A Brown Belt in Social Purpose: Matthew Karakoulakis of AMK Law (ep 56)

Today’s guest on Doing Law Differently is commercial and litigation lawyer Matthew Karakoulakis. He is the Principal Solicitor at AMK Law, an Indigenous-owned law firm with a strong social purpose. As it often goes on DLD, our conversation runs the full gamut of law – inside and out – from technological innovations to how Matthew applies his brown belt in Jiu Jitsu to the practice of law.  As Matthew explains, he comes from a working class, part-Aboriginal and part-Greek background and it’s very much through that experience that he’s found his purpose in law. He knows first-hand the complex problems that Indigenous people face to this day when it comes to access to justice, human rights and systemic issues and he’s working incredibly hard to close the gap.  “I want to be able to look back on my career and see that I’ve made an impact towards encouraging more indigenous commercial lawyers, better justice for the community and for indigenous businesses. That’s the vision and the purpose of the law firm.”  This purpose manifests itself in many ways: pro-bono work for indigenous businesses, low-cost online legal advice, workshops, mentoring, talks at universities about Black Lives Matter-related initiatives and ultimately being a role model to the communities he works with.   Like all forward-thinking 21st Century businesses, AMK has embraced technology to maximise efficiency but, more than that, to greatly increase access to justice for people who can’t afford traditional legal fees. Matthew says that one of the main differences between an Indigenous and a non-Indigenous business is the amount of capital they start with. The best example – which Matthew explains about halfway through the episode – is AMK’s low-cost, high-quality, online legal document templates that operates through a simple but thoroughly fleshed-out question and answer system.   “Throughout our client’s journey, how can we use technology to deliver excellent legal services in the most efficient manner possible and most cost-effectively so that we can serve our clients the way they really do deserve.”   If you know me at all, you know that I love systems, processes and checklists. I literally can’t get enough of them! But even more than that, I love a good analogy and that’s just what Matthew leaves us with in the form of a comparison between the Japanese concept of Kaizen (the art of continuous improvement) and owning a legal business. Listen to the last 10 minutes of the podcast for a rundown of how Japanese philosophy and martial arts have influenced Matthew’s sense of discipline, work ethic and leadership style.   What we cover in the episode:  * The continued plight of Indigenous people in modern Australia and how Matthew’s law firm is having a positive impact on the people and communities AMK works with. * Why we should harness all of our life experiences to be better lawyers and bring our authentic selves to the table. * How technology (and which technologies) can be used to streamline efficiency and create a better, fairer situation for clients.  Other quotes * “I think that we can always do better in whatever field of endeavor by being our authentic self.” * “Boost Legal Templates is really aimed at bringing cost effective, extremely quality driven legal products into the marketplace by enabling people to access quality legal documents almost instantaneously.” * “A lot of great organisations – law firms and other types of businesses as well – can have a greater impact and they get their biggest supporters when their social purpose is communicated very clearly.