Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network

If employees feel happy and supported and can bring their personal values to the workplace, Justine Aubin says, they will be more productive. More importantly, however, being an accommodating firm leader is the right thing to do in an evolving professional landscape. In this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by August & Claire Lawyers principal Justine Aubin to discuss why providing optimal support for one's staff is of the utmost importance and what she has learnt about this critical need, how the pandemic age has influenced her approach to showing support as a business leader, and how to put in place healthy and supportive frameworks in one's firm to better support the familial and personal needs of one's staff. Ms Aubin details her own experiences of providing such support to her staff (a number of whom have young families), the forces driving her to facilitate such an accommodating workplace and culture, fostering work-life integration, whether sees an increase in such approaches across the profession, how the approach influences the many hats that boutique law firm owners have to wear, and what will constitute best practice for firm leaders as working life continues to evolve across the professional services marketplace. 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 LOD, we explore the phenomenon of "constant firefighting" that law department leaders are facing, as well as trends around artificial intelligence, data fluency, and ESG. Host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by LOD head of market insights Mark Dodd and Canon Oceania chief legal counsel David Field to discuss the findings from LOD's recently released annual Global Survey Report, how and why general counsel feel like they are constantly putting out fires, the extent to which GCs are currently exploring AI, increases in data fluency, and how and why the priorities of Australia-based law department leaders differ to their global counterparts. The trio also delve into the need for investment in capability and building appropriate systems, entropy in human systems, overcoming the need for constant firefighting, the strategic importance of ESG, and broader reflections on LOD's survey findings and what they mean for law departments across the country, as the new year approaches. To learn more about LOD's Global Survey Report, 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!

Some lawyers know, from the outset, what they want to practice in. Others accidentally find themselves in a certain area of law. James d'Apice, he tells Lawyers Weekly, allowed his area of practice to find him. Here, we explore how and why lawyers come to select their specialities and – once they've done so – how to communicate it to the world. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back lawyer and Coffee and a Case Note founder James d'Apice to discuss how and why legal professionals end up in specialised practice areas, how he ended up in his speciality of corporations law, and the extent to which lawyers can fall into certain areas of practice. Mr d'Apice also responds to whether lawyers should be asking questions of themselves in selecting a specialist practice area as to whether or not that niche is a meaningful one for that individual, why how one feels about their speciality is so essential, practical tips around communicating one's speciality to the broader market, striking the right balance with branding in the modern age, and how carving out one's niche feeds into one's sense of self as a person and 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!

Ahead of the Women in Finance Summit and Awards 2023, we're catching up with some of the leading women in the financial services space. In this episode, host Maja Garaca Djurdjevic is joined by Olympian and financial adviser at HLB Mann Judd, Sarah Carli, to discuss how she made her way from the track to financial advice. Ms Carli, who competed in the 400-metre hurdles at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, reveals the valuable skills she has learned as an adviser that have positively impacted her athletic career, as well as how she balances being a professional athlete with working full time. Tune in to find out: The importance of a supportive work environment. How she balances her professional and athletic commitments. How there are more transferable skills between athletics and advice than many might expect. And much more!

In this special episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, produced in partnership with Clarence Professional Offices, we explore how sole practitioners and small-firm owners can leverage support (both personal and professional) in the course of building a successful business. Host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Clarence Professional Group director Tony Jansz, as well as Gallant Law principal and founder Lauren Cassimatis and Walsh & Walsh Lawyers principal and practice director Julian Walsh, to discuss the critical importance of community support for lawyers and business owners, how to overcome the myriad challenges that small-business owners in law will face, leveraging support mechanisms and how such support makes one a better lawyer and business owner, and why membership in entities like Clarence can make such a difference. To learn more about Clarence's Workspaces for Lawyers, click here.

For David Dwyer's legal team, proactivity on environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations is key – it does not wait for movement from regulators or competitors, nor does it wait for emerging trends to materialise. ESG is, he says, a "wonderful avenue" through which law departments can be forward-thinking and better embedded within businesses. In this episode of The Corporate Counsel Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Unilever general counsel David Dwyer about the high significance of ESG in the pecking order of urgent priorities for law departments, the balance between proactive and reactive steps to be taken by in-house lawyers, having underlying plans in place and the role of the GC in enacting such strategies. Mr Dwyer also delves into the importance of an all-encompassing approach, setting the stage within the legal team for the achievement of goals, undertaking internal analyses, engaging in trial and error, how his team and the broader business implemented a net zero strategy as well as achieved B Corp certification, ESG considerations moving into the future, and the lessons he and his team have learnt along the way. 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!

Annabel Biscotto, the immediate past president of the Australian Law Students' Association, understands how difficult it can be for the next generation of lawyers to post publicly in the online realm as they wade into the profession. As she has learnt, being genuine and authentic is the surest way to develop a brand to be proud of. In this episode of The Protégé Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back Ms Biscotto to discuss her tenure as ALSA president, what she has learnt about herself and the journey of emerging lawyers from that 12-month role, the importance of putting one's full self forward in the modern marketplace, and how it has become part of one's professional development. Ms Biscotto also discusses how she tries to be genuine and authentic when posting online, navigating anxiety about such public-facing content, being empowered from owning one's personal and professional brand, practical tips for getting one's brand started, and what excites her about the younger generation leading the charge in adding more colour to lawyers' identities to the outside world.

Claire Styles has always had a flair for entrepreneurialism and has long been passionate about being a business owner. Such drive serves her well as a mediator – as the art of mediation requires, she says, a commercial lens to best resolve disputes. In this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with C Legal & Co founder and principal Claire Styles (who is a finalist for Sole Practitioner of the Year at the upcoming Women in Law Awards) about her longstanding desire to be a business owner in law, how business imperatives drive her practice approach, the state of affairs for mediators and negotiators, and how the professional landscape is shifting. Ms Styles also delves into the big challenges for practitioners in this space moving forward, what she feels constitutes best practice, adopting a commercial lens to one's approach to mediation, what other boutique firm owners can learn from the experience of mediators, and how practitioners across the board have to adapt their practices heading into 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, 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!

Anika Valenti, who won the Excellence Award at this year's Australian Law Awards, joins us to reflect on taking a deeper, more holistic approach to client service delivery and why teaching and learning are at the core of her engagement with those she serves. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Terri Janke and Company senior associate Anika Valenti (who is also a two-time winner of the Senior Associate of the Year category) about her background in the film and television industry prior to her legal career, working with First Nations clients, seeing herself as a teacher for clients and how she looks to work deeply with, and take a holistic approach to, her clients. Ms Valenti also details the critical importance of relationship building, applying her approach to service delivery to all practice areas and all cultural demographics, how lawyers can adopt a more holistic approach, the broader perspective she's been able to glean about the practice of law, and what excites her about her continued journey in the legal profession.

Ahead of the Women in Finance Summit and Awards 2023, we're catching up with some of the leading women in the financial services space. Deslie Taylor, principal at Mortgage Choice Ormeau in Queensland, is one of the top brokers in the country, having settled over $1 billion in loans in her 16-year career and taken home numerous awards including Mortgage Broker of the Year at the Women in Finance Awards multiple years in a row. In this episode, we chat to Ms Taylor about how she runs her award-winning brokerage and find out from Aaron Slater, general manager of distribution at Mortgage Choice (principal partner of the Women in Finance Summit and Awards 2023), how we can help support and create more inclusive workplaces. Tune in to find out: The power of being an empathetic leader. The art of practising continuous improvement. How Mortgage Choice's Aspire program is supporting women in finance. And much more!