Our Team // Annika Childs
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 Annika Childs, one of our Commercial lawyers.
Tell us a little bit about yourself
I have just come back to work part time after a period of maternity leave following the birth of my first child. After the last couple of years, I am feeling very excited and grateful to be back at work with such supportive people and interesting clients. I’d like to say I am a pretty chilled out person, but my friends and family would probably tell you that I can be quite pedantic (not in a good way!). Suffice to say having a baby has been a huge learning curve for me, and has made me a more patient, and hopefully balanced person.
Tell us about your career journey so far and what led you to Law Squared
I started my legal career as a paralegal for two criminal defence lawyers in the CBD while completing my JD. This was a fantastic foundation, as I learned the importance of client relationships, file and court preparation and was able to be very involved in cases from the initial consultation to the end result. Once admitted to practice, I worked at a generalist law practice in Brunswick. I gained experience working in a variety of different legal practice areas; from wills and probate to motor vehicle accidents, building and construction, business sales/purchases, commercial agreements, criminal matter, intervention orders and fencing disputes. I enjoyed working in this dynamic environment and learned so much from the diverse work I did every day.
I was interested in practising solely commercial law but couldn’t see myself working at a traditional law firm where I couldn’t be as client facing as I wanted to be. An opportunity at Law Squared opened up at the ideal time, and the firms values perfectly align with how I want to practice as a lawyer and how I want to live generally! I started at Law Squared in October 2020 and have been a happy Law Squared-ite ever since.
Annika joined Law Squared’s commercial team in October 2020.
Tell us about some of the clients you work with and the type of work you do at Law Squared
I work in the commercial team where our main priority is to balance the legal aspects of our client’s business with their commercial goals. I’m passionate about providing a legal service that isn’t stuffy and that actually addresses our client’s legal concerns in the context of their business as a whole. I don’t think legal should sit outside of or above our client’s business, but that we should be engaged with and connected to our clients in order to provide the best legal support. My work consists of a combination of ad hoc clients and our LSaaS clients. I enjoy preparing meaty transactional documents for our clients for use in their day-to-day business, such as Terms and Conditions, Service Agreement, IP Licenses and Non-Disclosure Agreements. Equally, when working for our LSaaS clients, getting embedded into our client’s business is really satisfying.
Tell us about the Law Squared difference. What makes Law Squared standout from the traditional law firms around the country and the world?
Where to start! For me, the main point of difference is the genuine relationships we create with our clients externally, and how this informs all the ways we work internally. Our value-based pricing method, lack of hierarchy and cluster model all contribute to a better work environment, better mental health and ultimately a better output of work for our clients. Hopefully our clients feel the difference in engaging happy lawyers, because it is truly felt on the inside between our team.
Outside of work, what do you love to do, and where would we find you?
My family, friends and dog keep me pretty busy! I am a foodie (and married to a chef), so we love to entertain at home. To me there is nothing better than a meal shared with loved ones. At the moment I am riding the different waves and growth spurts of a newborn so that keeps me on my toes. When I’m not at work, I’ll probably be at the Zoo or Gymbaroo or a baby music class. We are also avid campers and try to load up the 4wd and head off most weekends (weather and restrictions permitting).