Marketing students statewide have been competing to win a $10,000 prize and a one-month internship at digital marketing agency Yomstar for the best launch strategy for new venture Travis Schultz Law in Mooloolaba.
Taylor Birtchnell of Bond University won the Travis Schultz Law competition as she understood the importance for the firm to support local community legal services and other community organisations while still making a profit.On winning the prize, Ms Birtchnell said it couldn’t have come at a better time as she is currently working three casual jobs and a part time role to make ends meet.
“It will genuinely make an absolutely huge difference and really takes a bit of pressure off; I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity,” she said.
Ms Birtchnell is looking forward to putting theory into practice with leading digital agency Yomstar, making new connections and learning skills which only come from being on the job.
Travis Schultz, Principal of Travis Schultz Law said what he liked about Ms Birtchnell’s entry was that she picked up the firm’s strong bias towards community engagement and philanthropy.
“Taylor’s approach resonated with me because she understood that in a law firm all about quality and genuine expertise, our marketing efforts need to be focussed on networking and relationships more than traditional sledgehammer advertising.”
Explaining her approach, Ms Birtchnell said ‘any law firm can provide the same sort of services, so choosing representation becomes more about which firms are invested in supporting your local community.’
“Travis Schultz Law really struck me as an enterprise that cared about community and cared about the locals, so I wanted to create a strategy that reflected this, and did some real tangible good in the community, while promoting the business strengths of expertise and low cost fee structures providing access to all.”
Julian Porter, Principal Solicitor, Suncoast Community Legal Service said that more funding and professional support from local businesses would allow it to provide greater levels of service on legal tasks for those struggling with handling their often complex legal matters.
“On the whole lawyers are pretty committed to access to justice and doing pro bono work, but to have Travis Schultz Law coming out making it one of its key priorities, is really encouraging for the future,” he said.
“Often free legal advice is available with us, but administering it is expensive.
“Sometimes funding support is just about paying for administration to allow skillful people to do their jobs and not be tied down with file opening procedures.”
The marketing competition marks the start of Travis Schultz Law starting a unique social justice approach to its structure as a professional services business, which provides access to all, zero up front cost and fair transparent pricing models, while significantly giving back to the community and still making a profit.
“I think with the right mix of highly experienced and hard working lawyers and efficient structures, more businesses could take this philanthropic approach and do more good for their clients and the community,” he said.