Worth its weight in business success.

With a life expectancy of 63.7 years for a lawyer, Scott Russell is determined to bring a different culture to the legal industry – and you can see it in his photos.

As a child, Scott says he was argumentative. He was always challenging his younger brother (there were lots of good debates around the dinner table). Both brothers went on to become lawyers – Scott is still lawyering, but his brother opted to get out and become an artist. He found that it was too much stress and too many hours.

Eventually, Scott also struggled with work-life balance, so he started his own firm. His experience in the big firms was a culture of work above everything else, including your life outside work and your teams’ well-being. There was no middle ground, they would take on so much work and endeavour to get it all done with such small teams, he says it’s no wonder the legal industry has a reputation for working all-nighters and weekends, as well as a life expectancy of just 63.7 years!

Scott’s priorities are his family and balanced life. This includes creating a supportive culture within his own business. They still focus on a good result for the client, but the ratio of work to staff is much better. 

There is a triangle in business that represents three things: high quality, low cost, and done quickly. They say you can only pick two, but Scott believes he has discovered the sweet spot for his clients. 

“At our firm, it’s more balanced, we focus on the good result for a client. More staff with fewer hours, but the quality of work and life even though the industry is deadline driven.”

Scott has two firms – Russell Legal, which started in 2018, and a specialised firm, Axis Construction Law which began in 2020.

Clients come to Axis Construction with a problem that has been left for far too long. It’s usually a dispute, where a contract has gone wrong, someone hasn’t paid someone else, an unexpected turn of events, or they don’t understand the legal framework to achieve a good outcome.

All their clients are repeat clients or have come via word of mouth, and Scott’s firm prides itself in doing an excellent job with a reasonable price point that there’s no doubt they’ll be recommended. To ensure this referral system works, Scott recommends having a good website because it is your online business card.

“We engaged Nicoline’s photography services because we wanted to look good on our website – initially, we just needed mugshots, but it turned into more than just that. We wanted a result, where our clients would see that we are professional, our work is complex and of a high level, so we needed the imagery to match.”

Scott used to have photos he had taken on his phone and admits that they didn’t look the part. He didn’t realise it until he compared it to Nicoline’s professional job. Even though Scott and his team know they can do the work, a potential client will still judge you (whether they know it or not) by what they see visually.

“If your photos are not at the same professional level as your business, then they’ll second guess whether you can do the work.”

Nicoline provided a service where she can photograph team members individually and then put them into a group photo. This really helps as the team grows.

The first time Scott organised a professional photo shoot with Nicoline, he wanted a background showcasing New Zealand. The result was a photo of the Auckland skyline from the viaduct. Nicoline also noticed the details – she ensured the Sky Tower was orange to match the Axis Construction Law brand. It’s now a big 6m wall art in the office – and it’s theirs. Nicoline thinks about the end goal throughout the entire process. 

Axis constantly uses the photos throughout presentations, conferences, and their online channels. Scott has had many comments about his LinkedIn photo because it’s so engaging (see the image below).

“A lawyer is someone you need to trust, so a photo that engages someone online is worth its weight in business success.”

Having used Nicoline twice now for his team photos because he knows it is worth keeping them updated – that whom you meet online is whom you meet in person. Scott says they enjoyed the whole experience as a bit of team bonding. You feel vulnerable in front of a camera – and Nicoline made everyone comfortable.

“Nicoline tells you how to sit, and where to look, directs your smile, and just makes you feel at ease. If you look uncomfortable in your photo, people will feel uncomfortable looking at it.”

In the end, Scott says the hardest part is choosing which photos to go with because both times there have been so many good options.

“Nicoline is awesome, definitely the best headshot photographer I’ve ever worked with, and I’ll certainly be using her services again and again.”

Scott Russell,
Managing Director of Russell Legal and Axis Construction Law
https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-russell-russell-legal/