The firm was upfront with clients, he says. "We explained what was happening, and we explained what our response was. We took ownership."

There was better monitoring and less acceptance of assurances by staff about their wellbeing. And different pathways were created for those who felt under pressure, which is where the "people champions" come in.

There are now 53 employees "keeping their eyes and ears open to issues that might be emerging – either in a group context or on an individual basis", Mr Cox says.

Most are senior non-partners operating across all offices and practice areas, but it is not a formal appointment.

"There are issues that might emerge that are only able to be assessed by human contact rather than relying upon data such as timesheets." — Berkeley Cox, KWM chief executive partner in Australia

"The people champions know who they are,'' Mr Cox says. "I've met with the people champions in groups in all of the centres. We've talked about what the role might look like and how we might work together going forward."

They were already being used as a sounding board for initiatives, but the purpose was mainly preventative.


"There are issues that might emerge that are only able to be assessed by human contact ... rather than relying upon data such as timesheets."

Mr Cox says the firm was "saddened that it got to the point where someone felt they needed to make a complaint".

"I think the experience that we went through last year is a fabulous opportunity for us to think deeper and better about this for the long-term sustainability of the industry."

Across all industries

He believes the modern workplace has been part of the problem.

"There's a number of aspects of the way we work now which has reduced the opportunity for human-to-human interaction. This is across all industries."

He recalls that when he was a young lawyer, a master solicitor or supervisor would provide feedback on documents before they were sent to a client.

"We would usually take ownership of revising the document ...


"With advances in technology, now, a lot of people are submitting their documents to their supervisors electronically, their supervisors are marking those documents up electronically. And the opportunity for human-to-human interaction on a daily basis has been significantly reduced.

"Often the partners will revise the documents and then send them out. So it's become a less human workplace. That's the concern.

"We became more transactional, I think, in our relationship with our people."