Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network

Five years ago, Clarissa Rayward started an online community for like-minded legal professionals, which has become so much more than just a knowledge-sharing discussion board, she says – "connection" is what makes such a venture so personally and professionally rewarding. On this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back Brisbane Family Law Centre director Clarissa Rayward to discuss what inspired her to set up The Club (her online community for lawyers), the time and effort that oversight of such a community requires, how it forms part of her broader business plans, and how and why the community she has brought together has been so meaningful and purposeful for her. Ms Rayward also delves into the importance of connection to your colleagues, the ever-increasing need to be nimble and agile in interpreting legal practice methodology, how individual lawyers glean different benefits from being part of such online communities, how such communities for lawyers will continue to evolve in a post-pandemic market, how much time one should spend engaging in their own communities so as to bolster their own businesses, what she has learned from her time with The Club that she otherwise would not have learned about herself and the law, and what the future holds for her community. 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!

This episode of The Corporate Counsel Show, brought to you by Lawyers Weekly's sister brand, Cyber Security Connect, unpacks the latest in cyber security policy and how cyber is shaping up to become an election issue. Host Phillip Tarrant speaks with Major General (Ret'd) Marcus Thompson about the impact of the recent Solomon Islands-China agreement on Australia's security. The pair also provide an assessment of the Morrison government's actions and discuss the opposition's policies around cyber security, including Project REDSPICE. This episode also sees an analysis into whether such cyber policies are achievable in their stated timeframe, casting doubt on whether there is a sufficient flow of cyber security graduates to fill a largescale expansion in the cyber security industry. Elsewhere, the pair chat about the latest cyber security news, including recent data showing a fourfold increase in phishing attacks and how his team seeks to continuously improve their cyber security protocols. 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 question of how to attract and retain graduate lawyers is "one of the most vexing issues" facing law firms. Why is it so difficult to hold on to the next generation of leaders in law? Welcome to another episode of Legal Lightbulbs: the show that sees hosts Jerome Doraisamy and Bowd chief executive Fionn Bowd discuss and debate the questions to which lawyers have always wanted answers (but have perhaps not felt comfortable asking). In this episode, Jerome asks Fionn about the issues that give rise to new and young legal professionals wanting to move on from the firms with whom they began their careers, why it is so important for firms to figure out better retention strategies, the war stories that can and do emerge from those coming through the ranks, whether greater transparency about the realities of life in big law firms could be the difference-maker and how such honesty harks back to the need for market differentiation. Jerome and Fionn also reflect on whether firms should be more honest about law firms as a business, whether there is a need to imbue individual responsibility in lawyers to learn more about the machinations of the firm in which they work, and the potential utility in offering the "unvarnished truth" about life in law and how it will affect those graduates coming through the ranks. To learn more about Fionn Bowd, click here. If you have any questions you want to see answered on this show, reach out to Jerome at [email protected]. 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!

We are fast approaching the period in which fraud that took place during the global pandemic, across the corporate landscape, will become apparent. For this reason, and more, bolstering levels of corporate integrity is as important as ever. On this episode of The Corporate Counsel Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back KPMG partner and head of anti-bribery and corruption Dean Mitchell to discuss what we mean by the term corporate integrity, why it is of such personal and professional interest to him, how working in rural East African villages informed his perspective and what lessons he learned from that period of his life, and how the principles of corporate integrity have been reinforced by the age of COVID-19. Mr Mitchell also reflects on recent conversations he's had with senior professionals across the corporate landscape pertaining to corporate integrity and its state of affairs, why the "washout" of fraud and corruption is coming in the next six months, the practical steps that law departments can and must take at this critical juncture, the need for courage and what it looks like in this context, and more. 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!

Both Annabel and Hugh Griffin grew up in families that ran businesses. Now a married couple, and each bringing their own experiences to the table, the pair understand better than most what it will take to achieve their ultimate goal: to become the "most highly regarded and best boutique law firm in Australia". On this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Hazelbrook Legal chief executive Annabel Griffin and managing partner Hugh Griffin to talk about how they met, the different vocational backgrounds they bring to the firm they run together, how and why they decided to run a business together while also being married, and their ultimate plans for their award-winning legal practice. The pair also discuss the opportunities abound in the Canberra market and how this region might grow in years to come, challenges that they're foreseeing, their approach to recruitment and growing their team, the need for discipline as business owners, as well as resilience and kindness. 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!

Since the advent of work-from-home arrangements, much has been made of the danger of losing the "water cooler conversation" for the sake of professional development. According to one employment and industrial relations partner, however, there are issues across the board that employers and employees alike must promptly grapple with. On this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Piper Alderman partner Joe Murphy to discuss the myriad and ongoing changes to the nature of work in workplace and employment issues, what we mean by hybrid working arrangements, and the various issues and challenges that he sees arising from the mainstreaming of such arrangements in a post-pandemic market, for the purposes of different lawyer demographics. Mr Murphy also outlines the potential solutions and strategies to the hurdles that he is foreseeing, whether leaders have to redefine what professional development is for those coming through the ranks, the need to balance personal needs against legislative constraints, and obligations upon individual lawyers to ensure their professional development isn't hampered.

Two-time Golden Gavel winner Olivia Irvine has come to learn, over time, certain things about herself: she is funnier, braver and not as adverse to being uncomfortable as she'd imagined. Such lessons are critical, she says, in living out the career one wants to and becoming the individual one is supposed to be. On this episode of The Protege Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Hazelbrook Legal lawyer Olivia Irvine, who has twice won the NSW-based Golden Gavel competition (an annual comedic public speaking event), about her interest in law from an early age, how and why she got into public speaking, her experience with Golden Gavel and the importance of finding comfort in discomfort while speaking on stage. Ms Irvine also delves into the need for up-and-coming lawyers to challenge whatever preconceptions and assumptions they may have about themselves, navigating hardship if and when it arises, riding the wave of an evolving sense of self, how she has benefited from challenging herself to do and be more, and why others can and must go through the same steps she has in order to become who they have the potential to be, both personally and professionally. 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.

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In this special episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Myroslav Khmarskyi – managing partner of Ukrainian law firm Avitar – about what is happening on the ground and how his law firm is responding. Mr Khmarskyi joins the show to discuss the work that his law firm does in Kyiv, what it was like in the first days of the invasion of Ukraine and how he felt, what the key realisations have been for Ukrainian people in the past month, the importance of community and the nonsensical nature of materialism. He also delves into how he and his partner are keeping their business running, how they are managing the health and wellbeing needs of their staff in such extraordinary times, the lessons lawyers around the world can take – from a wellness perspective – from the current experience of Ukrainians, what more he thinks lawyers and legal associations can be doing in this time, and his message to lawyers around the world for news consumption during the ongoing conflict in eastern Europe. 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 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 [email protected] for more insights!