Legally On The Move: The Lawyers Retreat is Back in Ibiza 2026 - Kate Burt & Kirsty Pappin - E06

0:00Kirsty Pappin:Welcome to Legally on the Move, the Lawyers Retreat Ibiza 2026, a special Legally Speaking podcast miniseries sponsored by Clio. We're back here in Ibiza as the official media partner for the Lawyers Retreat. And if last year taught me anything, it's this. When you get the right people in the right environment, good conversations quickly turn into real opportunities. Across this series, we'll be bringing you voices, ideas, and honest reflections from a retreat built around leadership, well-being, AI, growth, business development, and the future of law. So whether we're poolside, post-panel, or catching up in between sessions, expect practical insights, fresh thinking, and conversations that go beyond the surface.

0:45Kirsty Pappin:So let's get into it. Welcome to the Legally Speaking podcast recording live here from Ibiza. I am joined by name, title and organisation.

0:57Kate Burt:Kate Burt, CEO, High Risk. And Kirstie Pappin, founder and director of Aries Legal Practice Management.

1:05Kirsty Pappin:And of course, founders of the Lawyers Retreat where we are today. So looking back now, what are you both most proud about in terms of this year's Lawyers Retreat? Coming to you, Kirstie, first.

1:17Kate Burt:I think what I'm most proud about for this year, and I think it's going to be, I think it's this workbook.

1:23Kirsty Pappin:Yes, that's the state of mind.

1:24Kate Burt:We don't do death by PowerPoint. And actually, it's proven to be a really, really good resource this year, I think. Everyone's writing lots of notes in it. You know, there's contact information. So, yeah, I think we're going to definitely bring that back next year and we'll evolve it further.

1:40Kirsty Pappin:Perfect. And Kate?

1:40Kate Burt:i'm most proud of the the collaboration and the the teams that form from different teams to build one community from the legal sector ecosystem like the way everyone's come together and just joined in and got involved i'm so proud of us as a community at a micro level and sort of a macro

1:58Kirsty Pappin:level with who we've got in the room yeah there's been a real sense of connection within that community as the uh retreat went on okay so stay with you then kate when you were actually shaping this year's agenda you know what was the thinking behind balancing we've had well-being we've had business growth ai compliance of course your zone of genius marketing and and sort of finance what

2:18Kate Burt:was the thinking behind the agenda it's holistic we've got to take a holistic approach to be successful in business you need all of those elements so we were really clear i mean from on a fundamental level we needed people to step back and relax and to be in a safe space to absorb the information so that wellness had to run through it as a good foundation a starting point for the business learning yeah it was really important for us to get into the agenda business learning that's actionable and something perhaps lawyers hadn't heard before so we were really keen to get strategic coach involved and also eos as well to have those real practical tools yeah to

2:57Kirsty Pappin:implement it all and i've been hearing a lot of sort of uh integrator and visionary and if people are wondering what we're talking about definitely look into more eos for sure okay kirstie coming to you which conversations or sessions or moments seem to land most would you say with people who

3:12Kate Burt:have been here in ibiza honestly i think every session and workshop so far has landed something for everyone yeah so we had ryan hopkins who started off with our well-being keynote there was lots from that that people went back and they're reflecting on or felt inspired about making those small steps to have a compound effect i think that was really really you know a big takeaway for most people the business keynotes as kate's mentioned that we've had again taking things away from those we've had um client wise discuss you know the five p's in business development again a really really important area for law firms but not just law firms actually the founders of some of our um our partners and and other businesses that are in the room so it's you can't it's very hard to pick one thing i think every session is is giving something We've just had a really, really good conversation with Jodie Hill and Oscar Davies.

4:04Kate Burt:Both gave an elevation of conversation, difficult conversations, and elevated how best to deal with those. And in a different setting. We've still got loads to come. We've still got sessions today and some more in the morning. So lots of takeaways, I think, for everybody.

4:16Kirsty Pappin:Yeah, I love that. And for me, last year, this led to lots of collaborations, such as Courtside Conversations, which you're both present at and supported in Dubai. It led to our Legally Live Lounge, which obviously Adam Guy is back, and he's DJing tonight for the Neon Party and it led to some mini-series we did with professional training with Nadine Stanton coming as well. So what do you think, coming to you Kate, this environment particularly, why does it create this momentum and collaboration that seems to happen as a result?

4:42Kate Burt:I think there's the energy in the room, you're bringing together like-minded people but it's not an echo chamber because we're all coming from different walks of life, different disciplines but with that core value is similar. But one of the things that really struck me this time which I think I've felt more prominently than last year was so everyone when they agree they agree but I love the the moment where someone throws a curveball in throws a question in challenges the speaker we've had a couple of those today and it just I like the tension that that creates yeah and I like the the excitement and the passion that comes out when there's disagreement when there's debate we've just had that and I can't wait to go and speak to the speaker because I really want to dig into that.

5:25Kate Burt:Yaron said some fairly controversial things that have sparked a debate and I know over lunch we're just going into lunch now I know that there's going to be a lot of people talking about that but there's that that's where it's exciting for me.

5:36Kirsty Pappin:Yeah and that's why the point of coming to a retreat you get to have these deeper conversations thinking about your business working on your business so coming to you Kirsty what did you learn from the first retreat that's helped you make this year even stronger because you've been talking very openly and showing us that you've raised the bar year one was great but this is

5:51Kate Burt:even better we i think when we came out of year one it it was a it was amazing like we were we're on a high we felt like it went really really well but kate and i were we're quite ambitious we were never gonna just be like okay let's rinse and repeat we're like so we we had already last year and we've we've done it on a much more extreme level this year you could say looked at what went well yeah and actually what we can improve on so we knew that the strategic coach talk went really well last year and people loved it but there wasn't enough of it and people wanted more so actually using that as just an example and there are so many but i'll just keep to this one is this year we've got strategic coach yaron we've got eos with johnny and we've got ryan hopkins with well-being we've not we're not having them just do one talk in actual fact they've done one talk and then they're leading into another talk the day after so johnny spoke on on day two when we sort of kicked off at 9am with workshops and so did ryan johnny then spoke again today but then johnny joined in with this conversation today um and then tomorrow johnny's had his second and then tomorrow is ryan and yaron doing their second part of their sort of you could say their little series their two-parter and i think it then that's going to pull it all together and then we've got sort of then we've had um joanna for example today on the bd but actually because we've looked at bd and discussed that networking is important we've got darren cantor coming in tomorrow to give a bit of a conversation and a workshop and actually how to go out and do that networking in person and and get people's sort of juices flowing and everything ready for when they leave actually this is great we've done this this is what worked well and what can i do going forward so that's just a little bit of what we've done to sort of level up and then um and then this year we've already kept a list sorry um getting ready we're already in planning stages for year three because you know kate and i were never just gonna just stop at this works well we want actually we

7:44Kirsty Pappin:want to elevate again for year three and then the key message there is you've listened to people from year one and it's not a community if you don't let them feel seen heard and valued and execute and you've gone away and and sort of executed on that and as a result of that even people are getting enhanced experience because let's be honest kate a lot of traditional events are very transactional aren't they so you know what do you think this why is this so different

8:05Kate Burt:would you say i think he's drawing and pulling and progressing on what kirstie said it's layering it's layering the richness and it's not the one and done transactional and even those that came in year one and have come back for year two it's that layering of the richness and there's actually a deeper level and we're seeing that with each day so you you know when you start in a environment you're first meeting someone there's a surface level conversation day two is getting richer you drop your barriers a little bit by day three there's a completely different conversation going on yeah and you if you layer that in with the doing that exact same thing not just with the delegates but with the speakers and the experts you're getting a really rich experience that you can't just ship out you can't just it's not a one-off purchase it's an experience that's got

8:50Kirsty Pappin:multiple levels yeah yeah i love that well said okay so kirstie coming to you if every attendee just took one thing home and acted on it next week what do you think that would be or what

9:01Kate Burt:would you want it to be for them take a moment and just breathe before you make a decision they've learned lots of things they've got lots of notes so you know there's there's been lots of you know development and learnings for them just take a moment to just breathe and then just think actually

9:16Kirsty Pappin:what change am I going to make Monday morning yeah make that change love it what am I going to make

9:22Kate Burt:maybe halfway through the week or the following week and then just keep on those small changes whatever it is in business well-being bd hr whatever um and just keep making changes and have that compound effect and i think we started discussing that with ryan and we're probably going to finish with that at the end um and having that time yeah to just really think and breathe and we don't say retreat regroup recharge for no reason it's genuinely what's happening and we're hearing that from the people that are in that attending both partners and delegates that they're actually finding that they're having a moment to just and we always we said we had that when we arrived in 2024 but that is happening right now for everybody yeah and from 2024 let's

10:03Kirsty Pappin:think about 2027 because you've teased there that you're already sort of thinking planning working on it so looking ahead then Kate with a bigger vision for the lawyers retreat where do you want to take it next it may or may not be Ibiza yeah it may or may not be Ibiza if you want that

10:18Kate Burt:So, yeah, I think for the time being, it's always going to be external to the UK because I think it pulls people out of their comfort zone. It has to be outside the UK. We don't want to lose that really intimate feel. We want to keep the connection. So, again, it's that layering and building on and it will grow in numbers, but we don't want to take over in terms of capacity at all. So what I would really, you ask Kirsty about what's the one thing you'd want to take away or want the delegates to take away? Mine would be stay connected to this community. Stay, because if you follow everyone in or connect, the LinkedIn's great for this, but stay connected and offline DMs in the DMs.

11:03Kate Burt:Keep connected because this community is together and you'll see them at GBLO, at The Legal Heart, at Courtside Conversations. a mix of this core group there's like a groundswell of this community and you you'll i mean you live this and breathe this don't you rob you know exactly what i'm talking about but for some watching may not know that that community is exists that movement is growing and you're

11:27Kirsty Pappin:building a fabulous community here there is magic in this momentum isn't there and you know the fortune in the follow-up carrying those conversations on and new innovations and things happen it's been wonderful and it's been great to have you both back and congratulations on a hugely successful uh 2026 going into next year we're hopefully definitely going to be joining you it's been an absolute privilege so if people want to know more about the lawyers retreat or indeed 2027 where can they go feel free to shout out and we'll share with this episode for

11:53Kate Burt:you too thanks very much rob so if they want to find out more yeah um you could either drop a linkedin dm to myself kirstie pappin or kate burt or just email hello at the lawyers retreat.com we can say it will be in May 2027 but as soon as we've got those confirmed dates we will definitely be letting the wider community know and we know that there are lots of people already here that are eager to find updates so they can get booked on for next year so yeah, get on the waiting list and send us an email

12:23Kirsty Pappin:There we go, well thank you both so much congratulations once again but from all of us here in Ibiza for the Legally Speaking podcast at the Lawyers Retreat, over and out That's a wrap for this series of Legally on the Mood. The Lawyers Retreat Ibiza 2026 here on the Legally Speaking podcast sponsored by Clio. A big thank you to everyone helping make this retreat what it is. A space for legal professionals to step back, think bigger and connect properly. If there's one thing this retreat proves time and time again, it's that when the right legal minds get in the room, good things happen. The conversations, the collaborations, the ideas keep moving long after Ibiza.

13:04Kirsty Pappin:Thanks for listening and stay tuned. There's plenty more content and mini-series coming your way soon. Over and out.