Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network

Earlier this year, award-winning sole practitioner Claire Styles worked from Europe for two months. That working holiday allowed her time to reflect on what was working and not working in her business, and since then, she's moved to not only adapt her approach and home in on what she truly wants to do, but she has also started a side hustle – all of which is providing greater personal and professional meaning for her. In this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back C Legal founder and principal Claire Styles (a former winner of the Sole Practitioner of the Year category at the Women in Law Awards) to discuss living out her personal values in her business, why she did a working holiday and what she learnt, undertaking a new firm structure, and why working holidays can be a happy medium for practitioners who are afraid to step away from the business. 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 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 LexisNexis, we explore the opportunities in front of law departments to expand the breadth of what they can achieve, including by taking small, accessible steps to improve familiarity with new technologies. Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with LexisNexis APAC head of legal Ali Dibbenhall about the work she does and what she enjoys about it, her observations about the success or otherwise that law departments are experiencing in onboarding and effectively utilising new technologies, the universality of being "resource constrained", and where we're at with AI governance in-house. Dibbenhall also delves into having safe places to experiment, using platforms as a sounding board or devil's advocate, taking small steps to find efficiencies and streamline departmental operations, changing one's habits, and the benefits of AI in in-house legal practice. To learn more about Protégé now in Lexis+ AI® 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, X 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

In the current climate, maintaining psychological safety in law departments requires much more than box-ticking – a stronger focus on culture, and use of AI to ensure greater focus on human issues, is paramount moving forward, says an Award-Winning and GC Powerlisted Group General Counsel. In this episode of The Corporate Counsel Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back former group GC of Tabcorp, Ivana Kovacevic, who now serves as a fractional GC and advisory board member for Thomson Reuters Practical Law, and keynote speaker, to discuss the importance of building psychological safety in legal teams in the current climate, her perception of what constitutes psychological safety for law departments, and how well the in-house sector is faring when it comes to ensuring such safety. Kovacevic also delves into the need to move beyond compliance box-ticking, the urgency is prioritising psychological safety, the starting point for in-house teams in creating and maintaining psychologically safe working environments, catering to idiosyncratic needs within one's team, practical steps she has taken within her own teams and what has worked, making time to implement changes, using AI to take a more human approach, leading by example, and the need to be curious and vulnerable. 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 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!

Dion Barber, a former ward of the state, recently won a "seismic" judgment for $2.85 million against Western Australia over sexual abuse suffered as a child in state care. Here, his lawyer Hugo Seymour reflects on the significance of the proceedings and the implications for survivors moving forward. (Content warning: This episode contains references to child sexual abuse. Listener discretion is advised.) In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Maurice Blackburn associate Hugo Seymour about his work as a historical sexual abuse lawyer and how he manages the subject matter, Dion Barber's proceedings against the state of Western Australia, the issues that the court had to resolve leading up to judgment, and why the judgment awarding Barber $2.85 million is so significant. Seymour also delves into what the future might hold for such proceedings, how lawyers can and should interpret the significance of the judgment, and his broader thoughts about the future of such litigation, and what can be learnt from Barber's bravery in coming forward. 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, X 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

Following COVID-19, there has been an "e-sports winter" – however, there are murmurs, one lawyer says, of a looming spring, which could see a proliferation of legal work in this space. In this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back Game Legal principal Mat Jessep to discuss what it means to be an e-sports lawyer, why there has been a "winter" regarding legal work in this space and the impact of such a downturn, where the sector could be headed in the future, and the green shoots that he is seeing moving forward. Jessep also delves into why he remains bullish about this legal space, the untapped potential for investment and regulatory oversight in this space, how lawyers like himself can advocate for driving this space forward, adapting and pivoting to best serve client needs for a looming spring, and his predictions for the e-sports law space. 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 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 InfoTrack, we reflect on the ways that family law practitioners can better utilise new technologies in their daily operations. Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with InfoTrack General Manager of family and estates Yogesh Patel about the pain points that family lawyers are experiencing within the current climate, how well those lawyers are managing such pain points, the role that technology can play in alleviating such pressures, and how well family lawyers are doing in onboarding new tech. Patel also reflects on ensuring that family lawyers have custom-built offerings to help with idiosyncratic issues in their practices, bringing practitioners along for the ride with such change, the trends that such lawyers will face moving forward that tech will be able to assist with, how tech can support the client interaction experience, and why onboarding tech isn't as hard as one might think. To learn more about InfoTrack, 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, X 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

The proliferation of head injuries and concussions in women's sport globally is shaping up to be significant for insurers and litigators. Here, a BigLaw partner unpacks the landscape, and what it all means for lawyers moving forward. Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Clyde & Co partner Janine Clark about her work as a catastrophic injury practitioner and why it's of such interest to her, being "the balance" between injured persons and insurance premiums, how and why concussion in women's sport has become such a talking point, and what's happening in ongoing class actions in this space. Clark also delves into why this will be a growing area of litigation moving forward, whether such litigation could be akin to the proliferation of asbestos-related claims in a previous era, the implications for lawyers like herself, what constitutes best practice for lawyers like herself, and how to ensure optimal client service delivery in the future. 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 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

While many begin their legal careers straight out of high school, Melissa Rowlands emphasises that it's never too late to enter the profession and pursue your passion – even if that journey comes with steep challenges and bold leaps of faith. In a recent episode of The Protégé Podcast, host Grace Robbie speaks with Melissa Rowlands, a family law paralegal completing her juris doctor, about what drove her to leave a comfortable communications role to pursue law later in life, the fear and excitement of jumping into the deep end of a completely new career, and the biggest challenge she faces: juggling motherhood, work, and study all at once. Rowlands opens up about the mindset shift she had to make, realising she can't give 100 per cent to every part of her life, describes the loneliness of studying law later in life and the lack of university support for mature students, calls for programs that help build social connections, and stresses that it's never too late to pursue a career in law and chase those goals.

In this special episode of LawTech Talks, produced in partnership with Law In Order, we reflect on how far litigation support services have come in the last quarter century, what has been learnt in that time, and addressing current challenges and trends amid the ongoing tech transformation. Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Law In Order sales director Lisa Whitehead to discuss what litigation support technology looked like at the turn of the century, the biggest pain points being faced by legal teams at that time, changing client expectations, what today's litigation landscape looks like, and how inextricable such tools and services are to litigators. Lisa also delves into how well litigation teams are doing when it comes to meaningfully utilising such tools, what teams are most in need of right now, the extent to which teams can be proactive, the biggest hurdles facing litigators at present, overcoming a sense of overwhelm, and the biggest opportunities for litigators as we move forward. To learn more about Law in Order, click here.

Litigation, like all other areas of legal practice, continues to undergo substantive environmental and technological change. Here, we unpack how best to ride those waves of change, and correspondingly, better manage evolving client expectations and regulatory scrutiny alike. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Buchanan Rees Dispute Lawyers co-founder and principal Luke Buchanan about his belief in law being at the core of our society and making meaningful contributions, the increased regulatory focus on corporate activity, challenges presented to litigators, evolving client expectations, and lessons he's learnt over his years as a litigator. Buchanan also delves into the nature of settlement agreements and whether they might shift over time, best practice in reaching a settlement agreement, hurdles to overcome, understanding that clients want any dispute to be resolved in totality, adapting to technological change, the increasing cost of litigation, and how his views on what constitutes best practice for litigators have evolved over the years. 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 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