Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network

Small law firms that not only understand what their idiosyncratic low-hanging fruit is but are also adept at reaching for it will be much better placed to craft business operations in ways that make sense for the practitioner. In this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back C Legal & Co principal Claire Styles, a former winner of the Sole Practitioner of the Year category at the Australian Law Awards, to discuss what it means to grasp the low-hanging fruit and why this is so essential for boutique practices, how difficult it can be for such practices to understand the need to operate in such ways, and the benefit of learning from experience.

Styles also reflects on the law of diminishing returns, the toll of imbalance upon practitioners, the importance of undertaking annual reviews, having the option of allocating your time in ways that make sense to you, how she has gone about grasping the low-hanging fruit for her own firm, opportunity costs, and cost-benefit analyses that will reap rewards for firm owners.

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 [email protected] for more insights!

In the current climate, having a plan in place to develop, maintain and protect the intellectual property of a business is becoming increasingly important. Here, we unpack not just how best to do it but also how and why corporate counsel can get excited about such duties. In this episode of The Corporate Counsel Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Procreate head of legal Sarah Standen about her interest in intellectual property, her experience in a greenfield in-house role and why being an inaugural legal counsel is so rewarding, the increasing importance of staying on top of IP matters, and whether IP gets forgotten in the shuffle of other urgent priorities facing law departments.

Standen also delves into the consequences of not protecting a business's IP properly, the fundamental questions the law department must ask when getting started on a plan, the practical proactive and reactive steps to take in maintaining the interests of a business, the flow-on benefits from having in place a good plan to develop and protect IP, and why corporate counsel should get excited about such a transformation 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 [email protected] for more insights!

Dunedin Airport in New Zealand recently placed a cap of three minutes to hug and farewell loved ones in the airport's drop-off zone in order to ensure safety and efficient traffic flow. Here, we unpack what common law precedent tells us about the imposition of such rules in public settings. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Dr Mark Giancaspro, a senior law lecturer at the University of Adelaide and barrister and solicitor in South Australia, to discuss the recent cap on hugs introduced at Dunedin Airport, how and why the rule has been implemented, and why contract law seems to suggest there are no legal issues with such a cap on airport farewells.

Giancaspro delves into the implicit acceptance of rules promoted via signage once one enters airport grounds, whether such a rule would violate anti-discrimination laws, whether an individual's acceptance of the airport's rules can be implicitly accepted even if communication from the airport is verbal, and ultimately why consideration of such legal quirks is a meaningful endeavour. 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 [email protected] for more insights!

Arbitration is the "mechanism of choice for many transactions", with a growing appetite for this approach in Australia. However, if clauses are not properly drafted, the benefits of arbitration can be lost, argues one BigLaw partner. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Corrs Chambers Westgarth head of arbitration Nastasja Suhadolnik about her journey and interest in arbitration, the increasing embrace of arbitration in Australia, how and why poorly drafted clauses occur, and the implications when this occurs. Suhadolnik also delves into the myriad benefits of arbitration (when undertaken correctly), what it means to be a good arbitrator, the prevalence of issues with clause drafting, whether Australia risks not being seen as an attractive destination for arbitration, and how best practitioners in this space can service their clients.

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 [email protected] for more insights!

Having recently completed the first year of her law degree, Cassidy Pole's passion for the rule of law has only intensified. Here, she reflects on what the journey has taught her and what others coming through the ranks can glean from her experience. In this episode of The Protégé Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Australian National University (ANU) law student Cassidy Pole about what attracted her to the law in the first place, why she chose to move down to Canberra to study at ANU, how and why her passion for the law has intensified, whether the environment of law school has lived up to expectations, and what has surprised her thus far.

Pole also muses about managing the juggle of study and work, putting one's self out there to network and secure employment, why students shouldn't lose hope about finding work, navigating the stress of one's workload, staying healthy and happy, where she sees her journey in law heading, and what she knows about herself after one year of law school that she didn't before.

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 [email protected] for more insights!

The potential implementation of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) in Australia could bring about wholesale benefits across the country, but would also have significant implications for law reform.

In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Clyde & Co partner Liam Hennessy about his work as a digital economy practitioner, the recently released RBA and Treasury paper exploring the suggested introduction of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) in Australia, and the legal implications for the nation's monetary system and economy.

Hennessy also reflects on the likely need for significant reform across banking, privacy, and consumer protection laws; the presumed benefits across society from the introduction of CBDCs Down Under; how Australia is faring relative to global counterparts on these questions at present; the lessons we can learn from overseas jurisdictions; and what will constitute best practice for lawyers working in this space, particularly when advising clients.

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 [email protected] for more insights!

As a singer and songwriter, senior legal counsel Roderick Smith appreciates that performing on stage allows a musician to cast a spell on an audience and transport them emotionally. He tries, he says, to bring that same energy to the workplace and draw the best out of people so that the law department can best support the business. In this episode of The Corporate Counsel Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Novartis senior legal counsel in ANZ Roderick Smith about his journey and work as a musician, what is so rewarding about producing and performing music for him, the vocational benefits he gleans as a lawyer from having such a creative outlet, including having a more holistic perspective. Smith also reflects on his journey as a lawyer and how he came to work in-house, the extent to which his work in the healthcare sector as a corporate counsel informs his songwriting, how he juggles the two seemingly distinct roles, his perception of the myriad challenges facing in-house lawyers as we head towards 2025, and how being a good lawyer and musician is not about what one does, but rather how one makes people feel. 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 [email protected] for more insights!

The floated changes to Australia's franchising laws, for which the consultation period is still open, could have material impacts on the viability of some franchising models in Australia, argues one BigLaw partner. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Dentons partner Robyn Chatwood about her background and interest in franchising law, the proposed changes to Australia's franchising laws and why such changes are in motion, how and why this space sees voluminous change, and the potential consequences and outcomes from the proposed changes currently in consultation. Chatwood also delves into the material impacts on the market and whether or not franchises will want to do business in Australia, how best lawyers in this space can advise clients in the face of such change, navigating client fears and anxieties in this time, and issues surrounding deregulation.

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 [email protected] for more insights!

In this special episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, produced in partnership with Smokeball, we unpack where small law firms are at with their use and understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) and the importance of better utilising emerging technology to, among other things, save time. Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Smokeball chief executive Hunter Steele about his passion for uplifting small law firms, the pace of change with AI relative to other market developments over the years, his headline observations about AI in the year that has been, how and why we remain in the "early adopter" phase, and the critical importance of ongoing education by and for practitioners about the relevance and place of such emerging technologies.

Steele also reflects on lawyers' increasing appreciation for how AI will and continues to upend daily operations, the extent to which lawyers are excited about these developments, what Smokeball is doing right now to support practitioners (including its focus on practice management), the nature of queries the provider receives, how clients are responding to their lawyers' use of such platforms, what the advent and mainstreaming of AI says about the state of the legal market, and what excites him about the opportunities that lawyers will be able to grasp in the future.

To learn more about Smokeball, click here.

A BigLaw firm recently ran an experiment at the South by Southwest Sydney event, in which it tested whether artificial intelligence was capable of besting a senior associate in a mock trial. The end result offers pertinent lessons – not just for lawyers' use of emerging tech but also for advocates and clients alike. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Lander & Rogers senior associate and innovation manager Jeanette Merjane and digital economy lawyer Kenneth Leung about their respective work at the BigLaw firm and interest in artificial intelligence (AI), the impetus behind testing AI's capacity to win a court case, how they undertook the experiment at SXSW Sydney, and the questions the firm hoped to answer in doing so.

Merjane and Leung also delve into what happened in the mock trial, how well the AI platform performed, what Merjane's experience was like going up against an AI platform, whether AI is likely to improve its advocacy, the insights gained from running the mock trial, whether the nature of advocacy is changing, whether clients will want to use AI to get the answers they are seeking, and what the experiment teaches us about the importance of human advocacy.

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 [email protected] for more insights!