Our Team // Alexandra Geelan
Get to know the team behind the brand. We’re sitting down with members of our team to learn more about their role at Law Squared, their personal pursuits, and what makes them a Law Squared-ite!
This week, you get to meet Alexandra Geelan, one of our Commercial lawyers.
Tell us a little bit about yourself
Hi I’m Alexandra and I’m a commercial lawyer, traveller, reader, crafter, feminist, fiancée to my long-term partner and dog-mum to two beautiful dogs. I’m passionate about mental health, gender equality and innovation in legal practice.
I’m from Brisbane but last year, my fiancée and I made the decision to relocate to London, where I’ve been working remotely since September 2021. This has enabled us to travel so much more and I’ve spent weeks working remotely for our clients from around Europe including France, Italy and around the UK.
Tell us about your career journey so far and what led you to Law Squared
I’ve known that I wanted to be a lawyer since about grade 7, so I didn’t waste any time in making that happen! I went straight to Bond University after high school and, thanks to their accelerated degrees, was one of the youngest lawyers admitted in Queensland at 20 years old.
It took me a little while to find my “home” in the law. Following my admission, I spent a few years in a suburban law firm doing whatever came through the door: wills + estates, family law, conveyancing, small business sales. I struggled with the emotional toll of “personal law” so, when an opportunity came up to move into commercial law, I jumped at it and spent a few years doing international commercial law, dispute resolution and commercial property before joining Law Squared 4 years ago.
I was drawn to Law Squared’s choose-your-own-adventure approach. I loved the direct client interaction and relationship building when I was in suburban practice and really missed it when I moved into larger, international commercial work. I knew it would be almost 10+ years until I was given direct client and matter management in traditional practice and I was keen to get started sooner. Law Squared gave me that from day one!
Alexandra joined Law Squared’s commercial team in 2018.
Tell us about some of the clients you work with and the type of work you do at Law Squared
I work predominately with Law Squared’s LSaaS clients, which means that I work as an outsourced in-house counsel for a range of fantastic clients in different industries like Geoscape Australia, Bosch, Future Super, Youi Insurance, Future Super, Coviu and InnoWell. This also means that there is a huge variety in the work that I do on a day-to-day basis. The majority of my work is drafting or reviewing commercial agreements, but I also get to provide advice and guidance, draft internal policy documents, run staff training, overhaul contract frameworks and templates and manage third party contract negotiations.
I really get the best of both worlds: the chance to build deep relationships and be embedded in business as in-house counsel with the variety of private practice.
My “speciality” is technology which means I’ve developed a deep understanding of how the law applies to new and innovative technologies and software. I’ve been fortunate to work with many amazing tech companies and each time I do, I get a little more understanding of what makes technology “tick” and how ourclients can grow their business in a way that is responsive to an ever-changing legal and regulatory landscape.
Tell us about the Law Squared difference. What makes Law Squared standout from the traditional law firms around the country and the world?
First, Law Squared allows its lawyers to create the roles that they want. We work together at a team and firm level to ensure that our personal and professional goals are aligned and are encouraged to forge our own path within Law Squared, rather than ticking boxes or climbing rungs on a pre-determined ladder. My recent relocation to London is the perfect example of this: our move was prompted by a personal desire, but Demetrio and my team have backed me every step of the way. That doesn’t mean it is not without challenges, but we’re all committed to making it work!
Secondly, our flat structure fosters a culture of true collaboration, not competition. We’re not competing for a limited number of spots at the top, so we can focus on delivering exceptional client services while supporting each of our team to achieve their personal goals. There is no hoarding of clients or opportunities or competition to achieve individual targets. We share work, clients and opportunities across the team and are genuinely interested in ensure the best outcome for our clients and lawyers, rather than the best outcome for ourselves only (but spoiler alert: they’re the same thing!).
Outside of work, what do you love to do, and where would we find you?
I love to travel, whether it’s bigger, international trips or day-trip adventures around my local area. Most weekends, we load the car up with our two beautiful dogs, Sam and Pepper, and a ton of snacks and drive out to a new area to explore through long walks. We’re also just exploring all that London has to offer and making the most of being so close to so many amazing museums, shows, parks and restaurants.
Otherwise, I love cooking and baking delicious vegetarian food and reading – I usually have about 5 books on the go at any one time!