Jacob Carswell-Doherty

Small practice. Informed questions. Technology with judgment.

I am standing for the Council of the Law Society of NSW in the 2026 election. Voting closes at 2.00pm on Monday 19 October 2026.

Read the full statement The plan: insurance The plan: women The plan: AI

Professional indemnity insurance: one insurer, no choice

A sole practitioner commits close to ten times the share of turnover to compulsory cover that a 25-partner firm does, on the figures of the Government's own expert. The same expert found NSW solicitors pay more per head than Victorian solicitors. Every solicitor who practises only in NSW buys that cover from one insurer, and the Law Society owns it.

The question is before a Legislative Council Select Committee. I drafted the Solicitors for PII Choice submission, lodged on 14 September 2026 and published as Submission No 42. We make no criticism of Lawcover; the question is about choice and about who decides.

Read the plan and the submission

Women in the profession: ownership, not titles

Women are 56 per cent of NSW solicitors and 37 per cent of principals. In 2013 it was 24 per cent, and the figure has moved about one point a year since. The Society counts principals. It has never counted who holds equity, and nobody has asked women what they want.

Three modest steps: ask women, count equity at practising certificate renewal, and act on the answers with sponsorship, buy-in tools and a target women set themselves.

Read the plan

AI in practice: who carries the risk

I build the systems my own firm runs on, and that experience has made me a sceptic about the legal technology market. When an AI tool gets it wrong, the consequences fall on the solicitor who signed the work, not the vendor who sold it.

The Society's own guide tells every solicitor to review the vendor's contract, audit its training data and test the tool. That work is identical for every practice. Three modest fixes: do the checking once, say what checking means, and protect privilege.

Read the plan

About Jacob

Australian AI Awards 2026 finalist tile naming Jacob Carswell-Doherty in the category AI Leader of the Year, SME — Finalist, AI Leader of the Year (SME), Australian AI Awards 2026.

Principal of Jake McKinley, a boutique Sydney firm of twenty staff; admitted in 2011; chief executive of Humans United By Law; member of Solicitors for PI Choice; finalist, AI Leader of the Year (SME), Australian AI Awards 2026. Read more about Jacob.