Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network

Given how much the professional services marketplace is set to change in years to come, emerging law graduates must ensure they are open-minded and adaptable to change so that their vocational capabilities are suitable for the evolving landscape. In this episode of The Protégé Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes Law Wise Youth founder and creative director Chami Rupasinghe to discuss her motivation for undertaking a postgraduate law degree, her desire to undertake community service, leaning into her creative side, ensuring that self-care doesn't get sidelined, and how and why her organisation, Law Wise Youth, came about.

Rupasinghe also fleshes out the need for careers and vocational information to be more readily available to those coming through the ranks, her reflections on launching various projects and an e-commerce business in the current climate, having a diversified professional offering, what questions one must ask of one's self in better crafting their vocational offering, the need to have business skills up one's sleeve, the importance of personal branding, and her advice for others in ensuring their skill set is fit for purpose. 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!

Here, an award-winning young lawyer reflects on how she has developed and grown her personal and professional networks and how this has allowed her firm to flourish. In this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back Crossover Law Group founder and principal Marial Lewis to discuss the importance of both personal and professional connections across jurisdictions, how soon boutique firm owners should be looking to develop such relationships following the inception of their practices, and what such firm owners can learn from her experience as a migration lawyer looking to bolster her network.

Lewis also delves into the practical steps to start garnering such relationships, how to balance this priority against other urgent priorities for boutique firm owners, thinking differently as leaders of small legal practices in a post-pandemic climate, and why she is a better lawyer for having invested time in the development of her personal and professional relationships.

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 businesses resume travel activities in the post-pandemic world, the landscape of corporate travel has significantly evolved. In this special episode, brought to you from Lawyers Weekly's sister brand, HR Leader, Rodger Cook, general manager of global security services at World Travel Protection, delves into the intricacies of business travel. With costs soaring and risks constantly evolving, leaders must put their best foot forward to ensure their workforce remains safe and secure in business travel. Cook's extensive travel experience has been pivotal in understanding the needs of businesses when they send employees abroad. He emphasises the importance of duty of care, ensuring companies are well informed about the risks associated with travel and how to mitigate them effectively. He also discusses the benefit of transferable skills, as his experience boasts diversity in professions. Such transferable skills are becoming increasingly crucial as companies face talent shortages. 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 come from national and global law firms, the leaders of award-winning boutique Hazelbrook Legal understand what it takes to succeed as a BigLaw business and as practitioners, and they are leveraging those lessons to build a strategic approach that befits a smaller firm environment.

In this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Hazelbrook Legal managing partner Hugh Griffin and partner Lucy Adamson about their respective experiences in national and global law firms and what they learnt from such roles, how they are looking to bring their experiences from those bigger practices to the boutique environment, and how best to "get the best of both worlds" in having a personalised workplace culture while working on matters traditionally seen as the remit of bigger players.

The pair also flesh out how to stay true to a firm's values, how well the firm has performed since its inception 10 years ago, what works and doesn't work in crafting a winning culture, the frequency of check-ins on whether the strategy is working, and what motivates them to ensure that their boutique practice can continue to win big work while maintaining its unique cultural approach.

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 lawyer and veterinary nurse, Michelle Neil is dedicated to serving the community around her. Having experienced significant hardship in her early life but then finding the right support systems, hearing others' stories, and ultimately being able to share her own helped her realise that the legal profession is open to anyone who wants to help others.

(Content warning: This episode contains content that may be disturbing or distressing to some listeners. Discretion is advised.) In this episode of The Protégé Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Vitality Law lawyer Michelle Neil to discuss what she calls her "unorthodox" personal journey, the impact that her upbringing had on her, what "high-controlling" environments are like, learning how to break free, and how she eventually managed to carve out her own path and enter the legal profession in her 30s. Neil also reflects on her work as a freelance veterinary nurse and why such work is so meaningful to her, why law became a worthwhile vocational path for her to pursue, lessons learnt from rebuilding one's life, opportunities for next-generation lawyers to flourish, how her experiences inform her approach to lawyering and client service delivery, and ultimately why – no matter one's background – there is a place for anyone in this profession. 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, 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!

Caitlin McConnel has had a vocational journey unlike any other, having served as a Federal Court judge's associate and now working at Clayton Utz while also being a sixth-generation farmer and working on her family's property in regional Queensland. Her two vocations give her a unique perspective on law, national needs, and what's needed moving forward.

In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Clayton Utz senior associate Caitlin McConnel about her journey in law to date, how she became involved in her family's farming work and business, how she balances farm work with legal work, and what lawyers can learn from farmers.

McConnel also delves into the myriad agricultural issues and challenges she sees both on the land and in her work, what is needed to address such matters moving forward, her perception of ever-increasing climate litigation and work in the natural capital markets space, and serving the community both as a farmer and as a legal professional. 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 spent years in the hospitality scene, including as an owner of a nightclub and bar, Jeremy Koadlow understands the importance of authenticity, appreciating where people are coming from, and how best to serve the community. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with MA Legal associate Jeremy Koadlow about his professional journey and work in hospitality venues, what such work taught him about managing and serving people, the perspective he gleaned that other lawyers can learn from, and how important and valuable non-traditional pathways can be for one's journey. Koadlow also reflects on the need for authenticity in one's interactions with clients, the place for resilience in one's work, why it is OK (and indeed useful) to have experienced a non-linear pathway in law and in one's career, and how best those coming through the ranks can gain more perspective on working life and bolster their offerings for 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!

For small law firms, it is not so much a question of if your practice will be impacted by a cyber incident but when. As such, firm owners must be prepared to respond so they can return to normal business operations as quickly as possible and with minimal disruption.

In this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with McGrathNicol partner Brendan Payne about the biggest lessons learnt from cyber incidents and subsequent business responses in the last 12 months, the extent to which law firms are prepared (or not) to manage cyber incidents, and how well law firms are doing compared to other professional services counterparts in putting in place the right proactive measures to prevent attacks.

Payne also explains the issues surrounding structured versus unstructured data that law firms will have to grapple with, the current hurdles facing law firm owners when it comes to effectively managing existing risks, questions that firm owners should be asking of themselves so they can take the right practical steps, and how much education should be undertaken versus using external 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 [email protected] for more insights!

In the competitive landscape of talent acquisition and retention, Australian businesses are increasingly recognising the importance of an effective onboarding process. Here, in this special episode brought to you by Lawyers Weekly's sister brand, HR Leader, host Jack Campbell sits down with Lauren Karan, director at Karan & Co, to discuss just how crucial it is to get this step right. Karan emphasises that onboarding should commence the moment a candidate signs their contract. This period is delicate, as new hires are often counter-offered by their current employers and have yet to establish a relationship with their new manager. With the rise of remote and hybrid work models due to the pandemic, onboarding has faced new challenges. Maintaining communication is key. Whether through team chats or scheduled video calls, it's vital to ensure new hires feel integrated and supported, even when working from a distance. However, the responsibility of onboarding should not be shouldered by HR alone. Managers play a pivotal role in the process. Karan argues that managers should take the initiative to connect with new hires, scheduling regular check-ins and being readily available to answer questions. This not only helps the new employee settle in but also demonstrates the manager's commitment to their success. 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!

Very few students and new lawyers are crystal clear on what they want to do for the entirety of their careers. Putting one's self out there and experimenting with different options not only helps one discover different vocational pathways but also gives one a better sense of self and purpose for a legal career. In this episode of The Protégé Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Jonah Farry (QUT law student, HopgoodGanim law clerk, and QUT Law, Innovation and Technology Society co-founder) about how and why he became interested in innovation as part of his education journey, the "gaping holes" he's seeing for the next generation of legal professionals, why trial and error in finding one's career path is so important, and whether students are cognisant of the need to get out and try new things. Farry also reflects on his own journey of trial and error and what he has learnt from those processes, the opportunities he has been exposed to and how he is better placed as an emerging practitioner, how easy or difficult it can be to put one's self out there, challenges for emerging lawyers to overcome in seeking new and exciting opportunities, the questions those students and grads can be asking of themselves, and why such work can be so uplifting and rewarding. 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!