John Graham | Enterprise Account Executive

 

What is your favourite memory from your time with us?

The amazing friends I made from London and around the world!

Share a piece of advice from a lecturer or classmate that has stayed with you?

Coming from a history degree, it took me some time to realise that legal drafting needs to be succinct. One piece of advice that stuck with me was to always focus on giving a clear and concise answer. Early on, it is easy to overcomplicate things or hide behind technical language, but in practice, clients and colleagues value clarity above all else. Being able to say “this is the answer, and here is why” with confidence, and in as few words as possible, is a skill that becomes more important the longer you work in law.

What has been the best development in your field since you qualified?

This is probably an obvious answer given my role at a legal AI company, but it’s hard to deny that legal AI is fundamentally changing how lawyers work. The two biggest impacts I’ve seen are, first, the confidence it gives junior lawyers. Early in your career, it can feel difficult to constantly interrupt senior lawyers with questions, especially in fast-paced firms where everyone is busy. Having an intelligent, reliable resource to sense-check your thinking, whether for legal research or deal workflow, is a huge shift. Second, it’s transforming efficiency. Lawyers are able to move faster and focus more on high-value work. For the first time, legal technology (and specifically legal AI) has become a "need to have" instead of a "nice to have".

And the worst....?

One of the more noticeable challenges over the past few years has been the shift in how junior lawyers are trained. It is not a single rapid change, but rather the result of several factors coming together. Market pressures, advancements in technology, and increasing client expectations around speed and cost have all had an impact. Combined with the billable hour model, this has made it more difficult for junior lawyers to receive consistent, meaningful mentorship from senior lawyers. Fee earners are expected to produce more revenue than ever and are measured closely against billable targets. At the same time, there is often limited recognition or incentive for the time spent training and supporting junior colleagues. In practice, every hour a senior lawyer spends mentoring is an hour they need to make up elsewhere. The result is that, while expectations on junior lawyers continue to increase, the structured guidance that helps build confidence and judgement can be harder to access than it should be.

If you could bring in one new piece of legislation in your sector, what would it be and why?

I think governments globally need to move faster to protect young people from the impact of social media. We are starting to see steps in the right direction. Australia has taken action, and countries like Canada are actively discussing similar measures, but progress needs to accelerate. Clearer age-based protections and stronger accountability for platforms would be a meaningful step. It is an area where the law needs to catch up quickly with the reality of how people, especially young people, are using technology.

What advice would you give to someone starting the course you studied?

If possible, spend time outside of academics before starting law school. Travel, work, and get real life experience. Seeing more of the world gives you context for what you are studying, and having worked, even in roles completely unrelated to law, makes a big difference. Whether it is in a restaurant, a bank, or anywhere in between, you build discipline and perspective that make law school much more manageable and meaningful.

How did your course prepare you for your career?

The most valuable part of my degree was learning from practitioners. They did not get too caught up in theory. They focused on how the law actually works in practice. That practical approach made it much easier to understand the material and transition into a role in a law firm. It gave me a clearer sense of how things operate day to day, not just how they are taught in textbooks.

Tell us something people may be surprised to know about you…

I left a role at a major Canadian law firm to join Spellbook, a legal AI company. For some lawyers, that might seem like an unconventional or even risky move, but it has been one of the best decisions I have made. It has been an exciting opportunity to be part of a company that is actively shaping how the legal industry evolves.