Testimonials

Michael Takeuchi (then Google APAC General Counsel)

“I work for one of the most innovative companies in the world and belong to a cutting-edge legal department.  When Peter approached me about his T-Shaped Lawyer Program, I was skeptical---I thought what could he really teach that my team didn’t already know? I was wrong. Peter’s workshop motivated us to look at our in-house practice from a completely different perspective. We came out of there with a radically different mindset---we went from a very legal department centric approach to one where we can truly partner with the business and have more of an impact. How? Peter will challenge your current thinking and way of working. He will give you concepts, specific guidance and practical tools to evaluate what is important and to decide what work you should be doing and how to do it. Don’t judge his program by his marketing materials--they don't accurately convey how much you can gain from his unique insights and inspiring vision. Take a leap of faith and take your team to the next level. You will not be disappointed.”

Lesley Power (then SBS General Counsel)

“Peter Connor’s dynamic two-day workshop has helped me to see the practice of law from a completely new perspective. The program is unique in my experience, covering non-traditional skills and providing an end-to-end framework for in-house legal teams to use to approach innovation and change. It was brilliant to work with Peter who shared his broad and global experience and helped us workshop new approaches to working with SBS to achieve its  goals. I came away energised and inspired, with lots of new ideas and a very specific set of action items to implement changes to the way we work.”

Penny Koo (APAC General Counsel AIA Insurance)

“Guided by Peter Connor’s “T-shaped Lawyer” concept, I leverage targeted training to ensure that my team members’ horizons are continuously expanded, to empower them to become well-versed in other domains beyond insurance law. This enables them to better collaborate with other specialists from other disciplines and functions and contribute to facilitating business operations.”

Fiona Phillips (then APAC General Counsel HSBC)

“At a time when in-house legal teams are struggling to make sense of the changes happening in the workplace, the legal industry and with technology in general, there is no other provider in the market who offers an innovation workshop tailored for their needs. Peter took our senior leaders on a 2-day change journey, exploring the factors, external and internal, which are affecting us, testing us to explore our long-term vision and helping us come together to draft a tailored transformation plan. The fact that Peter has so much experience being a general counsel meant he understands his audience deeply and his content demystifies the world of legal innovation and legal tech for everyone. As a Fintech lawyer myself, some of the ideas in Peter’s workshop were familiar to me, but I got enormous value from putting all these concepts into a structure to help me organize my thinking and plan how to innovate.”

Xi Zhang (then PRC General Counsel for Bayer Pharmaceuticals)

“I once attended Peter’s “Innovation Workshop for Lawyers” in Hong Kong and felt immediately this is something that my senior lawyers team needs. We engaged Peter for a two-day workshop subsequently and Peter’s rich in-house experience and his systematic design of the workshop smartly addressed all the key challenges of my team, it is very relevant, and we feel he is helping us to get out of the daily operational challenges and head to a strategic empowering plan. Peter’s workshop was not only interactive and energizing, but he is also culturally sensitive and knows how to engage a group of senior lawyers, e.g. shared with us his own personal experience and challenges. His coaching and facilitating skills are impressive and he made his workshop  a lot of fun and laughs. I am glad our legal team’s innovation journey crossed our way with Peter and he inspired us to reach to the next level of our mindset and way of thinking.”

Jodi Fullerton-Healey (then ANZ General Counsel)

“Having run leadership team offsites for many years – it can be a challenge to come up with something new and inspiring. With all the change going on around us in the industry and with technology, we knew we had to change, and we wanted to be proactive not reactive in doing so. We engaged Peter to help us develop a deeper understanding of the trends in and innovation taking place in the legal industry and to help us understand why we should change and how we could go about making a plan to change. Peter helped us to look at things differently and to challenge the way, what and how we work. Peter provided concrete tools and examples of ways we can become more effective, add more value to our business stakeholders and enhance collaboration.  Having a facilitator who has held senior Legal and business roles meant that Peter was able to provide credible and useful insights. The leadership team came away feeling revitalised, ready to take on new challenges, and equipped to determine what changes we need to make to the way we work and how to go about it.  Peter showed us the true value of not just being a business partner but also being a business leader and the importance of thinking beyond the law to achieve this. Thank you, Peter – I have had great feedback from every member of the leadership team on the benefits they received from the two-day session.”

Michael Ting (ManuLife General Counsel Hong Kong)

“The T-Shaped Team Bootcamp serves as an inspiring and precious learning opportunity for our legal and compliance team. It challenges our conventional thinking, urging us to explore beyond the ordinary, unlearn and re-learn for the requisites for success. Rather than defining, or confining, ourselves to mere legal/compliance expertise and work, Peter’s advocacy on a holistic and business-person perspective is truly a timely and thought-provoking ask. The 2-day intensive learning introduces a wide spectrum of practical concepts applicable to daily life, emphasising adaptability and embracing change. Interactive activities, including case studies and team discussions, blend entertainment with learning. We wholeheartedly recommend Peter Connor for those aspiring to become versatile business professionals, who don’t only ask for change, but are willing to change and to lead it.”

Speaking Engagements

  • Munich - ACC Annual Europe Conference in 2015 on 'Innovation in Legal practice".

    Hong Kong - Innovation for Lawyers 2017

    Munich - Innovation for Lawyers 2018

  • Portugal - ACC Europe Annual Conference 2017 on 'Career diversity and the skills necessary to 'reinvent' yourself"

    Singapore - General Counsel Summit in 2018 on the topic of 'The T-Shaped Lawyer - new skills for new roles in new times'

  • Hong Kong - In-House Community Legal Tech and Innovation symposium in 2017 on the topic of 'Will law firms become software companies'

    New Zealand - 2017 ILANZ Conference - the annual New Zealand in-house lawyers event on 'Software is Eating the World - the implications for in-house lawyers'

    Singapore - Inhouse Community Legal InnoTech Forum in 2018 on 'Will Law firms become software companies"

    Sydney - Legal Buying Council - Legal Procurement event in 2021 in Sydney on the topic of 'Procuring Technology and other non-legal services"

  • Sydney - ACC Session in 2017 on 'The New Normal Snapshot' - an update on trends in the legal industry and the implications for in-house lawyers

    Hong Kong - Keynote speech on "The Evolution of the In-House Legal Function" at the In-house Community Annual Congress in 2017

    Beijing - In-House Community Annual Congress in China 2018 on 'The T-shaped Lawyer - the evolution of the in-house lawyer"

    Dubai - In-House Community Congress in 2019 on the topic of ‘Where to now for In-house Counsel?”

    London - Barclays Legal Department Conference 2019 Keynote on 'The Professional of the Future'

    Madrid - Santander Legal Department Global Legal Days Conference 2019 Keynote on ' The T-Shaped Lawyer and T-Shaped Legal Team as the Future available now'

    Sydney - Minter Ellison Talent(HR) Conference 2022 keynote on ' The Future of Work for law firms and legal departments"

    Tennessee - 2024 Presentation to the International Future of Law Association Annual Meeting at Vandervelt University Tennessee on ' Human Transformation is the key to the Future of Law'

  • Sydney & Melbourne - KPMG Catalyst events in 2018 on 'Transforming Legal Departments'

    Malaysia - Being MC at the General Counsel Summit in Kuala Lumpur 2019 conference and speaking on “Transformation Traps- lessons learned from helping in-house legal teams innovate and change’

    Sydney - Legal Innovation Tech Fest 2020 on 'Human Transformation for lawyers; Why it is so much more important than Digital Transformation"

  • U.S - In-house Connect 2024 webinar on 'The T-Shaped Lawyer - the what, the why and the how"

    Sydney - NSW Law Society 2024 recorded interview with Brett McGrath, the President, on 'The T-Shaped Lawyer"

    Australia - Association of Corporate Counsel Australia 2024 recorded video interview with MD Chris OCallaghan on 'Being a T-Shaped Lawyer is what More Than A Lawyer (the ACC Australia tagline) means'

    Chile - Presentation in June 2024 to the Abogadas In-house Chile on the T-Shaped Lawyer and Framework

    Europe - Association of Corporate Counsel Europe 2024 - Webinar on " Being a T-Shaped Lawyer is what Beyond Legal (the ACC Europe Conference tagline) means'

    Sydney - Technology and Innovation Conference 2024 on 'The T-Shaped Lawyer: How it will make the biggest difference in your career"

    Sydney - Law Ninjas Next Generation GC Event 2024 - on 'How to Thrive, not just Survive: The T-Shaped Lawyer and T-Shaped Lawyer Framework"

    Sydney - Thomson ReutersNext Gen Leaders Summit 2024 on "The T-Shaped Legal Leader"

    Germany - Presentation in July 2024 to the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Recht und Informatik on the T-Shaped Lawyer

    Shanghai - SIPAC Annual Conference November 2024 - Keynote speech on ' A Tale of Two Lawyers: How T-Shaped Lawyers engage more effectively with the business" and related workshops

  • Brisbane - IACCM ( International Association of Commercial Contracts Managers) Annual meeting in 2018 on 'The T-shaped Contracts Professional'

    Hong Kong - Judging In-House Community Awards and presenting at their gala dinner in 2019