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Dear fOllOwers As we approach year end, it’s a good time to reflect on the last 12 months of O Shaped. Connecting different parts of the legal system is at the heart of what we do and it’s genuinely been a joy to work with and speak to so many amazing people across all corners of the profession. It is, and always will be, about the people. That is O Shaped in a nutshell! Here is a look at some of our highlights of 2023 using the 5 Os mindset as the framework (of course)! Open - Formalising our partnership with Dentons who joined Browne Jacobson as O Shaped’s law firm partners. This was such a significant step forward for both of us and has been an incredible experience for both of us already. Dentons have shown a genuine (and indeed rare) willingness and openness to lead change across the sector. Expect big things from this partnership in 2024. Opportunity - We continue to look for new opportunities to share the O Shaped message and garner support across the legal industry. This year we have sprinkled O Shaped magic dust at several industry conferences and roundtables including Legal Geek, The Economist, The Lawyer, Thomson Reuters, and many more. In doing so, we have reached thousands of people with our messaging this year. My Linked In posts alone have been viewed by nearly 750,000 people and the O Shaped LinkedIn page has gained almost 2000 new followers. Original - Without doubt, the standout highlight of the year was the O List. We were blown away by the interest it generated and to receive over 170 nominations highlighting all of the amazing people across the industry, massively exceeded our expectations. Once again, congratulations to the 25 O Listers who were selected (blind) by our panel of General Counsel judges and a member of our Future Board to become our inaugural O List for 2024. Ownership - General Counsel and their teams continue to be the foundation for O Shaped and we have been lucky enough to meet with and work with some of the most progressively-minded legal functions in the globe. They have the ability to drive change across the industry and in many cases they have owned it! Lots of in house teams have been in touch to understand how they can embed O Shaped in their teams and how best to highlight its importance to the law firms they work with. More on that below. Optimism - Our partners across the legal ecosystem make us proud and give us cause to be optimistic about the future of the legal profession. Check out our new website page where we highlight the work we are doing with our brilliant partners at BARBRI, BPP, Browne Jacobson, COLP, Damar, Dentons and the Scottish Law Society. In total, over 400 people have engaged in O Shaped through programmes at our partners in legal education this year. This is set to increase significantly in 2024 as changes in the legal education system become more embedded. I sometimes have to pinch myself to make sure this is all happening. It would not be possible without all your support. Particular thanks to our Steering Board and Future Board, Chaired by the wonderful Catherine Baker and Katie Barker who keep the O Shaped (fortunately) wheels turning! And finally, thank you to everyone who helps keep the O Shaped vision of “a world where ‘people first’ really matters” alive and well. Enjoy the Oracle.
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