Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network

In this special episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show – brought to you by Governance Institute of Australia – we reflect on the results of the latest Ethics Index, and in particular, how ethical lawyers in Australia are perceived to be.  Lawyers Weekly journalist Jerome Doraisamy is joined by special guests Catherine Maxwell FGIA (executive manager, policy and advocacy at Governance Institute), Dr Deen Sanders OAM (partner, Deloitte) and Rosemary Sainty FGIA (academic, UTS Business School).  Ethics, and ethical conduct, is fundamentally important in ensuring social and cultural cohesion, not just within our immediate personal and professional communities, but for society as a whole. Find out how lawyers compare to those in other industries, and what can the profession do in response to such findings. www.lawyersweekly.com.au

On this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Australian Bar Association president Noel Hutley SC.  The proposed amalgamation of the existing Family Court and the Federal Circuit Court has generated much debate and discussion, with the ABA also weighing in, particularly with relation to the need for public consultation on such a major judicial reform. Noel and Jerome discuss this, and much more, in this episode. www.lawyersweekly.com.au

On this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Moores practice leader and self-help author, Catherine Brooks. Flexible working arrangements are becoming more commonplace in professional services realms such as law, and as such, there are more options available than ever before for working parents to undertake both their familial and professional duties. Both employer and employee have responsibilities when it comes to finding arrangements that will not only serve the institution but also cater to holistic wellness for one’s family needs. www.lawyersweekly.com.au

On this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Swaab Attorneys partner Michael Byrnes. With the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements starting to reach beyond the realms of popular culture, and into professional services workplaces, Michael and Jerome discuss how there has been a paradigm shift – both in attitudes and actions – to addressing workplace sexual harassment in law, and how far we still have to go. For, as noted in this episode, there may well be Australian law firms with skeletons in their closets. www.lawyersweekly.com.au

On this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Piper Alderman partner in the firm’s blockchain and cryptocurrency team, Michael Bacina. Mike and Jerome delve into the ways in which blockchain and cryptocurrency innovations are changing the ways legal clients operate personally and professionally, and how those innovations are then impacting upon the expectations clients have from their law firms. The legal profession, and the regulatory landscape, is still figuring out how to navigate such changes, and Mike shares his thoughts on where Australia is positioned relative to the rest of the world, how legal education and professional service delivery might evolve, and what are some of the looming challenges. www.lawyersweekly.com.au

On this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, Jerome Doraisamy is joined by two board members of Minds Count – formerly the Tristan Jepson Memorial Foundation – Australian Bar Association chief executive Cindy Penrose and Canon Oceania chief legal counsel David Field. Ms Penrose, Mr Field and Jerome discuss how far the Australian legal profession has come in raising awareness of mental health issues, how far we still have to go, what are the new issues facing legal professionals, and what is the new direction of Minds Count, with Australia’s peak advocacy organisation for mental health issues in law having recently changed its name after the founders, Marie and George Jepson, stepped down www.lawyersweekly.com.au

On this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, Jerome Doraisamy is joined by the director of equity and diversity at Western Sydney University, and chair of the Australian Multicultural Council, Dr Sev Ozdowski. Dr Ozdowski and Jerome discuss the upcoming 9th International Conference on Human Rights Education, the importance of continually informing the public of their responsibilities to uphold human rights, whether or not Australia should implement its own bill of rights, and what gives rise to the enactment of such enshrined freedoms. www.lawyersweekly.com.au

In this special episode, The Lawyers Weekly Show is joined by Augusta Ventures managing director Neill Brennan and Herbert Smith Freehills partner Jason Betts for two very different perspectives on the future of class action litigation in Australia and its financial backers. In this episode our guests discuss: - How Australian litigation funding compares internationally - Key reform and regulation debates affecting class actions - Changing business models, fee structures and the impact on the profession - How corporate players are responding to a shifting landscape This episode is brought to you by Augusta Ventures. www.lawyersweekly.com.au

On this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, Jerome Doraisamy is joined by corporate partner at Herbert Smith Freehills, and the winner of the Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year Excellence Award, as well as the Financial Services Partner of the Year Award. Mr Vrisakis tells Jerome about his family’s history in the legal profession, how he himself got started as a lawyer, and what he thinks younger lawyers coming through the ranks need to do in order to rise to the position of partner themselves. www.lawyersweekly.com.au

On this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, Melissa Coade is joined by RACS executive director Tanya Jackson-Vaughan. For each day in 2017, more than 40,000 people around the world were forced to flee their homes. Globally, more than 25 million people are refugees and over 50 per cent of them are children. Tanya Jackson-Vaughan leads one of the few community legal centres in Australia helping this group of vulnerable people legally find a new place to belong. Here, she talks about the work of the Refugee Advice & Casework Service (RACS) which assists more than 3,800 refugees each year. Tanya also talks about how hackathons are designing technology-focused solutions to help RACS manage its growing caseload, Australia’s offshore detention of asylum seekers and alternative models for supporting these people in the Australian community. www.lawyersweekly.com.au