Courage, compassion and cloud computing - one lawyer's journey through change

Summary

• The empathy advantage
• From server to cloud
• Competing with larger machines
• The Ferrari and the potholes
• The enduring powers problem
• The constant foundation

Originally published by NZ Lawyer. Republished with permission.

Some parents talk about the so-called “seven-month window” - that brief stretch between the sleepless chaos of the newborn months and the mayhem of full-blown toddler mobility, when a semblance of routine returns, feeds become predictable and, for the first time in a long while, a short holiday or a long lunch with friends starts to feel vaguely possible again.

Most people use this period to catch their breath. Bronwyn Hantz used it to become partner at a law firm.

She now describes it as one of the boldest moves of her career - a decision that demanded courage, and, she concedes, not knowing what she had signed up for. “One of the most pivotal moments in my career was stepping into partnership when my youngest child was seven months old,” recalled Hantz, a general practice lawyer at Auckland firm Daniel Overton Goulding. “It required clear communication, prioritisation and boundaries. Looking back, I was probably a bit naive, but it also took a lot of courage.”

The experience shaped her approach to leadership in lasting ways. Rather than adopting hierarchical structures, Hantz developed a style focused on pragmatic, inclusive decision-making that cuts through peripheral noise to concentrate on what truly matters for clients and colleagues alike.

The empathy advantage

Hantz describes herself as an empath, a trait that initially drew her to law and continues to inform her practice. After a brief stint in banking, she moved directly into suburban legal work, where she quickly realised the profession revolved less around rigid rules and more around building trust with clients during their most vulnerable moments.

"I've always been driven to help people at moments of vulnerability and change," Hantz said. "Early on in a suburban law practice, I realised that the law here isn't really about rules and processes. It was more about the relationships you could build and the trust that clients would place in their trusted advisor when the stakes were particularly high for them."

What continues to surprise her most is the breadth of intergenerational planning she encounters. Clients rarely arrive with single-issue problems. Instead, they bring entire spectrums of legal challenges spanning across generations.

"The community that we serve don't come to you with one single issue problem," Hantz explained. "They come with the whole spectrum of legal challenges and the intergenerational planning that you can assist a client with, which spans to their parents and maybe their children and the family business."

This pattern isn't new. Daniel Overton Goulding has operated for nearly 80 years, and Hantz regularly speaks with clients whose grandparents worked with the firm's founding partners. What has changed dramatically, however, is the technology supporting these enduring relationships.

From server to cloud

Until February 2025, Daniel Overton Goulding remained server-based without cloud infrastructure. While remote work was technically possible through a remote server, the practice wasn't fully embracing available technology. Then everything shifted.

"Since February, we have changed practice management systems," Hantz said. "We're completely cloud-based, completely mobile. You can do work anywhere and whenever. We've embraced Lexis+ AI with Protégé, and more recently, the LexisNexis Create+ product, [the advanced legal drafting tool that integrates with Microsoft 365]."

The transformation has been remarkable. Hantz regularly hears staff praising the tools, and the team has genuinely embraced rather than resisted the changes.

"I love hearing our staff talk about them, and I hear positive stuff all the time," Hantz said.

They also use Copilot extensively, valuing its secure integration within their systems.

For Hantz, the priority now centres on ensuring everyone uses these tools as efficiently as possible whilst maintaining appropriate checks and balances on output quality.

Competing with larger machines

The technology shift addresses a longstanding disadvantage faced by smaller firms. Previously, only large practices could afford extensive legal research teams. Now, tools like Lexis+ AI with Protégé provide equivalent research capabilities sourced from trusted legal libraries.

"We get to have that same large team of legal research by way of Lexis+ AI with Protégé," Hantz said. "It has really been a game changer for us, because we know that that information is coming from our library."

Trust was initially a barrier to adoption. Some lawyers hesitated, concerned they would spend equivalent time fact-checking AI outputs. However, when research tools draw from familiar, reliable legal libraries, verification becomes straightforward, and confidence grows.

"It 100% levels the playing field and allows us to feel confident to take on these bigger machines," Hantz said.

Across small to medium firms, AI adoption is widespread, though cost remains a factor particularly for the smallest practices. Yet everyone recognises necessity. Younger lawyers entering the profession already use AI tools, making it essential for established practitioners to develop equivalent competencies to maintain service quality.

The Ferrari and the potholes

Client expectations have evolved alongside technological capabilities. People now expect faster responses and increasingly question legal fees when they can ask Copilot basic legal questions themselves. This makes the relationship component more, not less, important.

"Clients expect faster responses," Hantz said. "They also want to know what your value is… they want to know why you are adding value and why you are charging what you are, and why you are required."

Her response emphasises experience and institutional knowledge. Whilst clients can access information through AI tools, they lack reference points for fact-checking and miss the broader understanding that prevents problems before they occur. Daniel Overton Goulding brings 80 years of accumulated wisdom about where things go wrong.

Hantz offers an analogy: previously, lawyers drove Toyota Corollas down pothole-filled roads. Experience taught them where all the hazards lay. Now AI provides a Ferrari, reaching destinations faster, but the potholes remain.

"The potholes still need navigating."

She believes AI and lawyers should work together. Clients often receive legally sound advice they cannot fully comprehend despite best efforts at plain language. AI can serve as a translation tool, helping people better understand what their lawyers are actually advising.

The enduring powers problem

One issue particularly concerns Hantz: an ageing population increasingly lacks access to preventive legal solutions. She regularly encounters people who become mentally incapable without enduring powers of attorney in place, often because they assumed they couldn't afford legal services.

Without appointed attorneys, families must apply to court for property managers or welfare guardians, a significantly more expensive and stressful process. Hantz has watched this scenario become increasingly prevalent over recent years.

Part of the solution involves making legal services more approachable. The profession has already evolved considerably from when visiting a lawyer required dressing formally for a major calendar event.

Hantz also advocates strongly for simplifying the enduring power of attorney documents themselves. She understands the protective intent behind current requirements but presents a practical concern about the documents themselves including their dense sections and number of questions that require consideration for elderly clients.

"If you're sitting in front of someone who has been confirmed mentally capable, but you are presenting them with questions on multiple pieces of paper and asking them to go through it all and confirm that they totally understand, it can feel overwhelming and becomes a really stressful event for them," Hantz said. " Ensuring meaningful access means delivering legal services that are clearer, slower-paced, and genuinely supportive, so elderly clients can make these important decisions with confidence—not fear or confusion “

The constant foundation

Despite technological acceleration, (Hantz has witnessed the shift from paper-based title transfers to instantaneous digital settlements), she maintains that legal service delivery fundamentally rests on unchanged ground.

"The base of which our whole profession is grounded on is people and relationships," Hantz said.

AI supports smarter workflows and flexibility, freeing bandwidth for relationship-building rather than administrative burden. While lawyers sometimes joke nervously about AI replacing their jobs, Hantz advocates a different perspective.

"I'm personally an advocate that it's not going to take over our jobs, but it's going to make us better at our jobs and [allow us to] have the bandwidth to spend time with clients on those relationships, rather than getting bogged down with all of the admin and the legalese," Hantz said. "It's definitely going to change the profession remarkably."

The message she regularly gives junior lawyers remains consistent: put yourself in the client's shoes. Understand what they're looking for. Build relationships and view problems through their lens.

Technology may accelerate delivery and expand research capabilities, but the core work of law remains profoundly human.

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Lexis^® Create+ – our breakthrough legal drafting solution seamlessly integrated into Microsoft Word 365. Designed to accelerate drafting, enhance quality and consistency and boost productivity, Lexis Create+ empowers lawyers to deliver powerful, personalised work with a competitive edge. Discover how Lexis Create+ transforms your legal workflow and book your Free Demo by submitting the form below.