Mei | May 2026 |
 |
The trick to swimming in the sea in all seasons is quite simple: you get in. You don't need to create a training schedule or even download an app. You could, of course, stand on the beach thinking about how cold it looks and wondering how others can seem so calm, or you can just keep moving until you're immersed. Everyone will have their own techniques for getting in or under, but essentially, you just do it. When collating this season's Juno Counsel, a thread emerged, as it often does. Just get in there. The Sharesies legal team are moving away from legal silos and towards embedding at a strategic level, asking 'how might we?' alongside the business. Juno Lawyer Carina Barnett dives into new engagements as if she's already part of the team, and AIA New Zealand shared what it was like having trusted support that could adapt alongside the team and keep things moving. And conversations from ILANZ and LawFest 26 pointed in a similar direction: the lawyers who'll be ready for what's coming are the ones already in the water, building, influencing, and experimenting today. Our upcoming Juno Learning Online CPD session on Monday 25 May with Peter Connor is all about getting further into the business as a T-Shaped Lawyer, contributing beyond legal advice. Dive in. |
|
-1.png?upscale=true&width=504&upscale=true&name=Sharesies%20legal%20team%20(2)-1.png) |
LEGAL TEAM OVERVIEW: SharesiesWinners of Private Sector In-house Team of the Year at the recent ILANZ Awards, the Sharesies legal team isn’t waiting to be invited into strategy conversations. We asked what’s changed, what’s working, and how their 'how might we?' mindset is shaping the business. "Our biggest impact is providing confidence for the business to be bold." |
|
FEATURE: Continuity through change, AIA New Zealand |
We chatted with AIA New Zealand Head of Legal Fiona Wong about navigating overlapping change, and how having Jen Hanton on board gave the team trusted support that could adapt as needs shifted, without losing continuity or momentum.
"As far as the business was concerned, she was another lawyer in our team." |
 |
|
TEAM INSIGHT: Carina Barnett |
 |
After 12 years in-house, Carina Barnett reached a crossroads familiar to many experienced lawyers. She chose to stretch. Three years into her time at Juno, she reflects on what drew her to the model and the value of human connection in legal work.
"My mindset is to support the organisation as if I'm a permanent member of the legal team." |
|
.png?upscale=true&width=480&upscale=true&name=Juno%20Learning%20Online%20CPD%20T-Shaped%20Lawyers%20(7).png)
JUNO LEARNING ONLINE CPD: T-Shaped Lawyers with Peter Connor86% of legal teams believe they’re a strategic contributor. Only 17% of the C-suite agrees. That gap is real and it’s closeable. Join us for a practical CPD session on what it takes to move beyond legal advice and become genuinely valuable to the business.
Presented by Peter Connor, the founder of T-Shaped Legal, drawing on 25 years as a General Counsel and a decade coaching in-house teams around the world. |
|
Juno at LawFest 26 - The age of the AI agent |
.jpg?upscale=true&width=308&upscale=true&name=Image%20(2).jpg) |
The conversation around AI is shifting fast from “Should lawyers use it?” to “What are we building with it?” LawFest 26 prompted some thoughtful conversations within our team. Juno Lawyer Gretchen Fraser has collated the practical ideas, experiments, and cautionary tales that stood out as legal teams move into the age of AI agents and asking: "What kind of lawyer do you want to be?" Read the Juno team's LawFest 26 takeaways |
|
Juno at ILANZ 2026: Taku Ahi Tūtata – Ignite |
 |
What role should in-house lawyers really play inside organisations and systems? Our team had a ball at ILANZ 2026 in Pōneke and it sparked a lot of reflection about influence, responsibility, and leadership. Juno Lawyer Mary Gordon collates the reflections and moments that stayed with our team afterwards: "We shape, we influence, and sometimes we're the only ones in the room who can see the spark before it becomes a fire.” |
|
JUNO SHARING: Clause BankOpen and Generous is one of our core values, and our public clause bank is an example of that in action. Part of our Juno Resources, it covers a range of the most common legal clauses when reviewing or preparing contracts.
|
|
 |
OFFICE HACK: Take a (Teams) sidebarTeams chats getting out of control? The desktop app lets you create custom sections and reorder chats and channels. To set it up: Make sure your chat list is sorted by “Custom” - Name your section (Clients, Projects, Internal, Urgent-this-week… whatever works) - Drag and drop chats or channels into place. A small tweak, but surprisingly helpful when you’re juggling lots of conversations and projects, aka Teams wack-a-mole. |
|
WHAT WE ARE READING
WHAT WE ARE QUIZZING
|
|
Brrr, it sure feels like autumn is on the cool down. There's nothing that warms us up more than connecting with people, so we'll leave you with this smiling snap of Nicole, Lisa and Philie in Ōtautahi. Ka kite anō, |
 |
 |
This was delivered to subscribers of Juno Communications, or a kind friend forwarded it to you. Subscriber details will be managed in line with our privacy policy. |
Juno is a leading provider of on-demand legal services actively supporting Aotearoa's in-house legal community. Get in touch today to discuss options for experienced in-house legal support on an interim basis, embedded within your team, or on a managed legal services basis.
Demand for Juno Lawyers continues to grow, and we’re inviting adaptable, high-calibre in-house lawyers who can embed quickly and build trust to join our team. You can learn more about joining Juno on our Join Us page |
|
 |