Advisory, Data) and are becoming multi-service with the Big 4 firms also offering legal services – all of this to meet increasing client demands.
What is really interesting about Paul’s story is that he is a full equity Partner.
We were interested in his journey to become a partner and in this conversation, Paul talks us through the steps Clayton Utz took to take to make it possible. In fact, at one point he was told, “it’s impossible Paul”. This interview provides a ‘how to’ for anyone else interested in taking a similar career journey.
Given many of our network hope for the day BDMC professionals are made Partner in the Australian legal industry, we also asked Paul’s view on what would need to happen for this to become a reality.
We thank Paul for his generosity in sharing his story.