Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network

Having spent years in senior in-house roles, Sarah Galbally and Shannon Landers are at a point where they want to utilise their expertise to service clients in ways that make personal and vocational sense to them. On this episode of The Corporate Counsel Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes Neon Legal directors Sarah Galbally and Shannon Landers to discuss what it means to be a freelance general counsel, why such a pathway was appealing to them respectively, the kind of work that their boutique firm handles and why, running an outsourced in-house model and creating a hybrid between private practice and in-house styles. Ms Galbally and Ms Landers also discuss how to look after one’s self while marketing services in the ways they want to, what they’ve learned about themselves as legal practitioners that they wouldn’t have known had they not chosen their new vocational pathway, why they think other in-house lawyers can and should consider freelancing as a GC as a viable career, and what boxes might need to be ticked to ensure success on that path. 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!

SME firm owners who hold their accountants to a higher standard are much better placed to be confident in themselves and how they run their businesses. Accountants who do not help firm owners feel such confidence should be let go. On this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes TLTurner Group owner and managing partner Terrell Turner – who joins the show from North Carolina – to discuss his accounting firm’s work in advising SME law firms, the issues he sees daily with his clients, how finances are a common problem for law firm business owners, and the most frequent challenges that such firm owners will experience with their accountants. Mr Turner also delves into the questions that firm owners must be asking of their accountants across the calendar year (not just at tax time), the importance of regular, meaningful communication, the red flags and trigger points that firm owners must be aware of in dealing with their accountants (and other external providers), whether such concerns have been amplified during the global pandemic, and why firm owners will be better off by having higher standards for their 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!

On this episode of LawTech Talks, produced in partnership with LodgeX, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with LodgeX founder and chief executive Kathy Constan about the impact of legal innovation over the years – how far we’ve come, the current state of affairs and what legal service providers have to look forward to in an ever-evolving marketplace. Ms Constan outlines a brief history of the first and second waves of legal technology, argues why the third wave isn’t something to be feared, what excites her about ongoing and future developments in tech, why she has such a strong academic interest in such evolutions and what excites her about the future, especially having run a boutique practice for nearly three decades. She also fleshes out the state of affairs in e-conveyancing, the looming issues and challenges for providers in this space, the corresponding trends and opportunities amidst the aforementioned third wave of legal tech, and why all legal professionals should look forward to the myriad evolutions in legal service delivery. To learn more about LodgeX, 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!

When it comes to the sheer scale and pace of change in the development of risk, how we understand it and how to respond to it, in-house legal teams are finding that “the law isn’t being a helping hand”. This needs to change. On this episode of The Corporate Counsel Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes Australian Law Reform Commission senior legal officer Nicholas Simoes da Silva to discuss the commission’s new background paper, Risk and Reform in Australian Financial Services Law, and the evolution in thinking about risk as a drive in financial services law reform. Mr Simoes da Silva spoke about the need for increased flexibility and reduced complexity, the extent to which corporate counsel are subject to legislative changes, the state of affairs for risk and how it has entered mainstream language, how the law isn’t always helpful in assisting in-house teams mitigate risk, and how legislative frameworks need to be able to handle changing approaches to risk and how obligations are imposed on financial services, providers and licensees. 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!

Sarah Jefford is “sick of the mediocrity” in federal politics. This, coupled with her strong sense of social justice and keen awareness of inequity across Australia, is driving her to serve her community as a member of parliament On this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by award-nominated family and surrogacy lawyer Sarah Jefford – who is standing for the Australian Greens in the Victorian electorate of Wills – to discuss her 2018 experience as a surrogate for two fathers and how that experience informs her work as a family and surrogacy lawyer. Ms Jefford also outlines her motivations in running for Parliament, why Indigenous issues are so close to her heart, why she thinks lawyers are uniquely concerned with integrity in politics and environmental concerns relative to other professional services strands, how she can serve the community around her and what she’s learned along the campaign trail to date. 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!

Less than a year after he was admitted, award-nominated lawyer Jonathon Naef was presented with an opportunity to help create a new kind of family law practice. He grabbed that opportunity with both hands and is helping bring a new way of working to the fore, thereby changing perceptions of the utility of practising in traditional modes. On this episode of The Protégé Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Balance Family Law co-founder Jonathon Naef to discuss how he met his mentor and director of Balance Family Law Perpetua Kish, the circumstances that led to the launch of the award-winning practice, the much-needed perspective that new practitioners can and do bring to the table, and why stepping up to help build a law firm was such a good challenge for him. Mr Naef also reflects on the various issues and challenges he has faced and how he has overcome these, how to leverage one’s position as an emerging leader in law, the inextricable nexus between success and kindness as a practitioner, and how those coming through the ranks should put themselves out there to earn opportunities for growth.

Keith Wolahan – a solicitor-turned-barrister who has served multiple combat tours in Afghanistan – believes strongly in serving the community around him. The lessons he has learned in his varied and impressive career will serve him well if elected as an MP.  On this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Melbourne-based barrister Keith Wolahan, who is the Liberal Party’s candidate in the Victorian electorate of Menzies, to discuss his career in private practice and at the bar, what more than two decades of service in the Australian Army have taught him, and why the idea of helping people in stressful times has always appealed to him. Mr Wolahan also explains his reasons for running for a seat in the House of Representatives, his vision for Australia and how that vision will serve him well if elected, why the national interest should always trump self-interest, why economic concerns are so important to lawyers, his thoughts on the recent federal budget, and why he has to “earn the trust” of his constituents.  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!

On this special episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, produced in partnership with Holding Redlich, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with partners Libby Carroll and Christine Lithgow about all things government legal work. The trio delve into the reasons why government work – at a federal, state and local level – is so rewarding, the importance of being able to deliver for the community, how government work has been impacted during the age of coronavirus and the issues and challenges this presented for lawyers in this space, and how the importance of such legal work was reinforced during the global pandemic. Libby and Christine also explain the extent to which government lawyers have to pre-empt what is happening in society and politics, how such proactivity forms part of best practice, what constitutes an effective and meaningful collaboration between external providers and in-house teams, and why government work is shaping up to be so exciting for lawyers in the new normal – as well as being such a rewarding vocational pursuit. To learn more about Holding Redlich’s government work, 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!

As the head of legal for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup (being held in Australia and New Zealand), Emily Jackson is operating in a “very truncated time frame” to help ensure the event is a success. However, she says, such vocational experiences provide a lawyer with myriad lessons, which are “unparalleled” for growth and development. On this episode of The Corporate Counsel Show, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by FIFA Women’s World Cup head of legal Emily Jackson to discuss how preparations are going for the 2023 event in Australia and New Zealand, how she has ended up in contract positions in-house, the vocational appeal of such contracts, the jurisdictional concerns to grapple with in organising an international sporting event, especially against the backdrop of an ongoing global pandemic. Ms Jackson also discusses the importance of preparedness, particularly given the finite time frames of her current role, triaging dozens of urgent priorities, maintaining optimal relationships with various stakeholders, wading through an “issues-rich environment”, why other lawyers should consider such contracts as part of their vocational journey and what might be next on her horizon. 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!

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced numerous measures in last week’s federal budget that will impact upon small businesses such as boutique law firms. Here, we unpack some of those measures and how firms can respond. On this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Lawyers with Solutions principal Pallavi Sinha about the recent federal budget, delivered on the eve of the 2022 election. Ms Sinha delves into the tax deductions for small businesses, what these mean for firms’ investments in technology and training, and what these measures say about the digital revolution. Ms Sinha also discusses the scrapping of company search fees, mental health support for small-business owners, increased funding for business support hotlines, the need for further assistance in cash flow for boutique law firm owners, how best those owners can support themselves in the near future, and the steps to implement to ensure a successful practice against the backdrop of this budget. 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!