Charlie Platt, Partner, WilmerHale

What are some of your proudest recent achievements? Serving as partner-in-charge of WilmerHale's New York office for eight years, and strengthening our sense of community, teamwork, and shared purpose, was an achievement that gave me great satisfaction. We increased our collaboration in developing new business, expanded our external presence in the legal and pro-bono community, recruited and integrated some exciting young partners, imagined creative new ways to use our office space more efficiently, and materially reduced some of our overhead costs. Most importantly, we transitioned this year to a new head of the office who is even more dynamic, and has a strong vision of how to continue to improve the office for the next eight years. So there is more to come that is even better.

What does it mean to be a leader? Being a leader of a law firm office means the ability to identify and maximize the strengths and contributions of every person in the office, while minimizing the impediments to achieving that goal.

Being leader also means identifying issues that have to be addressed collaboratively and building consensus in the office for solutions.

And being a leader means embracing change, and building a culture where everyone in the office sees change positively as providing opportunity.

Name a lawyer or mentor whose leadership inspired you. Fred Lacey was a senior lawyer who inspired me when I first became a partner, and helped me transition to taking full command of cases and my career. His wisdom and judgment as a former U.S. Attorney and federal judge, and as a Special Prosecutor for the Department of Justice, were extraordinary models that I still try to follow every day.

How are the business and profession of law changing, and how should lawyers adapt for the future? Artificial intelligence will fundamentally change how lawyers gather facts, research the law, write briefs, and analyze cases qualitatively and quantitatively. While reducing or even eliminating many lawyer functions, AI will also place a significant premium on lawyers with creativity and imagination, and on firms that constantly innovate through technology.

Pressure to add value for clients will require lawyers to not only offer services that solve legal problems, but that also help clients monetize legal problems for competitive advantage.

What is the best advice for someone considering a career in law, or someone already in the profession who is seeking to make a greater impact? Be ready for disruption in our profession, and always be looking ahead for ways to participate in or take advantage of the benefits that will come. See the law as a profession that can be extraordinarily stimulating not only as a wonderful intellectual pursuit, but also as a rapidly evolving business that can be be greatly enhanced by thoughtful change.