Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network

In an evolving sociocultural landscape, criminal lawyers must continually adapt their approaches to clients and service to the broader community. Recent rises in instances of offending by youths, for example, offer a chance for such practitioners to ensure best practice and step up their game. In this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Gallant Law senior in-house advocate Jonathan Brancato about how and why he became a criminal lawyer, his passion for advocacy, what’s happening on the ground for practitioners and the reported increase in offending by youths, and why practitioners are seeing such increases. Brancato also delves into how practitioners can respond to such changing circumstances, the need to adapt one’s approach to client management, approaches he has adopted that have worked and not worked, broader sociocultural challenges that criminal lawyers have to grapple with in the current age, opportunities for best practice that can be grasped, and the need to take a more holistic approach in servicing one’s broader community. 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!

Much is made of what law firms can and must do to support their clients. But what of the client itself? Here, we explore the responsibility of law departments to create and maintain better relationships with their external providers. In this episode of The Corporate Counsel Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back Cognetic Legal & Consulting founder and principal Damien Sullivan to discuss why it is so important for law departments to ensure their clients want to remain on their legal services panels, the things law firms are looking out for from their clients at this juncture, and how and why law firms should be comfortable providing constructive criticism and feedback where necessary. Sullivan also reflects on how front of mind such concerns are for law departments right now and how high a priority it should be, some of the things that those departments are currently getting wrong, the need to strip things back to basics and get the fundamentals right, and other practical steps that in-house teams can and must employ, as well as how those legal teams can better balance internal pressure against how they treat their external providers. 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!

Sven Burchartz knew he wanted to be a lawyer in year 10. Since then, his vocational journey has taught him a lot about what it takes to succeed as a business leader – including how leaning into his passion for motorsports has aided his growth. In this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Kalus Kenny Intelex principal Sven Burchartz about how he realised he wanted to be a lawyer as a teenager, whether the principals of growing and managing boutique law firms have evolved in recent decades, being different and memorable as a business, adapting to what’s happening within one’s practice, and knowing the right questions to ask of one’s self. Burchartz also reflects on his passion for motorsports, how he is mindful that it’s the only time he is truly on his own, how he is better personally and professionally for having time behind the wheel, and what other lawyers can learn from race car driving. 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!

LexisNexis experts Jeff Reihl, Jamie Buckley, and Greg Dickason discuss generative AI's impact on legal workflows. They delve into AI reshaping legal processes, competitive advantages for lawyers, challenges in the Australian legal market, importance of RAG for AI accuracy, future AI trends, and advice for integrating AI into legal practice.

Given how much the professional services marketplace is set to change in years to come, emerging law graduates must ensure they are open-minded and adaptable to change so that their vocational capabilities are suitable for the evolving landscape. In this episode of The Protégé Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes Law Wise Youth founder and creative director Chami Rupasinghe to discuss her motivation for undertaking a postgraduate law degree, her desire to undertake community service, leaning into her creative side, ensuring that self-care doesn’t get sidelined, and how and why her organisation, Law Wise Youth, came about. Rupasinghe also fleshes out the need for careers and vocational information to be more readily available to those coming through the ranks, her reflections on launching various projects and an e-commerce business in the current climate, having a diversified professional offering, what questions one must ask of one’s self in better crafting their vocational offering, the need to have business skills up one’s sleeve, the importance of personal branding, and her advice for others in ensuring their skill set is fit for purpose. 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, an award-winning young lawyer reflects on how she has developed and grown her personal and professional networks and how this has allowed her firm to flourish. In this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back Crossover Law Group founder and principal Marial Lewis to discuss the importance of both personal and professional connections across jurisdictions, how soon boutique firm owners should be looking to develop such relationships following the inception of their practices, and what such firm owners can learn from her experience as a migration lawyer looking to bolster her network. Lewis also delves into the practical steps to start garnering such relationships, how to balance this priority against other urgent priorities for boutique firm owners, thinking differently as leaders of small legal practices in a post-pandemic climate, and why she is a better lawyer for having invested time in the development of her personal and professional relationships. 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!

As businesses resume travel activities in the post-pandemic world, the landscape of corporate travel has significantly evolved. In this special episode, brought to you from Lawyers Weekly’s sister brand, HR Leader, Rodger Cook, general manager of global security services at World Travel Protection, delves into the intricacies of business travel. With costs soaring and risks constantly evolving, leaders must put their best foot forward to ensure their workforce remains safe and secure in business travel. Cook’s extensive travel experience has been pivotal in understanding the needs of businesses when they send employees abroad. He emphasises the importance of duty of care, ensuring companies are well informed about the risks associated with travel and how to mitigate them effectively. He also discusses the benefit of transferable skills, as his experience boasts diversity in professions. Such transferable skills are becoming increasingly crucial as companies face talent shortages. 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!

Having come from national and global law firms, the leaders of award-winning boutique Hazelbrook Legal understand what it takes to succeed as a BigLaw business and as practitioners, and they are leveraging those lessons to build a strategic approach that befits a smaller firm environment. In this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Hazelbrook Legal managing partner Hugh Griffin and partner Lucy Adamson about their respective experiences in national and global law firms and what they learnt from such roles, how they are looking to bring their experiences from those bigger practices to the boutique environment, and how best to “get the best of both worlds” in having a personalised workplace culture while working on matters traditionally seen as the remit of bigger players. The pair also flesh out how to stay true to a firm’s values, how well the firm has performed since its inception 10 years ago, what works and doesn’t work in crafting a winning culture, the frequency of check-ins on whether the strategy is working, and what motivates them to ensure that their boutique practice can continue to win big work while maintaining its unique cultural approach. 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!

As a lawyer and veterinary nurse, Michelle Neil is dedicated to serving the community around her. Having experienced significant hardship in her early life but then finding the right support systems, hearing others’ stories, and ultimately being able to share her own helped her realise that the legal profession is open to anyone who wants to help others. (Content warning: This episode contains content that may be disturbing or distressing to some listeners. Discretion is advised.) In this episode of The Protégé Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Vitality Law lawyer Michelle Neil to discuss what she calls her “unorthodox” personal journey, the impact that her upbringing had on her, what “high-controlling” environments are like, learning how to break free, and how she eventually managed to carve out her own path and enter the legal profession in her 30s. Neil also reflects on her work as a freelance veterinary nurse and why such work is so meaningful to her, why law became a worthwhile vocational path for her to pursue, lessons learnt from rebuilding one’s life, opportunities for next-generation lawyers to flourish, how her experiences inform her approach to lawyering and client service delivery, and ultimately why – no matter one’s background – there is a place for anyone in this profession. Help is available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 and Beyond Blue at 1300 22 4636. Each law society and bar association also has resources available on their respective websites. 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!

Caitlin McConnel has had a vocational journey unlike any other, having served as a Federal Court judge’s associate and now working at Clayton Utz while also being a sixth-generation farmer and working on her family’s property in regional Queensland. Her two vocations give her a unique perspective on law, national needs, and what’s needed moving forward. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Clayton Utz senior associate Caitlin McConnel about her journey in law to date, how she became involved in her family’s farming work and business, how she balances farm work with legal work, and what lawyers can learn from farmers. McConnel also delves into the myriad agricultural issues and challenges she sees both on the land and in her work, what is needed to address such matters moving forward, her perception of ever-increasing climate litigation and work in the natural capital markets space, and serving the community both as a farmer and as a legal professional. 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!