Melinda Upton

As partner at Deloitte Legal UK, Melinda also leads the Intangibles, Data, and Technology practice. Having relocated from Sydney, Melinda brings over 25 years’ experience advising clients on complex legal and business challenges. Her role is dynamic, ranging from growing the team’s capabilities and collaborating with local and regional leaders, to sitting down with Chief Legal Officers on the issues shaping the future of their organizations.

Melinda has witnessed a fundamental shift in the legal profession. Where once technical expertise alone was enough, today’s clients expect lawyers to be strategic advisers, technologists, business thinkers, and innovators. “Our clients expect us to be far more holistic in terms of the solutions that we are going to present to them and the impact, not only to satisfy their needs of today, but also to have that crystal ball,” she says.

Her advice to those entering the profession is simple: remain open and curious, embrace change, and invest in building strong relationships, as she goes on to say that “trust between adviser and client will remain and will be difficult to be disrupted.”

Melinda sees technology, especially AI, transforming the way legal services are delivered. “The future of law is going to be combining that traditional legal advisory piece together with technology to solve problems at scale across geographies, across business units, to deliver the most value.”

At Deloitte Legal, Melinda finds the opportunity to work beyond the traditional law firm model, collaborating with colleagues in tax, consulting, and industry to deliver integrated solutions and to provide greater value.

Outside of work, Melinda is passionate about family, fitness, and wellbeing. She enjoys boxing, strength training, and hiking, as well as travelling and discovering new cultures through food. Her greatest joy comes from spending time with her husband, children, friends, and their much-loved border collie.