Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network

In this special episode of LawTech Talks, produced in partnership with Thomson Reuters, host Lauren Croft speaks with Thomson Reuters associate general counsel Janine Cane, Abt Legal global associate general counsel Camille Cedergren, and Thomson Reuters director of legal transformation Tyrilly Csillag about building the right legal tech stack for modern legal teams. From overcoming common implementation challenges to getting leadership buy-in and measuring ROI, building an adaptable, integrated legal tech strategy is vital in the current climate. The guests explore key considerations for evaluating and adopting legal technology, offering practical insights on how firms and legal departments can manage risk, drive business growth, and future-proof their tech investments. Cane, Cedergren, and Csillag also highlight the growing role of AI-powered tools in transforming legal teams from operational support to strategic business partners and the importance of future-proofing your tech stack. To learn more about Thomson Reuters and its work in this space, 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!

With many feeling lost and overwhelmed when starting their own law firm, one young lawyer who has navigated these challenges covers key steps to launch and manage your own legal practice with clarity and confidence. In this episode of The Protégé Podcast, host Grace Robbie speaks with Ahmad Faraj, the principal and senior lawyer at Faraj Defence Lawyers, delving into what inspired him to take the leap and start his own law firm. He shares the surprises and challenges he encountered in his journey, highlights the scarcity of resources available to guide aspiring law firm founders through this daunting process, and outlines four essential steps you need to complete before launching your practice. Faraj also offers guidance on choosing the right business model and area of specialisation, shares how lawyers can navigate conflicts with former firms concerning non-compete agreements and client transitions, as well as how to overcome the challenges of juggling the many roles a law firm owner must take on. He also discusses practical tips on landing your first client and building a sustainable client base, highlights the necessity of establishing a consistent digital presence across all platforms, and shares critical advice he wishes he had received early on.

Many senior in-house lawyers, Adrian Moffatt says, find themselves stuck in what he calls the “GC waiting room”. Here, he fleshes out how best law department leaders can support their growth. In this episode of The Corporate Counsel Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Ausco Modular executive general manager of legal and corporate (APAC) Adrian Moffatt about why he’s so motivated by in-house life, the inherent issues with the leadership bottleneck in-house and why it is a pervasive challenge, whether there can be more than one GC in a legal team, and the impact that waiting can have on a senior lawyer. Moffatt also discusses the flow-on issues that can arise both for businesses and individuals from this leadership bottleneck, the starting point for both GCs and their seniors in addressing the challenges, building suitable pathways moving forward, how best to come to the table, and his broader wisdom about having the courage to have tough conversations. 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 The Corporate Counsel Show, produced in partnership with FTI Consulting, we explore best practices for conducting investigations and regulatory responses and the importance of pivoting from a reactive to a proactive approach to prevention and detection. Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Natalie Faulkner, FTI Consulting’s Head of Risk and Investigations, Australia, to discuss the work that she and her team do, why she likes helping organisations “against the bad guys”, why investigations are so front of mind for law departments, some recent case studies she’s worked on, and the headline takeaways from those instances. Natalie provides practical guidance for conducting investigations, dealing with the increasing regulatory complexity and scrutiny and broader lessons she’s learnt for in-house teams. Natalie also delves into how prepared Australian businesses are at this juncture, with emerging deepfake and sophisticated attacks causing sleepless nights for law department leaders. To learn more about FTI Consulting, 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!

Here, a BigLaw partner reflects on what we’ve learnt in the last year and a half from the Secure Jobs, Better Pay legislative changes and what it all means for the market moving forward. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Norton Rose Fulbright partner Alexandra Shields about her work in employment and labour law, the “human element” of such legal practice, what the recent Secure Jobs, Better Pay amendments are and why they were introduced, the key takeaways from the last 12 to 18 months following the passage of the amendments, and the issues and challenges that have arisen. Shields also delves into how best to respond to those issues and challenges, the more encouraging developments from the last 12 to 18 months, whether developments in the market can be attributed to the amended legislation, why changing the employment and labour market is a longer-term project, going by the “vibes”, how employers should respond to the current climate, considering their reputations, and what is best practice for lawyers in this space moving forward. 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 The Corporate Counsel Show, produced in partnership with Elevate Flexible Legal Resourcing, we explore why contracting roles are no longer a stopgap and how legal departments and law firms are staying ahead with adopting agile resourcing strategies. We also delve into the changing attitudes in the industry and what is driving these changes. Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with the Head of APAC at Elevate Flexible Legal Resourcing, Val Pitt, about her industry insights. They discuss the catalysts for increased interest in contracting roles and what it means for the legal services marketplace; the environmental factors that make contracting more appealing right now; how contract lawyers are being integrated into law departments; and the questions lawyers should ask of themselves in order to successfully integrate into a team. Val also explains the growing recognition of flexible work as being a viable career pathway, the win-win scenario for both individual lawyers and law departments as they onboard new technologies and manage budgetary constraints, why contracting is so "transformative", why more law departments are embracing it, and what listeners should know about what makes Elevate Flexible Legal Resourcing a stand-out option. To learn more about Elevate Flexible Resourcing, click here.

In this special episode of The Corporate Counsel Show, recorded at the 2025 Corporate Counsel Summit, Professor Michael Adams reflects on the myriad issues law departments in tertiary education settings have to grapple with in terms of students’ use of artificial intelligence. Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Professor Michael Adams, a former law school dean and general counsel, about students’ use of AI for exams and assessments, the questions that faculties across campuses are having to navigate, and why in-house legal teams in universities have to be part of the conversation determining the right balance for students’ use of such platforms. Adams also delves into how the law departments can better collaborate with academics, the need to engage the student body as a key stakeholder, and why such questions and challenges will become increasingly pertinent for law departments in the education sphere moving forward. 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 modern age, we are seeing multiple examples of reactionary legislation being passed based on faulty, after-the-fact reasoning. Lawyers, among others, have a duty to speak out (as servants of the courts and communities) and educate about the implications of passing laws that do not strike the right balance. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back JSA NSW director Andrew Tiedt to discuss the phenomenon of after-the-fact reasoning giving rise to the passage of bad legislation, how and why this occurs, the impact of social media, how key stakeholders can be left out if laws are being passed based on public perceptions and pressure, and why parliamentarians may wish to do this. Tiedt also delves into why it isn’t necessarily a good thing for parliamentarians to respond to the court of public opinion, the implications of the passage of bad laws on practitioners (such as criminal lawyers), how lawyers can prevent such laws from being passed, their duty to be advocates, the longer-term dangers of such bad laws passing, who else bears responsibility for ensuring laws are measured and reasonable, and why it can be so hard to strike the right balance. 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 The Corporate Counsel Show, recorded at the 2025 Corporate Counsel Summit, SBS senior legal counsel Nicole Choolun reflects on why it is so important for the law department to showcase its risk appetite. Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Choolun about the importance of being seen as less risk-averse, legal’s perceptions from other business functions, and balancing one’s risk-averse training against having a greater risk appetite. Choolun also delves into the questions that legal should ask of itself to have a greater risk appetite, the flow-on benefits that come from not being as risk-averse, what she has learnt from times when she and her team have been less risk-averse, and how best other in-house can take steps to be better seen as trusted business advisers. 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 The Lawyers Weekly Show, produced in partnership with Distinctive Finance, we unpack the current economic outlook, including the potential for further interest rate cuts before Christmas and what it could mean for legal professionals looking to get ahead. Host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Christian Goodall and Mitchell Lobb, co-founders and directors of Distinctive Finance. Together, they share how they support legal professionals in building stronger financial futures, offer insights into the current market, and discuss the impact of inflation on Reserve Bank decisions and property prices. Goodall and Lobb also explore how lawyers should approach the property market today, how to strengthen loan applications, the value of expert financial advice, and what’s driving legal professionals to take action now. To learn more about Distinctive Finance, 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!