Mellissa Larkin - A Bold Break From Tradition
“I always wanted to be a lawyer, but I never imagined I’d be an entrepreneur!”
Mellissa Larkin, is the Founder & Managing Director of boutique legal and consulting firm Peripheral Blue. She took a giant leap of faith when she stepped away from a successful 20-year career as a top tier lawyer to establish her own firm in Adelaide in 2016.
Having grown tired of a change-resistant, male-dominated industry in which the clients’ real needs didn’t seem to matter, and in which young lawyers were overworked and neither nurtured nor mentored, she decided there had to be a better way, and that she would be the one to lead the charge in Australia!
“I always wanted to be a lawyer, but I never imagined I’d be an entrepreneur!”
After two decades of the restrictive traditional structures, I realised the system was broken and there had to be a better way. I became a disruptor, launching my own firm - Peripheral Blue - in 2016. Mellissa’s vision was of a legal and consulting firm with a difference - a transformation of the traditional model’s pyramid structure and high partner profit shares; a firm free from the culture of overwork and exhaustion that long plagued the industry.
Mellissa set out to create a visionary employment initiative that paid more than just lip service to the notion of a ‘flexible workplace’, a more effective alternative to the ‘2,000+ hours per year’ model championed in the past. She imagined an environment underpinned by the emotional, mental, and professional well-being of the entire team that in-turn empowered herself and each member of the team to deliver the exceptional level of service she envisioned for the clients - one from which everyone would benefit.
“I came to recognise that every employee is on a uniquely personal journey. What drives them will evolve over the course of their engagement as their circumstances and life stages change.”
Mellissa’s leadership style gives responsibility to the team, fostering a trusting relationship for everyone, bolstering employee morale. Everyone on her team has a ‘voice’. Her staff feel safe to express their views even if they differ from hers, because they know the feedback is valued.
With a flexible, collaborative workplace comes a greater sense of autonomy and with that, a vastly improved work-life integration for women and mothers - most of whom, despite in-roads continue to bear the heavy load of domestic and child-rearing responsibilities. Clients reap the benefits too. They don’t simply want legal advice. They want a business partner to collaborate with for the legal and commercial advisory support they need. Bytaking the time to invest in genuine relationships with our clients, we learn more about them and their business, which enables us to provide a more holistic, effective service.
“It’s been a terrific ride so far, and we are just getting started!”
As a new firm, we have the freedom to adapt our approach as we grow. The industry is in desperate need of this type of disruption, and it’s been hugely rewarding to see the impact we’ve had already.
Internally, Mellissa takes great pride in investing her time and energy in educating staff in - and advising them on - the overall vision for the business, so they understand why they are doing what they are doing. What the strategy for growth is, how valued and integral each of one them is in helping the team to achieve our goals.
You can visit Peripheral Blue online or on Facebook or connect with Mellissa on LinkedIn.