Centre for Legal Innovation appoints Clayton Utz special counsel as inaugural Distinguished Fellow

Sydney, 23 January 2018: The College of Law^[1] 's Centre for Legal Innovation (CLI) has appointed Clayton Utz special counsel Samy Mansour as its first Distinguished Fellow.

Samy will be responsible for driving lawyer education and skills development in innovation, reflecting CLI's focus on supporting legal professionals as they navigate the disruption and new technologies transforming the industry. At a practical level, this will involve writing and publishing articles and blogs, delivering seminars and masterclasses, and developing education materials on innovation for legal professionals.

Established in 2016, the CLI is an innovation-focused think tank aimed at providing a platform for thought leadership, practical research and opportunities for collaboration in the legal profession.

A special counsel in the Clayton Utz national Corporate practice group - and a passionate advocate for the role of innovation in improving legal services and the client experience - Samy has played a key role in promoting Clayton Utz's Innovation Program. Samy is also among the firm's original Innovation Champions appointed in 2016, undertaking special training in science-based approaches to innovation and actively driving and promoting the firm's innovation initiatives.

Samy said his year-long appointment as CLI's Distinguished Fellow was an opportunity to share insights from his personal experiences and inspire others to consider how innovation could benefit their legal practice.

"A big part of successful innovation is about taking a calculated approach to risk-taking, failure and evaluation, before trying again," said Samy. "It's an approach that is embraced at Clayton Utz and it is one I'm hoping to inspire and encourage within the broader legal sector through my fellowship with the Centre for Legal Innovation."

Clayton Utz's Director of Innovation Brad Vann said Samy's appointment reflected his exceptional contributions to innovation at Clayton Utz and more broadly.

"Samy has a reputation within the CU Innovation Team as a thought leader and he is a mentor to many of our junior team members. His appointment reflects his passion and drive to see innovation become synonymous with the legal profession, and he will no doubt make an important and significant contribution." 

^[1]The College of Law is the school of professional practice for lawyers in Australia and New Zealand and the largest provider of practice-focused legal education in Australasia.^{Back to article}