Interview: Kathryn Szymczyk, Global Business Development Senior Manager IP at Gowling WLG

In the latest Lextel interview, Kathryn Szymczyk of Gowling WLG talks about moving from legal practice to business development, the importance of coordination, future planning – and her favourite cities. 

What is your background?

My career has had three main stages. First, I practised trademark law for 12 years, initially in Canada and subsequently in Gowling’s office in Moscow, Russia, where I worked from 2000 to 2003. It was there that I got a taste for the business side of the law – helping businesses to grow. That was a huge opportunity for a third-year associate as Gowling had one of the top IP practices in Russia.

I was then invited by an IP firm in eastern Europe, Petosevic, to be a director. Petosevic had been working with various local firms in eastern and southern Europe but it was clear that clients wanted us to act for them directly, so we expanded throughout the Balkans, for example in Kosovo, Montenegro and Romania. Some of these countries were just setting up IP systems so it was very exciting to be a part of that. IP is an area of the law where approaches and practices are pretty harmonised around the world.

Then, in the second stage, I ran my own IP strategy and business development consulting firm in Canada for eight years. Finally, in 2019, I joined Gowling as senior manager IP for global business development. I’m the first person in this role and it is a recognition that clients increasingly need a globally coordinated solution. That means doing more than just having multiple offices. So my role is to help us be better coordinated as a team, to be in tune with clients’ demands and ensure we’re delivering the services they need and expect.

What does that mean in practice?

We’re a full-service law firm so it’s partly about cross-selling. But more importantly it’s recognising that clients want solutions to complex problems, not just law-school papers.

For example, take commercial trade secrets, which is becoming a really big issue for clients given the fast pace of technology and globalisation. Addressing their issues may require understanding the law on employment, IP, contracts, data protection, and other areas. To do that, we need to have a global trade secrets group and also adopt technology to help us and our clients make the most of their intangible assets.

Law firms have all the legal pieces to provide these packaged solutions but the problem is the lawyers are necessarily focused on the success of their own practices. Lawyers are actually very creative but too often they’re not rewarded for creative thinking. And partnerships often hesitate to hire non-fee earners and compensate them appropriately, which means we’re missing out on the smartest business minds. Generally, law firms need to operate more like businesses and pay good salaries to smart people.

At Gowling, the Canadian CEO is younger than me which is great! I think it’s very exciting that the younger generation are more collaborative and are open to new ways of doing things.

How important is your training as a lawyer in your current role?

I would not have half the impact I have if I didn’t understand what it’s like to be a lawyer and an understanding of the practice. I know the market and clients and I can help translate between marketing, digital technology, and lawyers. I’m still a lawyer but not a fee-earner. It’s the perfect position for me.

You’re involved with associations such as the International Trademark Association (INTA). Why do you think these are important?

I think organisations such as INTA play an important role in the profession helping us to drive things forward and stay abreast of what’s going on and what clients need. It’s also a way of giving back to the community and having an impact, including on an international level: countries can learn a lot from each other.

I was appointed to INTA’s Programming Advisory Council two years ago and have been very involved in the programming for the last two annual meetings which has been incredibly rewarding. INTA Leadership has been very forward thinking in the topics and areas they are tackling. I am also a member of the Brands and Innovation Committee.

At this year’s INTA Annual Meeting, you spoke on a panel about future proofing.

This is something I think is really important. Law firms need to adopt technology at a more accelerated pace than they have done so far. They are behind other businesses in using technology to streamline practices and deliver services. That doesn’t mean we should adopt every technology that comes along; we should always ask: what are our services? Where are the pain points? What do we need to change?

We need to consider technology to create solutions to help clients tackle problems efficiently. That may mean putting the innovation committee in front of the client and often does at Gowling WLG. We can provide custom-made solutions that are supported by technology. This also requires collaborating internally. To streamline a process using technology you have to include everyone who has been involved in the analogue way of doing things and be guided by their input. This also helps with adoption.

For example, we know that portals can be important – but only if clients use them. It’s incumbent on us to develop portals that make life easier and use our tried and tested methodologies to help clients with their internal adoption. That’s what being true business partners is about. So we should embrace technology but take a strategic approach. As a former business owner, I know some of the things you need to think about: technology, promotion, doing research ahead of going to a conference, for example.

Successful lawyers think more like businesspeople. Lawyers are what we call doer-sellers: the person doing the work needs to be selling it. But increasingly, as I mentioned, one person is not enough; you need to collaborate.

How do you do that more effectively?

I think the use of data is very important. We are using tools and adopting them internally to gather and analyse data. That is the next stage for business development – to identify gaps and opportunities.

I read recently about how universities are using data analysis and digital marketing to attract students, for example using that data for tailored advertising. Legal is still at the very early stage of that journey and we need to move along it.

Finally, you’ve lived in Canada, Russia, the UK, the Balkans and now Switzerland. What is your favourite place?

A piece of my heart will always be in Moscow, which is one of the world’s most fascinating and dramatic cities and cultures. The past is always present and you feel like anything can happen. I look forward to being able to return there some day.

But I have also come to think that Toronto might be the best place on earth. It has an amazing mix of cultures, is very liveable and Drake and the Raptors have put us on the map!