Browne Jacobson and O Shaped: Three years of transforming legal relationships

2025 marks three years since Browne Jacobson partnered with O Shaped, and it's been a journey full of lessons and milestones. Mark Hickson, Head of Business Development at Browne Jacobson, reflects on what adopting an O Shaped mindset has brought to the firm.

What is O Shaped?

Founded by former Network Rail General Counsel Dan Kayne, O Shaped set out with a clear mission: to make the legal industry better for those in it, those who use it and those entering it by closing the gap between law and business. In 2022, Browne Jacobson became the first law firm to partner with this innovative organisation.

A natural alignment of values

The firm recognised something special in Dan's mission, with senior leadership backing the adoption of the O Shaped framework from the outset. "The values and purpose of O Shaped really resonate with our firm strategy," explains Richard Medd, Managing Partner at Browne Jacobson. "We have built a very collaborative culture, understanding the benefits it brings to our clients, our people, and our work."

Embedding the O Shaped principles

Rather than treating this as a tick-box exercise, Browne Jacobson has integrated O Shaped principles throughout its operations:

• The internal 'Advance to O' training programme provides practical resources and guides for adopting the O Shaped mindset, building collaborative relationships and creating value for clients.
• The firm's recruitment process now incorporates an O Shaped toolkit, ensuring interviewers embody these values when meeting candidates and evaluate new colleagues based on mindset and behavioural skills alongside technical ability.
• O Shaped principles are woven into conferences, events and programmes hosted by the firm.
• The firm's people have been recognised in the annual O List – celebrating those who go above and beyond their day job to put 'people first' and demonstrate the O Shaped mindset.

The impact on individuals has been significant. As Alice Smith, Trainee Solicitor at Browne Jacobson, explains:

Building genuine connections and transforming client relationships

Since 2023, Browne Jacobson has conducted 23 workshops with current and potential clients interested in embedding the O Shaped approach. These sessions focus on core mindsets and attributes, including building relationships, creating value, being adaptable, and ethical decision-making – principles vital for success in any business. Each workshop is tailored to address specific priorities and circumstances, scaling from teams of four to forty.

The firm has conducted workshops with DPD, the Government Legal Department, Mace, Welsh Government, PZ Cussons, and many others. As Kevin Massie, then-General Counsel and Company Secretary at PZ Cussons, put it: "It has really driven the relationship to the next level."

Partners and leaders from across Browne Jacobson actively participate alongside clients, creating a genuine learning environment where knowledge is shared in both directions. For example, leaders from their public sector teams joined an O Shaped value creation workshop with 35 members of the Department for Transport's in-house legal team.

Creating a platform where the firm can have these open, honest conversations with clients has revealed the extent of the gap between clients and law firms that O Shaped and Browne Jacobson are working to close. By genuinely understanding client challenges, the firm can work collaboratively to solve problems rather than simply provide technical advice, building authentic partnerships instead of mere transactional relationships.

Leadership development

The partnership has created opportunities beyond initial workshops. Last year, the firm launched the Ascensus leadership programme – a two-day course designed for General Counsel and heads of in-house departments navigating today's increasingly complex legal landscape.

The programme has featured prominent O Shaped faculty members, including Dan Kayne; Carrie Fletcher (Leadership Consultant and Affiliate Instructor at Harvard Law School); Alexis Caught (Mental Health, Leadership and Strategy Consultant); and Cath Bishop (Olympian, Former Diplomat, Leadership Coach, and Author of The Long Win, an FT Top 10 Business Book).

Building a collaborative ecosystem

From the outset, Browne Jacobson's vision has been to be at the centre of an ecosystem where the O Shaped principles flow through all relationships, whether with suppliers, clients or colleagues, ensuring every interaction adds value.

Perhaps most telling in a traditionally competitive field is how Browne Jacobson now leads initiatives to work alongside other law firms, bringing together different practices on a client’s legal panel to work collectively on creating value, rather than competing for work. This transformation of competitive relationships into client-centric collaborative partnerships perfectly embodies the O Shaped vision for the future of legal practice.

As they move beyond the three-year milestone, the partnership between Browne Jacobson and O Shaped stands as evidence that meaningful change is possible in the legal profession when human connection becomes the priority.