Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network

When engaging in a transformation project to optimise the law department’s work, there are myriad lessons to be learnt to ensure that such a project is as successful as possible. In this episode of The Corporate Counsel Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with NCC Group head of legal (APAC) and head of data governance Elizabeth Duncan-Lee about working in a cyber security business and helping build a safer world, what it means to undertake a transformation project and what she and her team are currently working on, optimising daily operations, and the questions to be asked in getting started on such projects. Ms Duncan-Lee also delves into the practical steps to be taken in the implementation of transformation projects, how best to carve out time for the law department’s other duties (including firefighting) while undertaking a transformation project and striking the right balance between competing priorities, how often to evaluate a project’s success and direction, knowing when the team can be confident in an outcome and how long to allow for a new approach to work, and lessons learnt from engaging in such transformative processes. 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!

In the current climate, utilisation of new technologies is not about “sprinkling magic AI dust” on one’s existing practice – it’s about identifying efficiencies for clients whose expectations and demands are shifting with the times and making one’s firm fit for purpose, at a time in which competition is as fierce as ever. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Stirling and Rose managing partner James Myint to discuss the value and meaning he derives from specialising in technology, having skin in the game in advising clients on tech advancements that his firm also looks at, the sister company his firm is launching, the need for smaller legal practices to invest in having multiple arms to the broader business, and how and why striving for efficiencies across the board is so essential for firms. Mr Myint also delves into the headline takeaways and implications from the tech evolution in recent times for law firms big and small, how practice methodology is shifting or being reinforced in the current climate, what it means to be competitive and what a law firm can and should look like in the age of artificial intelligence (AI), why the duty to be efficient has to underpin a firm’s response to all market challenges, and the questions that firms must be asking of themselves. 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!

Given its transient population and also environmental and cultural diversity, practising in the Northern Territory offers a vocational experience unlike most, if not all, Australian jurisdictions. There are also idiosyncratic challenges to navigate, meaning creative business approaches are key, with myriad lessons to be learnt for SME firm owners. In this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with AFL Withnalls head of family law in Darwin, Vanessa Farmer, about why family law is a meaningful vocational pathway for her, life in the Northern Territory and why it’s professionally rewarding but also challenging, and its unique environmental and idiosyncratic factors for Australian lawyers. Ms Farmer also reflects on her 25-year career in practice to date, the hurdles currently being faced for practitioners in the NT and implications for sole practitioners, thinking creatively to attract and retain staff now that she is part of a national entity, collaboration with like-minded practitioners, trends to look out for this year, adhering to strict parameters for one’s working day, and the need for emerging leaders to both back themselves and pay attention to detail. 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!

A few months ago, the Federal Court found in favour of five former students of a Melbourne-based school who had alleged anti-Semitic bullying and harassment, with the quintet being awarded substantial damages by the state of Victoria. Here, one of the partners involved in the proceedings unpacks the case and its broader implications. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes Cornwalls partner Richard Hutchings to talk about the case of Kaplan v State of Victoria (No 8) [2023] FCA 1092, the headline takeaways and findings from the proceedings, how he and his firm came to be involved in the matter, the significance of an apology being delivered, and why the proceedings are so important in the current climate. Mr Hutchings also reflects on whether we may now see further such proceedings being brought across Australian jurisdictions, whether our laws are currently fit for purpose in navigating such discrimination issues, how and why law firms of all stripes should be more willing to take on these kinds of matters on a pro bono basis, lessons for such firms coming out of these proceedings, how his team navigated evolving court processes, and his interest in human rights law more broadly. 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!

Law students – especially those unsure about what they want from their careers – should proactively seek as much diverse experience as they can. As Hayden McLoughlin has discovered from working in-house, one will be much better placed from having taken up such opportunities. In this episode of The Protégé Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with NIOA Group paralegal and QUT law student Hayden McLoughlin about being open to new ideas and pathways as one progresses while studying, how he “fell into” an in-house role as a student, whether in-house work is undersold to students as a vocational pathway, and what his duties look like in his current role. Mr McLoughlin also reflects on the capacity for students to become better-rounded graduates if they engage in in-house work, the benefits he has gleaned, challenges he has faced and overcome, how undertaking a summer clerkship has complemented his in-house experience, why law students need to seek as broad a remit of experience as they can, questions one should ask of one’s self, and why students must go out and seek value. 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!

Reflecting on the biggest challenges facing SME firm owners in Western Australia, Nicola Watts says that leaders have to be consistently engaging with their staff to not only attract and retain top talent but also to better understand and appreciate evolving attitudes to career trajectory for those coming through the ranks. In this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with O’Sullivan Davies principal Nicola Watts on practising family law in different Australian jurisdictions and navigating the idiosyncrasies, the opportunities to tailor one’s practice that emerge from such differences, the headline issues and challenges she’s seeing for practitioners out west, and why these are so significant. Ms Watts also reflects on hurdles being faced regarding talent attraction and retention, the need for shifting mindsets from business owners, engaging in regular conversations with staff about what changes are needed, practice-specific challenges she’s anticipating in 2024, doing one’s best to keep ahead of market trends, opportunities for business owners in the new year, and why firms cannot simply rely on their reputations amid changing vocational attitudes. 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 Axiom, we unpack the provider’s recent research into the unsustainably onerous burdens placed upon general counsel, the flow-on consequences from such workloads, and what needs to change moving forward. Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Axiom chief commercial officer David Pierce about the provider’s recently conducted GC Survey and its concerning findings about the volume of work against the backdrop of lower budgets, hiring freezes and inadequate resourcing, the on-the-ground experience of general counsel in the current climate, whether the reputation of in-house roles as being better for work/life balance stacks up, and what Mr Pierce sees as being the most urgent issues to be addressed for law department leaders. The pair also reflect on the sustainability of in-house roles in their current forms, flow-on consequences for law department leaders if urgent issues are not suitably addressed, the potential for self-fulfilling prophecies to come to fruition, efforts being made in-house to navigate issues faced, making life for those in-house easier, and Mr Pierce’s optimism that such issues can be overcome. To learn more about Axiom, 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!

Disenchanted with adversarial processes that she felt weren’t serving clients, Anne-Marie Cade sought and discovered a new approach in parenting coordination. Speaking to Lawyers Weekly following a Churchill Fellowship on the subject (which saw her visit 16 global cities to explore such practices), she unpacks why parenting coordination is so essential in family law matters in Australia moving forward. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Ms Cade, an accredited mediator, lawyer, and parenting coordinator, about how she got a Churchill Fellowhip, what parenting coordination is and why she sees it as being so important, her global research into the implementation of such an approach in family law matters, what Australia can learn from overseas examples, and the receptiveness of Australian practitioners to parenting coordination. Ms Cade also reflects on the need for such an approach in the Australian market at present, what jurisdictions here should avoid from global counterparts, her predictions for the uptake of parenting coordination in Australia by year’s end, challenges she foresees to its success and popularity as an approach, and what excites her about her work in this space moving forward.

Mariah Saad wears multiple professional hats: she is both a graduate trademark lawyer and founder of a loungewear fashion brand, LONELY IS MY HAPPY. Pursuing both pathways, she says, makes her a better and more rounded professional. In this episode of The Protégé Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with LegalVision graduate Mariah Saad about her work with the fast-growing NewLaw firm, her lifelong interest in fashion, how and why she founded LONELY IS MY HAPPY during the COVID-19 pandemic, and being deliberate with her marketing and branding about empowerment and confidence as it pertains to wearing loungewear. Ms Saad also reflects on wanting people to talk more about their mental health struggles and having her label champion such conversations, how law students and young lawyers have responded to her label, how her legal employer has embraced her work, how she manages her time and the juggle, what she has learnt in the course of being a business owner and young lawyer simultaneously, what advice she has for emerging legal professionals about broadening one’s skill set, and why they should be unafraid to pursue their passions. 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 some pockets of the legal profession, the notion of wellbeing has arguably been embraced as a marketing tool for talent. With worldwide rates of psychological distress having been exacerbated in the wake of COVID-19, legal employers need to consider stripping things back to basics to ensure meaningful, substantive approaches to supporting staff. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with FCW managing principal Andrew Douglas and Wellceum founder and chief executive Desi Vlahos about the “significant damage being done to young people”, the emerging realisation that responsibility for wellness doesn’t fall just on an individual, the exacerbation of mental health issues in recent years, and the proactive and reactive steps that employers must take if they are to properly engage with this issue. The trio also reflect on regulatory action in prosecuting employers over psychosocial hazards, the need for employers to see themselves as having positive duties to manage staff wellness, where Australian workplaces currently sit relative to global counterparts, overcoming longstanding and ingrained practices in Australian legal workplaces, why firms may not be making as much progress on wellness as they are on matters such as artificial intelligence, and what constitutes good governance. 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!