Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network

In this special episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, produced in partnership with InfoTrack, we explore how lawyers and conveyancers are perceived by property buyers and sellers and what professionals can learn from these findings. Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with InfoTrack’s Head of Property Australia, Lee Bailie, about the recently released 2024 State of Real Estate Report. Together, they unpack key findings and takeaways from the report, highlight what Lee sees as being the “good, bad, and ugly”, and what these insights reveal about the current standing of lawyers and conveyancers in the property market. Lee also delves into areas for improvement lawyers and conveyancers can consider moving forward, processes that need attention, the importance of both proactivity and reactivity, future opportunities, and how InfoTrack’s solutions can support best practices. To discover key findings from the 2024 State of Real Estate Report, click here. To learn more about InfoTrack, click here. If you like this episode, show your support by  rating us or leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (The Lawyers Weekly Show) and by following Lawyers Weekly on social media: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. If you have any questions about what you heard today, any topics of interest you have in mind, or if you'd like to lend your voice to the show, email editor@lawyersweekly.com.au for more insights!

In the current age, clients want (and demand) to know more about their various service providers. Here, we unpack what this means for law firms and how best to strike the right balance for you and your business. In this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Ruby Assembly director Iolanthe Gabrie and Macedon Ranges Family Law principal Megan Puszkar about the “real period of generational change” being faced by SME businesses across the country, how high a priority evolving communication methods and approaches are becoming in the current age, why clients want to know more about their service providers, and how to take a holistic approach to such change. Gabrie and Puszkar also reflect on the importance of being a “pseudo-psychologist” for one’s clients, the dangers inherent with not rolling with the times, striking the right balance between putting yourself and your brand out there while also protecting yourself and your family, what such an approach looks like for NewLaw practices, what works and doesn’t work, and their broader guidance about riding the wave of evolving client expectations. If you like this episode, show your support by  rating us or leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (The Lawyers Weekly Show) and by following Lawyers Weekly on social media: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. If you have any questions about what you heard today, any topics of interest you have in mind, or if you'd like to lend your voice to the show, email editor@lawyersweekly.com.au for more insights!

The introduction of minimum cyber security standards in Victoria earlier this year reinforces the fact that educating one’s workforce and implementing optimal frameworks to prevent breaches and attacks is not just good practice – it goes to the heart of one’s professional duties as a lawyer. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back Law & Cyber principal Simone Herbert-Lowe to discuss her interest and background in practising cyber security, the introduction by the Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner of minimum cyber security standards and why the standards were brought in, what it means for practitioners in the Garden State and what practitioners in other state and territory jurisdictions should glean from the standards. Herbert-Lowe also delves into the extent to which upholding certain standards regarding cyber security is at the forefront of lawyers’ minds, the expansion of the remit of professional obligations for lawyers, the potential penalties for lawyers who breach standards or civil liability obligations, what lawyers must do in order to ensure best practice and avoid disciplinary findings, and the need for constant vigilance rather than employing a “set and forget” attitude. If you like this episode, show your support by  rating us or leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (The Lawyers Weekly Show) and by following Lawyers Weekly on social media: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. If you have any questions about what you heard today, any topics of interest you have in mind, or if you'd like to lend your voice to the show, email editor@lawyersweekly.com.au for more insights!

Down periods in his career have presented personal and professional challenges, but what those periods have taught Peter Muzariri is that “fundamentally, everything is going to be OK”. Here, he unpacks navigating times of hardship, how to move forward as a young practitioner, and meaningfully chasing one’s goals. In this episode of The Protégé Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Costa Asset Management legal counsel Peter Muzariri about his journey of moving from Zimbabwe to New Zealand, studying and graduating in NZ and having a job cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, how he navigated that setback in his career and what he learnt from it, both personally and professionally. Muzariri also delves into the importance of trusting the process, having meaningful, tangible goals in place, the questions one needs to ask of one’s self, his current goals, how to make time for one’s development and planning, and his broader words of wisdom about believing in one’s self. If you like this episode, show your support by  rating us or leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (The Lawyers Weekly Show) and by following Lawyers Weekly on social media: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. If you have any questions about what you heard today, any topics of interest you have in mind, or if you'd like to lend your voice to the show, email editor@lawyersweekly.com.au for more insights!

There has long been, Gemma Nugent says, a “convention of having long contracts”, particularly in sectors like construction. Clients, however, are seeking legal documentation that is more easily digested and that they can better comprehend – and she is on a mission to provide this. In this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes SoundLegal director Gemma Nugent to discuss her journey from the in-house realm to operating as a sole practitioner in Alfred Cove, Western Australia, why she finds contracts work so uplifting, the issues she sees in the design and implementation of many legal contracts, and the diversity of thought among legal practitioners about the necessity or otherwise of long, convoluted contracts. Nugent also delves into what she believes constitutes a clear and easy-to-understand contract, why simplification is a win-win for all parties, convincing clients of the need for simplification, how lawyers can adjust their mindsets in creating contracts that are more fit for purpose and not convoluted for the sake of it, and her broader guidance for practitioners in getting their documentation right in order to ensure optimal client service delivery. If you like this episode, show your support by  rating us or leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (The Lawyers Weekly Show) and by following Lawyers Weekly on social media: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. If you have any questions about what you heard today, any topics of interest you have in mind, or if you'd like to lend your voice to the show, email editor@lawyersweekly.com.au for more insights!

The 20th and 21st centuries have produced some outstanding (and award-winning) legal, or legal-adjacent, motion pictures. Here, we flesh out what makes a good legal movie and why, and what are the best and most enjoyable cinematic experiences involving lawyers. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Keith Ford (deputy editor of Lawyers Weekly’s sister brand, ifa) to discuss his passion for cinema, the tropes and themes that can make up a legal-adjacent motion picture, the myriad forms a legal movie can take, from courtroom drama to class action investigation, and whether legal movies need to be realistic to be good. The episode also delves into the necessity or otherwise of a true story to make a good legal movie, the importance of social, cultural or personal themes that can hit home for the audience, the extent to which the Australian movie industry has produced good legal films, the tenet of injustice being overcome by central characters, and what both Doraisamy and Ford view as being the best legal movies of all time, and what their personal favourites are. If you like this episode, show your support by  rating us or leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (The Lawyers Weekly Show) and by following Lawyers Weekly on social media: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. If you have any questions about what you heard today, any topics of interest you have in mind, or if you'd like to lend your voice to the show, email editor@lawyersweekly.com.au for more insights!

Maintaining passion and momentum while dealing with the day-to-day grind and challenges of running a business and promoting growth in a regional area can be arduous for firm leaders in any practice area. Here’s how Kymberlei Goodacre does it. In this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Coffs Law Co. principal solicitor Kymberlei Goodacre about her Coffs Harbour-based practice, why she operates in the family law and care and protection spaces, looking after one’s self and one’s team in the face of emotionally draining subject matter, what she’s learnt from a decade of running her own firm, how often she evaluates what’s working or not working as a firm leader, and what has surprised her about the juggle between being a practitioner versus a business owner. Goodacre also reflects on the importance of maintaining the passion for what one does and not simply turning up each day to tick the boxes, the questions one should be asking of one’s self in keeping the flame alive, why putting wellness front and centre leads to revenue growth, how she leverages public holidays to create longer weekends for staff, what she is looking forward to in the coming years with her succession planning, and her broader suggestions for how firm leaders can keep up their motivation levels. If you like this episode, show your support by  rating us or leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (The Lawyers Weekly Show) and by following Lawyers Weekly on social media: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. If you have any questions about what you heard today, any topics of interest you have in mind, or if you'd like to lend your voice to the show, email editor@lawyersweekly.com.au for more insights!

It is often said that workers don’t quit their jobs; they quit their bosses. To this end – particularly in the current professional services climate – building and nurturing a trusting workplace environment is fundamental for firm leaders. In this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back Travis Schultz & Partners managing partner Travis Schultz to discuss whether firm leaders are doing a good enough job at building and maintaining trust, how and when he came to appreciate the fundamental need to establish trust, how much of priority it has to be, what he sees as being the difference between maintaining a firm’s health versus doing its hygiene, and what he feels constitutes a trustworthy leader in a professional services environment. Schultz also delves into the crossover and differences between leadership and management, whether being a trustworthy leader is more important now than ever before, how best firm leaders can look to build trust across the business, the flow-on effects from fostering and maintaining such trustworthy environments, and how best firm leaders can bolster their capacities to instil trust. If you like this episode, show your support by  rating us or leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (The Lawyers Weekly Show) and by following Lawyers Weekly on social media: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. If you have any questions about what you heard today, any topics of interest you have in mind, or if you'd like to lend your voice to the show, email editor@lawyersweekly.com.au for more insights!

Right out of high school, Vicky Martin worked as an office junior in a law firm, doing all manner of tasks, including emptying ashtrays and taking the boss’ clothing to the dry cleaners. She ultimately got admitted as a practitioner at the age of 50 and was recently promoted to special counsel. Here, she reflects on her uncommon journey, including going in and out of the legal profession, and what the emerging generation can learn from her experiences. In this episode of The Protégé Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Thynne + Macartney special counsel Vicky Martin to discuss her earliest experiences in a law firm shortly after leaving high school, the myriad twists and turns her life and career have taken since those early days, overcoming a fear of responsibility that practitioners have, and how life maturity brings all-important perspective. Martin also delves into life as a mature-age law student and then graduate lawyer, her insights into goal setting and achieving those goals, building up a contact base, the differences in how colleagues and clients might approach a mature-age professional, and her broader lessons and reflections on how best to climb the corporate ladder and have faith in one’s self and one’s abilities. If you like this episode, show your support by  rating us or leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (The Lawyers Weekly Show) and by following Lawyers Weekly on social media: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. If you have any questions about what you heard today, any topics of interest you have in mind, or if you'd like to lend your voice to the show, email editor@lawyersweekly.com.au for more insights!  

Here, the chief executive and managing partner of Gadens joins to discuss the BigLaw player’s recent national integration, its strategy moving forward, the importance of being “Australian at our core”, and what he’s learnt about leadership from the hit TV show Ted Lasso. Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Gadens chief executive and managing partner Mark Pistilli about his journey in the legal profession and how he came to head up the BigLaw firm, Gadens’ recent national integration and how and why this was executed, where he thinks the firm currently sits in the legal services marketplace, why he is positioning the firm as “Australian at our core”, and why this approach resonates with clients across the country. Pistilli also delves into the firm’s strategy moving forward and how he intends to overcome market challenges, his role as the firm’s head in driving it forward in the current climate, whether or not the firm is exploring new practice areas, whether the government should be engaging global firms on matters pertaining to national security, what he has learnt from Ted Lasso and how he incorporates that show’s teaching into the workplace, and what motivates him now that he is in the “legacy” phase of his legal career. If you like this episode, show your support by  rating us or leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (The Lawyers Weekly Show) and by following Lawyers Weekly on social media: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. If you have any questions about what you heard today, any topics of interest you have in mind, or if you'd like to lend your voice to the show, email editor@lawyersweekly.com.au for more insights!