Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network

Laser Clinics Australia general counsel and company secretary Kristy Silbert discuss the issues, challenges and opportunities for legal counsel in the beauty industry on this week’s episode of The Corporate Counsel Show, with host Jerome Doraisamy. The pair discuss what it is like to work as an in-house lawyer in an industry that is always evolving, the importance of general counsel having a seat at the table among senior leadership to ensure legal is prominent, and how she strikes a balance to ensure they are covered where legislation has not yet caught up. Kristy also shares her advice for anyone looking to enter or shift over to the beauty space and the parallels between the industry and the banking royal commission.

Former Lawyers Weekly journalist Grace Ormsby, who has been closely following the Lawyer X Royal Commission, shares her thoughts on the situation and raises the question of whether Victoria Police need more substantive training to better understand the importance of legal professional privilege. Together with Lawyers Weekly editor Emma Ryan, Ms Ormsby discusses the issues raised by the Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants, whether cultural issues exist within Victorian Police and the grey area surrounding collaboration with legal professionals. She also shares her thoughts on the possible need for another Royal Commission, if the ethical issues uncovered are a wider spread issue throughout the country and how legal professionals need to ensure that justice is being held.

Award-winning barrister Matthew Littlejohn joins host Jerome Doraisamy on this week’s episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show to discuss why he chose to go to the bar at such a young age and why he is encouraging others to follow in his footsteps. Matthew shares the issues, challenges and opportunities he has faced in his career as a barrister so far, why it’s imperative to identify when you need help, and his advice for graduates coming through the ranks if they are thinking of joining the bar. He also shares why he uses social media to promote his chambers, how he navigates the need for social interaction at work and how barristers need to ensure they are looking after themselves in regards to mental health.

This week on the Corporate Counsel Show, Jerome Doraisamy is joined by CEO of the Governance Institute of Australia Megan Motto to discuss company secretaries, why the role can be very rewarding and the lead up to AGM season.    They discuss the challenges and issues company secretaries are facing, what makes a good company secretary and how the ability to understand personality and behaviours will play in one's favour.    They also touch on workplace culture within the industry and advice for those promoting healthy wellbeing within organisations. 

In May of 2017 Amani Haydar’s father was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the murder of his wife.  In this episode of the Lawyers Weekly Show, Amani joins host Jerome Doraisamy to reflect on the incident, her experience as a lawyer navigating the resulting legal proceedings, and how the event has driven her to be an advocate for others. Amani discusses her role on the board of the Bankstown Women’s Health Centre, how through the creative industries she is leading a narrative around women’s rights, and shares where she believes there are shortfalls in the legal system surrounding harassment and abuse towards women. If you are in need of support or information, you may wish to contact the below services: www.ourwatch.org  www.whiteribbon.org.au  www.lifeline.org.au  or the national hotline for sexual assault, domestic family violence / counselling on 1800 RESPECT

Attracting and retaining talent is fundamentally important to the success or otherwise of Australian law firms. Culture, and its many facets, is inextricably linked to this. In this special episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, brought to you by Momentum Intelligence, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Momentum Intelligence head of strategy Michael Johnson and Lawyers Weekly editor Emma Ryan to discuss the Legal Firm of Choice Survey, what the legal profession learned from last year’s results and what has transpired in the past year across the industry impacting cultural perceptions. They also discuss the high-level cultural factors that are playing a role in the selection of firms by graduates coming through the ranks, why established practitioners choose to leave or stay, and what lessons law firms can take from this nationwide report. To complete the Legal Firm of Choice Survey, click here.    

This week on The Corporate Counsel Show, Jerome Doraisamy is joined by a panel of senior practitioners from Coca-Cola Amatil, including, group general counsel Betty Ivanoff, deputy group general counsel Richard Conway and Australian general counsel Michelle Monteleone to discuss how they run their award-winning in house legal team. They discuss the key features of a successful in-house legal team, how they create opportunities in house to keep their team engaged and how integral it is to cater to the idiosyncratic needs of individual employees. The panel also touches on issues or challenges on the horizon for in-house teams and the importance it is for business to take note of what is going on in the broader professional services environment to foresee future challenges.

In this week’s episode, law graduate and newly-crowned Miss Universe Australia Priya Serrao joins host Jerome Doraisamy to share how, as a soon-to-be solicitor, she came to enter her first-ever modelling competition. They also chat about her career plans, vision to use her new platform to advocate for issues she is passionate about, how she balanced work in the legal profession in the lead-up to the competition and her thoughts on why law students and lawyers should explore creative avenues outside of study and practice.  

The standard you walk past is the standard you accept. Law firms need bystander provisions to not only help combat instances of sexual harassment and bullying, but better ingrain a culture whereby such misconduct is unacceptable and all persons can feel safe, argues Larissa Andelman. In this week’s episode, Women Lawyers NSW president Larissa Andelman discusses bystander provisions: what they are, the context in which they apply, why they are so important and how firms are implementing these through education and behavioural training. The episode also touches on the issue of law firms without provisions and advice for young women coming through the ranks around sexual harassment and bullying.

In this special episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, brought to you by the Law Society of New South Wales, Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Law Society president Elizabeth Espinosa, InCounsel managing director David Bushby and Federal Court of Australia digital practice registrar Jessica Der Matossian   Check out their discussion on the future of legal practice in its current changing environment, the importance of legal professionals undertaking an ongoing lifelong learning approach to the practice of law, and get a sneak peek peak into the upcoming FLIP Conference  and what attendees can expect.