What is it like to work at Legadex? We asked a few of our colleagues to describe themselves, what drives them and what they like about Legadex. Here, Robbert van den Reek shares his thoughts on why he chose to join us.
What gets you out of bed in the morning?
The variety and that each day is unpredictable. At the moment, I spend two to three days a week on-site at clients, and the rest of the time in our office, providing other legal services. My clients vary widely, from a big-name retailer to a listed logistics specialist to an investment management company. The type of work also varies, from helping with licensing to general legal support to entity management.
Your background?
I studied law at Leiden university, followed by a master’s in corporate law, also at Leiden. While I was doing that, I worked at Wolters Kluwer as a trainer and adviser in legal technology. Later I did a number of internships at some of the big law firms.
What brought you to Legadex?
Three things. First, while at Leiden I realised I was more interested in corporate law than going to work for one of the big law firms. Second, working at Wolters Kluwer made me think about how we can make legal work more efficient. But third, while I like thinking about systems and technology, I want to be a legal counsel first and a legal tech specialist second. So, for me, everything comes together at Legadex in the way I want. There is no broader training for a legal counsel than working at Legadex. Legal counsels are the challengers to the big law firms, and by combining legal counsel with legal tech, Legadex is a great place to be.
Anything surprising about your job interview?
Not particularly, but it was pleasant to find myself among people who think about the field the same way as I do. It made me realise that this is where things come together: big companies, the law and legal technology.
What do you do every day?
About 80% of the job is legal work. I have a couple of big clients that I work with on location for two to three days a week. That involves working on specific legal projects, but it can also involve advising on legal tech, like workflows, or a small system, or leading a workshop. Back in our office, I also do some regular legal work, like contract management and entity management, as part of our managed services team. And I am also part of the team within Legadex that researches developments in the legal tech market.
Favourite things about working at Legadex?
There is not a lot of innovation at the big law firms, and even when they do offer a legal tech solution, they still try to tie the client to them because they don’t want to lose that work. When Legadex supplies a legal tech solution, we make the client independent. Another thing I like is that I have been allowed from the beginning to help with the development of legal services. We have a flat organizational structure, so you get a lot of early responsibility. Nearly every month at the start, you get more work and, especially, more exciting work. They get everything out of me, which I appreciate because then you can develop. Most of my colleagues are also all fairly young – around 30. Finally, even though I work on location, my base is our office in Amsterdam. That is different from companies that focus on interim work. At Legadex, we work together much more and we help each other. If someone has questions, everyone is ready to help. We are really a team – and that’s worth getting up for!
Your ambitions?
As long as I can develop myself and contribute towards delivering innovation to the legal market, I will stay here.