Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network

Until such time as the Fair Work Commission sets precedents from test cases, employers may need to err on the side of caution when it comes to the implementation of the new Right to Disconnect. This does not, however, mean leaders in law should be trepidatious – instead, the new laws are an opportunity for optimal leadership. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back Professor Gabrielle Golding from the University of Adelaide to discuss her research into the need for a workplace right to disconnect (which has now become law), what the new laws will look like in practice, the definition of reasonableness, and how employers are broadly feeling about their new obligations. Professor Golding also delves into how leaders can approach their new duties on top of all other competing obligations, the volume of unpaid labour being undertaken in Australia’s workforce, how businesses can react accordingly, the potential for exacerbation of generational differences, the various scenarios in which an employee can or should be contacted, the need to err on the side of caution, and waiting for test cases. 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 this special episode of LawTech Talks, produced in partnership with PracticeEvolve, we unpack the need for law firms to take a step back and evaluate the value being gleaned from their tech stacks so as to better resolve business operational challenges and maximise opportunities. Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with PracticeEvolve’s Head of Sales Gab Santos and Head of Marketing Adam Bullion about the PMS provider’s journey in recent years, how and why Australian practitioners have been more innovative than global counterparts, why striking the right balance between innovation and stability is so critical in the current climate, and how well law firms are managing the cost of tech stacks at present. Santos and Bullion also reflect on the questions that firms need to ask of themselves when evaluating tech stacks, how firms can extrapolate better value from their providers, how the evolution of AI and machine learning can and will influence legal software solutions moving forward, and their best practice guidance for firm leaders to strike a better balance moving forward. To learn more about PracticeEvolve, 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 an age of rapid tech advancement, PhD candidate Chantal McNaught is fascinated by the navigation of conflict between law as a profession and law as a business. Zooming out and taking a more holistic approach to the purpose of law is essential, she argues. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with New Zealand-based Chantal McNaught, who is a PhD candidate at Bond University and a practice advisory manager at LEAP, to discuss her upcoming dissertation, the philosophical questions in distinguishing between the profession of law and the business of law, navigating the uncertainty of new and emerging technologies, and the need for practitioners to properly reflect on the implications of their use of new tech. McNaught also delves into environmental and external factors contributing to broader uncertainty, the need to think more holistically about one’s role as a lawyer in a changing professional services marketplace, the questions lawyers need to ask of themselves and their businesses, the importance of theory in informing the practical, and why such undertakings are so exciting for lawyers to sink their teeth into. 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!

Once law graduates get out into the profession, the long hours and volume of work can often mean that keeping in touch with friends, including lawyer colleagues, is difficult to the point of feeling isolated. One young lawyer is trying to change that. In this episode of The Protégé Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Baybridge solicitor Jennie Siow, who recently founded The Legal Mixer, about her experience and social circle at law school, the work she does at Baybridge, her experience and observations of the struggles that new and emerging practitioners have when it comes to maintaining genuine connections, and the flow-on consequences of such social isolation in a tough vocation. Siow also details her efforts to create new opportunities for social interaction for new practitioners, why she thinks such social gatherings are so important, the benefits that recent graduates can glean from such social occasions, how they can overcome fears about their capacity to engage, broader, practical steps to be taken to ensure that one can maintain the connections they have already formed. 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!

Running a successful law firm is trying at the best of times. In the wake of personal and familial tragedy, being a business owner is immensely more difficult. Here, Kelli Martin reflects on how she keeps her firm going while dealing with loss and details what other firm owners can learn from her experiences. (Content warning: This episode contains content that may be distressing to some listeners. Discretion is advised.) In this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with KLM Solicitors managing partner Kelli Martin about her firm’s journey since inception, the recent tragedy that struck her family and the toll it is taking, how she and her family are managing, and what she is learning from such processes. Martin also reflects on her efforts to keep her law firm going while navigating personal matters, how she has learnt to lean on and trust colleagues more, understanding the need to reach out to those around you, how her business objectives and plans are shifting in the wake of changing personal circumstances and why, and her broader guidance to small law firm owners. 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!

While lawyers are adept at navigating conflict on behalf of clients, they are often ill equipped to deal with their interpersonal conflict, says one barrister and solicitor-turned-mediator and executive coach. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Maria Newport, a “recovering lawyer” now working as a mediator and executive coach, about her journey in the legal profession and what drew her to such work, why discussing lawyers’ inability to manage interpersonal conflict is such a critical conversation, whether such capacities have gotten worse since the onset of COVID-19, and how commonplace it is across the profession. Newport also unpacks lawyers’ cognisance of such issues and the time constraints to address them, examples of how an inability to manage interpersonal conflict can have flow-on consequences for lawyers, the nexus to profession-wide mental health concerns, the practical steps that lawyers can be taking to better manage interpersonal conflict, how difficult such self-improvement can be, and why lawyers cannot let this issue fall by the wayside. 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 this special episode, brought to you by Lawyers Weekly’s sister brand, Cyber Daily, Cyber Security Minister Clare O’Neil unpacks how the Albanese government aims to make Australia the world’s most cyber secure nation by 2030. Minister O’Neil provides host Liam Garman with firsthand insight into upcoming cyber security legislation to keep us safe online, reflects on the threats that keep her up and night, and how the government is tackling such a broad array of online threats – from phishing attacks to credential stuffing and insider threats. She also shares her thoughts on the recent Deloitte report on the Optus attack, clears up some common questions on SOCI/SLACIP, and details upcoming cyber security legislation and what the future of digital transformation looks like in Australia. 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 wake of voluminous change in the industrial relations space, it is critical to reflect on how such legislative updates will impact workplaces of all stripes and how both employers and employees can navigate such evolutions to working life. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back barrister Ian Neil SC to discuss the “tumultuous” past year in industrial relations reform, the myriad changes that were legislated and are coming into effect, what the response from businesses and employers has been to such change, and whether the net effect of such changes will be to drive up the cost of labour. Neil also delves into how businesses can and should respond to the “tidal wave” of changes, why good governance has never been more essential, what the Closing Loopholes and Right to Disconnect legislation means and what its impacts might be, what might be the headline industrial relations issues to contend with in the future in light of such changes, why prudent employers will see the changes as an opportunity, what will constitute best practice moving forward, and the likely volume of work headed in the direction of legal practitioners and HR professionals. 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 this engaging discussion, Evan Kostopoulos, the managing partner of York Hamilton, unveils the future of Australian law firms in a changing landscape. He highlights the rising potential of remote talent and offshoring as critical strategies for legal practices. Evan emphasizes the urgency for firms to adapt to automation and technological advancements post-COVID. He discusses overcoming resistance to offshoring and predicts a shift towards a hybrid model, blending in-house and remote talent for greater efficiency and competitiveness.

As one who has experienced significant adversity in life, Rugare Gomo understands better than most the importance of not just authenticity and vulnerability but also the imperative to be brave and live and work according to one’s own expectations rather than what might be expected of us by others and broader society. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back Rugare Gomo, a high-performance coach, author and former lawyer, to discuss how and why he left Zimbabwe for Australia as a teenager, deciding to study and practise law and his journey in the profession, and his realisation that – personally and professionally – he needed to approach life in ways truer to his values and purpose rather than in accordance with external expectations. Gomo details how lawyers can push back against ingrained traits and characteristics so that they can live from the heart, what went wrong in his life when he wasn’t true to himself, overcoming self-limiting beliefs and fear of asking stupid questions, how time-poor leaders can better create safe spaces for staff, how individuals can find safe spaces, how to practically start being braver and more creative, and how and why such an approach to one’s personal and professional has been beneficial for him.