Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network

Having faced significant health issues in recent years, award-nominated young lawyer Melissa Arndell has learnt how critical it is to slow down, take stock, live one’s values, and believe in one’s abilities as a professional. In this episode of The Protégé Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Bourke Legal associate Melissa Arndell to discuss what took her and her family out to regional NSW, taking her practice inland, what the personal injury market is like out in the regions, navigating her practice area while also being close to the community, whether there are substantive opportunities for emerging practitioners who move inland. Ms Arndell also reflects on having experienced significant health issues in recent years, the flow-on consequences (both physically and personally) from such experiences, building resilience to manage tricky times, her motivation for her chosen practice area, practical ways to live one’s values, managing the juggle between work and family, compartmentalising pressure, and being true to one’s self as an emerging practitioner. 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 passage of “Right to Disconnect” laws in Australia will be the latest addition to the ongoing discourse around the ways in which professional services workers, including lawyers, should undertake their duties. Here, we check in on the state of affairs and why being “deliberate” is so important. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back Hall & Wilcox partner Fay Calderone to discuss what’s happening on the ground with regard to the debate around working arrangements for lawyers, the intersection between legal compliance, safety and flexibility, why workplaces must be “deliberate” about how they are leading and managing staff and their idiosyncratic needs, and the likelihood of court proceedings around workplace relations increasing in the near future. Ms Calderone also reflects on the pertinent lessons learnt for business leaders coming into the new year, whether firms are implementing a “wait-and-see” approach to top-down approaches, the reasonableness of wanting staff back in the office, the need for more organic and empathetic approaches, where such staff management sits in the triage of urgent responsibilities for law firm partners, and how employees can be navigating such conversations with their employers. 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!

Some lawyers feel that in-office collaboration will be best for team collegiality and productivity, while others want to lean more heavily into using technology and work-from-home arrangements to best serve clients and businesses. Striking the right balance between competing interests is a challenge that leaders in law firms and in-house teams will likely be grappling with for some time. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Mills Oakley partner Dalvin Chien about the quandary of getting lawyers back to the office (or not), the advantages of using new and emerging technologies to work in more modern ways, the broad benefits of working face to face with one’s colleagues, whether the law facilitates or prohibits such ways of working, and how leaders in law can be informing themselves about what might work best for their teams’ idiosyncratic needs. Mr Chien also discusses an informal survey he conducted recently to gauge market sentiment about what legal work can or should be done remotely versus in the office, and the impacts of the location of the undertaking of such work, as well as his real-life experiences, observations and practical tips about what constitutes the right balance. 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 climate, effective management of the holistic wellness of litigation teams is going to be paramount – doing so will require encouragement of organic community, as well as drawing lessons from unexpected places, such as team sports. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back award-winning litigator Matthew Littlejohn to discuss moving from Darwin (where he practised as a barrister) to Melbourne to manage the litigation team in Victoria’s Office of the General Counsel, what teams like his do and the challenges facing such teams in the current climate, balancing proactive and reactive issues, and interpreting lessons from different Australian jurisdictions in practising law. Mr Littlejohn also delves into the role and duties of litigation team leaders in 2024, the ever-increasing importance of managing staff wellbeing and why this is so pertinent in litigation, safeguarding against social isolation when staff are working from home, encouraging staff collaboration and communication and why it needs to be organic, his foray into competitive rugby with the Melbourne Chargers and how it helps him be a better person and lawyer, leadership lessons he’s taken from the rugby field, and what other litigation team leaders can learn from the experience of rugby players. 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!

To deliver effective legal services, lawyers need to be able to recognise and respond to their clients’ trauma and take a more informed view of their clients’ broader experiences. Here, we unpack how this can be done and why it is so essential. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Legal Aid NSW manager Jennifer Chen and lived experience advocate Rachel Thomas about what trauma-informed lawyering is, the introduction of a toolkit from the federal Attorney-General’s Department and what it hopes to achieve, and the emergence of such an approach to legal services domestically and abroad. The trio also discuss the impact that a trauma-informed approach from a lawyer can have on clients in need, why it is so important (from a client perspective) for a lawyer to be trauma-informed, the potential consequences (for clients and court processes) if lawyers are not adequately trauma-informed, adhering to one’s duties to clients and the court, overcoming scepticism about such an approach, and how best lawyers can better educate themselves on new ways of delivering legal services. 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 Leo Cussen Centre for Law, we explore the rapidly evolving professional services landscape and how today’s students, grads and juniors can bolster their arsenals to succeed in the future. Host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Flinders Law School dean Tania Leiman and Leo Cussen Mentor and Justice Lab convenor, Bianca Paterson to discuss the importance of new skills in the post-pandemic market, the headline trends for emerging practitioners to be on top of, the place of tech and innovation in the legal profession, using one’s legal qualifications in a diverse range of vocational avenues, and what education institutions like Leo Cussen are doing to ensure tomorrow’s lawyers are fit for purpose. The trio also discuss empowering emerging practitioners to craft their own career pathways, needed mindset shifts, the myriad challenges that younger professionals are currently grappling with (including the cost of living), what it means to thrive in the modern world, what those coming through the ranks can be demanding from education providers, and what the next generation has to look forward to. To learn more about Leo Cussen, click here. To learn more about Leo Cussen’s collaboration with Flinders University, 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!

Coming into 2024, award-nominated GC Teresa Allan is motivated to ensure optimal levels of resilience and connection across her law department. Doing so, she submits, will put the team in the best possible position to succeed in the current climate. In this episode of The Corporate Counsel Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Capgemini vice-president, general counsel and ethics and compliance officer Teresa Allan about the importance of exploring how to set up one’s law department to succeed in the new year, various personal setbacks she experienced in 2023, the lessons she learnt from trying times, why having transparent conversations with one’s team is as important as ever, and the need for resilience and reconnection. Ms Allan also delves into the holistic hurdles that might be getting in the way of optimal resilience and positive reconnection within one’s law department, how to navigate sustainability issues and balance team management against constant firefighting, segmenting team members to undertake proactive or reactive tasks, tackling the projects that a department can reasonably manage, what her definition for success in 2024 is, and what motivates her to achieve it. 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, X (formerly 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 Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) recent decision to hold the cash rate at 4.35 per cent will have significant implications for investors. In this episode of The Smart Property Investment Show, host Phil Tarrant chats with Finni Mortgages CEO Paul Glossop about why the RBA’s latest interest rate decision comes at a turning point in the nation’s financial landscape. The duo discuss how lowering inflation and stabilising cash rates could lead to a “trust jail” for investors whose banks refuse to reprice in line with rate reductions. The episode also reveals the far-reaching consequences of the current government policy, which may disincentivise investment in the long term. 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 Settify, we explore the circumstances that have led to an increase in family separations and inquiries to practitioners and how best those professionals can ensure optimal client service delivery moving forward. Host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Settify global chief executive Paul Psaltis to discuss the seasonal nature of increased separations and subsequent inquiries and how the current climate is perpetuating such a spike, the implications for the market and practitioners alike, the existence of a “perfect storm” in this practice area (including more acrimonious separations), and the need to find new and more creative ways to engage as a practitioner. The pair also reflect on the questions that lawyers in this space should be asking of themselves and their practices, undergoing a mindset and practical shift in one’s daily operations, overcoming key hurdles that impede business development, making necessary investments in one’s practice, and the opportunities that can and will flow from the utilisation of the right technologies and platforms. To learn more about Settify, click here.

Next week, the Reserve Bank of Australia will make its first cash rate decision for the year. With inflation dropping, there is much that legal professionals looking to purchase property or expand their existing portfolios need to be across – particularly to avoid missing out. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back Legal Home Loans director of sales Cullen Haynes and lending manager Rachael Massoud to discuss the current state of affairs in the market, how lawyers can interpret the recent lowering of inflation, the likelihood that the Reserve Bank will keep the cash rate as is to start the new year, and how lenders are reacting to next week’s RBA decision. The trio also discuss the incoming fixed-rate expiry cliff and how to ensure you are prepared, why getting pre-approval in place sooner rather than later will be critical for lawyers in the coming months, the serviceability factors that lawyers should be across, and the myriad benefits afforded to lawyers and legal businesses both through Legal Home Loans and when it comes to borrowing capacity (regardless of the size of one’s property portfolio). 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!