Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network

For too long, too many lawyers and law firms have been charging fees and issuing invoices that are not commensurate or proportionate with the work undertaken. The profession has to place proper value on itself, argues Ben Deverson. On this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Lawganised founder and director Ben Deverson to discuss the reasons why firms across the country do not price their services accordingly and the financial, professional and even personal impact that such undervaluing can have. The pair also discuss practical ways that lawyers and firms can overcome any fears they might have about changing up their billing practices, the best approaches moving forward, and whether time-based billing or fixed pricing is better in ensuring reasonable invoices. 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!

Having gone through family law proceedings herself, Ghania Dib understands the emotional toll it can take on individuals, and uses what she has gone through to benefit her own clients. On this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by GDA Lawyers principal Ghania Dib to discuss how, following her own experiences, she upskilled and invested in her education so that she could better serve the clients coming through her doors and how she’s able to manage client matters that bear similarities to her own. The pair also talk about the importance of human behaviour training as part of one’s professional development (regardless of practice area) and how and why sole practitioners can and should prioritise such investments in further learning. 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!.

Lawyers, Tim Perry says, are ultimately in a service industry, and they must remove as many barriers as possible in order to provide expertise to the best of one’s ability and in ways that best serve client needs. In this special episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, produced in collaboration with Thomson Reuters and recorded at the 2021 Boutique Law Summit, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Thomson Reuters Practical Law director (Asia and Emerging Markets) Tim Perry to discuss the need for law firm owners to consider and explore ways through which they can streamline their business and make them as efficient as possible, so as to better serve clients, eliminate risk and achieve optimal outcomes.   The pair also talk about how boutiques across the board are faring when it comes to onboarding and making the right investments in suitable technologies, and how Thomson Reuters’ Practical Law platform can aid boutique firms as we head towards a post-pandemic world.   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!.

Valedictorian, a major award and an incredibly coveted first job later, one graduate is still sticking to the same game plan that got her there: staying focused on her own achievements and believing that everything that happens is for a big reason.  In this episode of The Protégé Podcast, host Naomi Neilson is joined by University of Queensland graduate Anna Kretowicz to talk about her accomplishments so far – finishing top of her class, receiving the Una Prentice Award and securing one of the best first jobs in the profession, to name a few – but, more importantly, the positive mindset that she has kept with her throughout it all.  For Anna, every experience and every opportunity that has come her way has been worth something in the end, even if she learnt that it was something she would never want to do again and even if it meant detouring from her path for a little bit. On top of it all, it was important to be ready for a rejection for the risk of a best-case scenario.  “That’s another piece of advice that I would give to other law students or other law graduates or young professionals, anyone who’s in a space where there might be particular opportunities open to you is just put your name down for things. Put your hand up and say, ‘Hey, I want to give this a go’. Best case is it works out for you. Worst case scenario, it’s a no,” Anna told listeners.  She also advises other students and graduates to not be too wrapped up in their peers’ achievements and to remember that there are “plenty of seats at the table” for their own wins: “Just because someone’s doing something particularly interesting, it doesn’t mean that you have to as well.”  We also chat about making a mid-university degree change and the mindset behind making that happen, getting all the way to the High Court and social advocacy work.  Check out the episode below! If you have any questions about the episode or if there are any topics that you might want us to look into, please reach out – we would love to hear from you!  We’re also always open to new guests so if you have an exciting story to tell, if you’re standing out as a student or graduate, or if you can offer some tips for our young lawyers, get in touch.  You can reach us here: Emails: editor@lawyersweekly.com.au or naomi.neilson@momentummedia.com.au Socials: Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter or reach out to me directly here.

Perhaps more than any other practice area, criminal law was hit hard by COVID-19. According to a two-time winner of Lawyers Weekly Awards, the new normal will see enormous changes to access to justice, advocacy styles and the management of criminal law firms.  In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Streeton Lawyers principal Justin Wong – who won Partner of the Year at the 2020 Australian Law Awards, and the Criminal Law category at the 2019 Partner of the Year Awards – to discuss why the pandemic hit lawyers in this space so hard, the financial challenges for lawyers and firms alike, and how advocacy skills need to translate to a more online environment.  The pair also talk about new areas of crime that lawyers in this space can develop expertise in, what will constitute best practice post-pandemic, and why all of these challenges are exciting to Mr Wong.  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!

Daniel Stuk always wanted to work in sports law. He likely never imagined, however, that he would end up helping organise and run one of the world’s biggest and most-publicised sporting events in the middle of a global pandemic. On this episode of The Corporate Counsel Show, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Tennis Australia senior legal counsel Daniel Stuk to discuss how Mr Stuk and Tennis Australia planned for and navigated the 2021 version of the Australian Open, which saw a snap lockdown in Victoria mid-tournament. Mr Stuk details the regulatory, biosecurity and logistical headaches that he had to overcome – made especially difficult as there was “no roadmap” for the organisation to follow in trying to ensure the tournament’s success – and the lessons learned from such an extraordinary project. 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!

While the age of coronavirus has opened the eyes of the legal profession to new ways of working, there have been unintended – but also foreseeable – consequences for health and wellbeing. In this special episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, produced in collaboration with LOD, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by LOD Australia managing director Paul Cowling and LOD head of marketing and communications Anita Thompson to discuss the increased pressure being felt by lawyers across the board as Australia’s vaccine roll-out approaches, the environmental factors leading to burnout, and navigating a lack of separation between home and work. The trio also flesh out how best team leaders and employers can better encourage staff to take the leave they may so desperately need, and how the profession as a whole can be viewing the imperative to look after individual and institutional wellness. 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!

Alexandra Doig’s bio on her firm’s website says that “if she can’t get you to crack a smile even in the most complicated dispute, then nobody can”. Such an attitude to litigation underpins her entire leadership approach. On this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Velocity Legal director Alexandra Doig to discuss the importance of genuine care for one’s clients and one’s team, and why even though litigation work is serious, the lawyers undertaking that work shouldn’t be taking themselves too seriously. The pair also explore the benefits of building a team environment in which everyone feels supported to be themselves, the challenges that may emerge in a post-pandemic landscape whereby workforces will be more scattered, and how best team leaders across the legal profession can adapt a more human approach to undertaking client matters. 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 former accountant and barrister Trevor Withane moved over from the UK, he quickly realised that the Australian marketplace is much more relationship-driven than in Britain. As such, boutiques have to be strategic in approaching prospective clients if they are to land big matters. On this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Blackwattle Legal partner Trevor Withane to discuss how best boutiques can successfully pitch clients for work that would otherwise go to the big end of town, and what approaches can and do work in making such pitches. The pair also talk about how such pitches may need to evolve in a post-pandemic world, tailoring a pitch to idiosyncratic needs, whether a firm needs to be specialised rather than spread itself too thin in order to land big matters, and striking the right balance with proposed costs. 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!.

After being accepted into a law degree, one young graduate was diagnosed with cancer and told that she may never speak clearly again. Through a lot of dedication and confidence building, she came out the other end with a clean health slate and a promising future in the profession as a budding lawyer. In this episode of The Protégé Podcast, host Naomi Neilson is joined by Courtney Remington, a recent graduate working with Law Compliance and one of the law student finalists from our 2020 Women in Law Awards. In this episode, we talk about how she overcame a major health hurdle to secure a great position in the profession.  While it was a “big step sideways” in her career, Courtney spent some time building up her confidence and connecting with amazing mentors and a new group of friends. In the end, she was thriving in university and still is in her current workplace.  “It was just a bit of a tough journey through university, but I was so lucky to have a lot of inspirational women in my life and supportive friends and family,” she said.  In this episode, we also discuss the importance of surrounding yourself with strong, inspirational women who are both leading the charge in the profession while also carving out the right amount of time for their own wellbeing and to raise children.  Courtney has some bonus tips on bouncing back from the rejection letters and moving at your own pace until new grads find a position that works best for them. If you have any questions about the episode or if there are any topics that you might want us to look into, please reach out – we would love to hear from you!  We’re also always open to new guests so if you have an exciting story to tell, if you’re standing out as a student or graduate, or if you can offer some tips for our young lawyers, get in touch.  You can reach us here: Emails: editor@lawyersweekly.com.au or naomi.neilson@momentummedia.com.au Socials: Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter or reach out to me directly here.