A&O Shearman: Where Alumni and Innovation Fuse

Law firm A&O Shearman’s digital innovation hub Fuse has been the catalyst for long-term alumni engagement, cutting edge technology and business transformation.

Thank you to our guest speakers:

• Shruti Aijtsaria, Head of Fuse at A&O Shearman
• Stella Ekkeshis, Senior Global Alumni Manager
• David Howorth, Founder of Avokka

Five Things We Learned About Where Alumni and Innovation Fuse

Alumni are collaborators …

“People now see the value in alumni, not only as goodwill and brand ambassadors, but as referrers of work and talent. Our alumni join us as collaborators, not just a passive audience …”
Stella Ekkeshis

Fuse owes its success to its people …

“Fuse is A&O Shearman's tech hub. One of the reasons it's developed is because it has really benefited from the input of so many different parts of the firm, from our lawyers, to Stella, who has always been the first to say: ‘I've noticed you're doing this, we're going to put it in the newsletter …’”
Shruti Aijtsaria

Alumni engagement is shifting …

“We have seen a huge change in the kind of content that our alumni are engaging in, especially from the younger audience. People used to go from trainee to partner – they were lifers. Now people leave and go on to do so many different things …”
Stella Ekkeshis

Alumni are a trusted audience …

“When you talk about the value, of an alumni network, Fuse has been enormous. There's something very special about being amongst people you know and trust …”
Shruti Aijtsaria

Alumni want to give back …

“Alumni love the firm and want to be mentors, and join panels because they are part of a lifelong community where they can benefit their professional development opportunities and be mentored, so it's a real give-and-take thing …”
Stella Ekkeshis

Top five Emma-isms

“The thing about doing something live … it's either pets or webinars. One of the two is always going to be a bit of a nightmare …”

“Nothing is a success unless you've offended at least one person …”

“In many ways it's so… so … cross-symbiotic …”

“What we always say with alumni is: what you want to be is someone's career co-pilot. They don't always need a job, but they might always need a little bit of guidance professionally …”

“Alumni is many things: business outcomes and driving business value. But it's also – I always say – a warm cuddle …”

Q&A

Emma Sinclair: How did the program develop ?

Stella: We launched in 2005. The rationale has changed hugely over the years. We were one of the first professional services firms to launch an alumni network, very much centred on generating an all-welcome community. We started off with around 500 alumni on an Excel spreadsheet and a few events in London. People now see the value in alumni, not only as goodwill and brand ambassadors, but as referrers of work and talent. Our alumni join us as collaborators, not just a passive audience.

What is Fuse and how did it begin?

Shruti: Fuse is A&O Shearman's tech hub. It opened eight years ago. The initial idea was to find legal tech companies that we thought were excellent, but that we otherwise wouldn't have known existed, because there was no real way of keeping track of what was going on in the market. One of the reasons it's developed is because it has really benefited from the input of so many different parts of the firm, from our lawyers, to Stella, who has always been the first to say: “I've noticed you're doing this, we're going to put it in the newsletter.”

How does the collaboration between Fuse and alumni work?

Stella: We make it our business to work with as many different parts of the organisation as we can. We're always looking for content and interesting stories to share with our alumni and bring them on the journey with us. We have an alumni yearbook, a monthly newsletter, and a website. We use all of those platforms to tell our alumni what's going on in Fuse.

Does engagement alter per demographic?

Stella: We have seen a huge change in the kind of content that our alumni are engaging in, especially from the younger audience. People used to go from trainee to partner – they were lifers. Now people leave and go on to do so many different things. When we looking for people to feature in spotlights on tech or AI, there are more now than there were even a year ago. There's a real shift happening.

How did you position Fuse internally when it started?

Shruti: I had the idea of Fuse at Google Campus, where you could apply with a business Idea if you were a mum or a dad on maternity or paternity leave. I wanted to build an incubator for my law firm, and presented it to my senior partner. The idea was there would be different stakeholder groups: clients, cohort companies, our internal lawyers and legal tech team, all of whom would be encouraged to have an open dialogue. We built a collaboration space in our London office at the heart of which lies the coffee machine, which everyone loves.

How do alumni get involved?

Stella: Our alumni are collaborators. We have alumni champions, across the network. We have an advisory board made up of alumni. Alumni want to give back. They love the firm and want to be mentors, and join panels because they are part of a lifelong community where they can benefit their professional development opportunities and be mentored, so it's a real give-and-take thing.

How do you identify and empower alumni to step into roles like advisory or mentorship?

Shruti: Every year, we reach out to the legal tech community and say: “If you'd like to apply to Fuse, please do.” We've had some of our most successful companies come through that channel. The team have got an amazing knowledge of who people are, and what makes them tick. Who would be the right fit for being on a selection committee? Who would be prepared to give up two days of their life to sit and watch 20 legal tech presentations and provide really good, detailed feedback? I think that's where we are enormously lucky. When you talk about the value of an alumni network, Fuse has been enormous. Lawyers want to work with people they trust. There's something special about being amongst people you know and trust. I think of our Fuse cohort members as members of the family.

What opportunities are there for alumni to learn from each cohort?

Stella: If there's a good story to tell, we will tell it in our monthly newsletters, on social media or LinkedIn. We know that it's all of the human interest stuff and Fuse stuff that particular that people want to hear about.

Is Fuse part of the alumni-employer brand story for your firm?

Stella: The alumni network ties in perfectly. Our motto is: it doesn't matter when you walked through the doors and when you left, you're part of the A&O Shearman family. We will help you with your professional development. We will help you to connect to other people who can help you. We'll be there to mentor and coach you. It really is a lifelong membership.

Have you evolved the talent side of the Fuse program?

Shruti: Because it's legal tech, it attracts people who have a legal mind and are often risk-averse, with people who have an interest in entrepreneurship. For those people, it can be difficult to operate in a narrow box. It does lend itself to a particular kind of personality. People who understand and respect the guardrails around law, but who are sort of happy to like, punch at the edges. If you are one of those people, you still want somewhere to belong. Our lawyers come in many different shapes.

What does success looks like for you?

Stella: There's so many ways to measure success, but anecdotal feedback is one of the most important. For example, somebody came to an event who has not been with the firm for 20 years but has always thought about a way to come back. They were overwhelmed by the whole atmosphere, seeing people they hadn't seen for a long time, that they applied for a role the very next day. Stories like that show us that what we're doing is of value. We get so many ideas and suggestions from our alumni, which means that they're engaged. They’re not only opening a newsletter, they're reading it, they're engaging with it. They want to see people within their own immediate community profiled and given their flowers, by us sharing stories with them. Those kind of things that are not as easy to measure.

What is next for the A&O Shearman Alumni Program and Fuse?

Stella: We’re thinking about a virtual event, something with a bit more interaction, especially with a 10-year anniversary on the horizon.

Shruti: I always think in terms of our stakeholder groups. So: how can we best serve our clients? We need to continue to stay ahead, know what's happening in the market, be well connected with the legal tech market, and be able to say to our clients: this is what we're seeing more than ever in legal tech. I really want to ensure that we understand where the gaps are in our firm, and the bits that we haven't quite figured out. You can only do that if your cohort companies feel that they have been properly integrated into the firm and made part of the community. The special part is the community that we've built. I absolutely love it, and is the thing I'm most proud of.