Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network

In this episode of The Corporate Counsel Show, brought to you from Lawyers Weekly's sister brand, Cyber Daily, journalists Liam Garman, David Hollingworth, and Daniel Croft provide critical insights for business leaders on how to craft an investor and media relations strategy in the event of a breach. The trio discuss the latest news before diving into how cyber breaches require all hands on deck to get a company back to business as usual, provide anonymised case studies of investor and media relations strategies that have allowed companies to take control of the narrative, and detail top tips for businesses to get on the front foot in the event of a breach. 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 new boutique firm owner, Stefani Janson appreciates being able to define her vocational legacy while enjoying the rollercoaster of being a business owner. Part of her early success is down to having found and nurtured a tribe that is helping her flourish. In this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Hestia Law principal Stefani Janson about her personal and professional motivations, her initial reflections on being a firm owner and its challenges, how prepared one can be to launch a new legal practice, her self-awareness and how that has aided her development with the new firm. Ms Janson also details her views on the need for a personal board of directors and where this idea came from for her, the importance of finding one's tribe in law and leaning into that, the questions one needs to ask in building such a network and how diverse it can or should be, examining that board's utility and need for refreshing (if applicable), how high a priority having such a board should be for small-firm owners, and why she is a better lawyer and person for having such support in her professional life. 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!

NSW Chief Justice Andrew Bell recently said that judges and magistrates need further support, or the Australian court system will risk judicial crisis. For these two senior criminal law practitioners, the comments ring true, with processes in the state's courts needing to be urgently bolstered for the sake of practitioners, clients, and the community alike In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Taylor Rose consulting principals Angela Cooney and Trudie Cameron (national practice director and practice director at Armstrong Legal, respectively) to discuss what's happening on the ground in state courts and the "crazy workloads" being dealt with, how and why the situation has become so unmanageable, the exhaustion being felt by advocates, and whether the advent of virtual hearings has helped or hindered in addressing such backlogs. The trio also reflect on the impact of such issues on practitioners, those on the bench, clients and the broader community, what solutions are urgently needed and from whom, reactive strategies that can be implemented by individuals, basic courtesies that lawyers can extend during matters to make things go more smoothly, and how best advocates can be looking after themselves during such difficult times. 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 LawTech Talks, produced in partnership with Thomson Reuters, host Jerome Doraisamy and Thomson Geer chief executive partner Adrian Tembel flesh out the cultural, structural, and hierarchical changes needed in firms and in-house teams to future-proof businesses for the modern marketplace.

The pair reflect on the rate of change in professional services firms, how big a priority tech and innovation must be for national law firms like Mr Tembel's, the need to have a longer-term perspective on what change is required and how best to implement it, and what changes he is making within his firm and why.

They also discuss the key questions that business leaders must be asking in retaining top talent and ensuring optimal utilisation of technology into the future, avoiding looking for "quick wins" with innovation, how taking a longer-term approach feeds into a business's talent retention strategy, keeping one's finger on the pulse regarding market shifts, and how Mr Tembel intends to continually drive his firm and its broader strategy forward.

To learn more about Thomson Reuters and its work in this space, 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 [email protected] for more insights!

From the perspective of senior in-house lawyer Shiara Mutukisna, governance is "now more important than it's ever been". To this end, ensuring best practice approaches both within the law department and in its work with cross-business functions and external stakeholders must be a top priority this year – particularly because "uncertainty is the new normal". In this episode of The Corporate Counsel Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with BeiGene senior director and senior legal counsel in APAC Shiara Mutukisna about being inspired to become a lawyer while watching her barrister grandfather in Sri Lanka, retaining one's motivation to serve the community and do good work, macro trends impacting upon the healthcare space, and headline challenges pertaining to governance in the new year. Ms Mutukisna also delves into how to put in place the right structures to build trust across a business, the right questions to ask of one's law department, evolving the in-house lawyer from being a "naysayer", practical steps she has taken within her team to get on the front foot with good governance, collaborating with external providers, balancing firefighting needs against proactive governance strategies, and instilling the importance of good governance in those coming through the ranks. 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 faced significant health issues in recent years, award-nominated young lawyer Melissa Arndell has learnt how critical it is to slow down, take stock, live one's values, and believe in one's abilities as a professional. In this episode of The Protégé Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Bourke Legal associate Melissa Arndell to discuss what took her and her family out to regional NSW, taking her practice inland, what the personal injury market is like out in the regions, navigating her practice area while also being close to the community, whether there are substantive opportunities for emerging practitioners who move inland.

Ms Arndell also reflects on having experienced significant health issues in recent years, the flow-on consequences (both physically and personally) from such experiences, building resilience to manage tricky times, her motivation for her chosen practice area, practical ways to live one's values, managing the juggle between work and family, compartmentalising pressure, and being true to one's self as an emerging 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 [email protected] for more insights!

The passage of "Right to Disconnect" laws in Australia will be the latest addition to the ongoing discourse around the ways in which professional services workers, including lawyers, should undertake their duties. Here, we check in on the state of affairs and why being "deliberate" is so important. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back Hall & Wilcox partner Fay Calderone to discuss what's happening on the ground with regard to the debate around working arrangements for lawyers, the intersection between legal compliance, safety and flexibility, why workplaces must be "deliberate" about how they are leading and managing staff and their idiosyncratic needs, and the likelihood of court proceedings around workplace relations increasing in the near future. Ms Calderone also reflects on the pertinent lessons learnt for business leaders coming into the new year, whether firms are implementing a "wait-and-see" approach to top-down approaches, the reasonableness of wanting staff back in the office, the need for more organic and empathetic approaches, where such staff management sits in the triage of urgent responsibilities for law firm partners, and how employees can be navigating such conversations with their employers. 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!

Some lawyers feel that in-office collaboration will be best for team collegiality and productivity, while others want to lean more heavily into using technology and work-from-home arrangements to best serve clients and businesses. Striking the right balance between competing interests is a challenge that leaders in law firms and in-house teams will likely be grappling with for some time. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Mills Oakley partner Dalvin Chien about the quandary of getting lawyers back to the office (or not), the advantages of using new and emerging technologies to work in more modern ways, the broad benefits of working face to face with one's colleagues, whether the law facilitates or prohibits such ways of working, and how leaders in law can be informing themselves about what might work best for their teams' idiosyncratic needs. Mr Chien also discusses an informal survey he conducted recently to gauge market sentiment about what legal work can or should be done remotely versus in the office, and the impacts of the location of the undertaking of such work, as well as his real-life experiences, observations and practical tips about what constitutes the right balance. 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, effective management of the holistic wellness of litigation teams is going to be paramount – doing so will require encouragement of organic community, as well as drawing lessons from unexpected places, such as team sports. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back award-winning litigator Matthew Littlejohn to discuss moving from Darwin (where he practised as a barrister) to Melbourne to manage the litigation team in Victoria's Office of the General Counsel, what teams like his do and the challenges facing such teams in the current climate, balancing proactive and reactive issues, and interpreting lessons from different Australian jurisdictions in practising law. Mr Littlejohn also delves into the role and duties of litigation team leaders in 2024, the ever-increasing importance of managing staff wellbeing and why this is so pertinent in litigation, safeguarding against social isolation when staff are working from home, encouraging staff collaboration and communication and why it needs to be organic, his foray into competitive rugby with the Melbourne Chargers and how it helps him be a better person and lawyer, leadership lessons he's taken from the rugby field, and what other litigation team leaders can learn from the experience of rugby players. 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!

To deliver effective legal services, lawyers need to be able to recognise and respond to their clients' trauma and take a more informed view of their clients' broader experiences. Here, we unpack how this can be done and why it is so essential. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Legal Aid NSW manager Jennifer Chen and lived experience advocate Rachel Thomas about what trauma-informed lawyering is, the introduction of a toolkit from the federal Attorney-General's Department and what it hopes to achieve, and the emergence of such an approach to legal services domestically and abroad.

The trio also discuss the impact that a trauma-informed approach from a lawyer can have on clients in need, why it is so important (from a client perspective) for a lawyer to be trauma-informed, the potential consequences (for clients and court processes) if lawyers are not adequately trauma-informed, adhering to one's duties to clients and the court, overcoming scepticism about such an approach, and how best lawyers can better educate themselves on new ways of delivering legal services. 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!