Marrawah Law is a 100% indigenous owned law firm with a predominantly Indigenous workforce, most of whom are female lawyers.
Contacted in the sidelines of Indigenous Business Month, Leah Cameron, Founder and Principal Solicitor of Marrawah Law explained how they navigated 2020 overcoming challenges wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ms Cameron says plunging into the unknown during the pandemic was quiet challenging, but their biggest obstacles came from their clients not being able to manage the crisis. Health restrictions meant that most of the work that was still practicable had to be done online.
“What became apparent very quickly was the digital divide. Who had access to good internet connection; who had good access to computers and all that sort of thing and how to be digital savvy about them,” Ms Leah Cameron says.
As lawyers, the team at Marrawah Law were already accustomed to carrying their laptops to meetings as well as working remotely and expected the systems to fail occasionally.
Being part of the very resilient and tightly knit Indigenous business community with its support networks was an asset.
“With clients, the response was quite varied. If they were a big corporation or part of government, they were already set up to working from home arrangements and using platforms like zoom.”
“With people in regional and remote areas it was a struggle and it remains a struggle. It is something that really needs to be investigated and improved across the country.”
The pandemic brought some positives and some opportunities. Ms Cameron says commercial law saw a peak with many people trying to exit contracts or trying to enforce existing contracts because people weren’t adhering complying. Debt recovery was another big uptick.
On the down side, a number of Native Title claims across the country slowed down as anthropologists couldn’t go down to Country to interview claimants.
Ms Cameron says the firm has navigated the crisis successful managing to keep all of their workforce and grow the business. She also credits government support, especially through the JobKeeper scheme, in helping to sustain personnel numbers.
A large part of Marrawah Law’s success during the pandemic stems from the nimble operational style already in place as the firm had plans for worst case scenarios embedded in its structures.
Being part of the very resilient and tightly knit Indigenous business community with its support networks also proved to be an asset.
“One thing about the Indigenous business community is that we are really collaborative. And we are there to support each other. All of us have such a wide range of skillsets. If someone puts up the hand asking for help, we all try and work out a solution.”
Ms Cameron highlighted that a core strength of her legal firm that shone particularly through the pandemic is its female dominated workforce as they bring different perspectives from their male colleagues on how to do business.
“They are not just female. They are largely Indigenous as well. They are really good listeners and I think that comes from thousands of years of living in an oral culture and having to listen as well and communicate really well with each other.”
Ms Cameron also encourages other entrepreneurs to reach out whenever they are faced with difficulties. “My advice for Indigenous business owners is that this is the time to ensure that your business is compliant with all rules and regulations; particularly Covid regulations. This could make or break your business. “
“Really check your contracts that are in place. If you are worried about meeting the obligations reach out quickly.”
