William and Lonsdale - Lives in the Law

This week we re-visit our wonderful conversation with The Hon Anthony North KC. Tony has been involved in some of the largest cases in Australian history as both a barrister and a judge, including the pilots strike in the late 1980’s, the Patricks waterfront dispute, the Tampa Affair and multiple native title cases. He is currently the chair of the Victorian Law Reform Commission, working on many fascinating projects, including the incredibly important work of Improving the Response of the Justice System to Sexual Offences.

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This week, we welcome Raelene Sharp KC, Director of Public Prosecutions for the Commonwealth, to the show.

Raelene has had an incredibly impressive Life in the Law, but back in high school, when she told her careers counsellor she wanted to study law, she was advised against it, largely because she didn’t know any lawyers and had no connections in the profession.

She persisted regardless. And once she made her way to law school, she quickly knew two things: she loved the law, and she wanted to prosecute.

That instinct has taken Raelene through an extraordinary range of roles. She began her career at the Victorian OPP, went on to work at the then Australian Crime Commission and with the United Nations in Lebanon, before being called to the Victorian Bar in 2010. In 2023, she was appointed Director of Public Prosecutions, leading an office responsible for prosecuting offences against Commonwealth law across an enormous and varied jurisdiction.

It’s a wide-ranging and wonderful conversation, and a pleasure to hear about Raelene’s Life in the Law.

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This week, we welcome Her Honour Judge Liz Gaynor, former Judge of the County Court of Victoria, to Lives in the Law.

Liz began her legal career in earnest, as a duty solicitor with Victoria Legal Aid before coming to the Bar in 1985, where she built an extensive criminal defence practice, including significant work in the Children’s Court. She was appointed to the County Court in 2002 and went on to spend more than two decades presiding over criminal matters. 

But Liz’s path to the bench was far from straightforward. Disheartened by her first experience of legal practice, she briefly left the law to pursue journalism before ultimately finding her way back, and discovering her passion in the courtroom. 

It’s a wide-ranging and wonderful conversation, and a privilege to hear about Liz’s Life in the Law.

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This week, Michael Green speaks with Hugh de Kretser, President of the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Hugh has spent much of his career working to advance human rights and social justice. After beginning his career in commercial law, he moved into the community legal sector, going on to work with the Federation of Community Legal Centres Victoria, the Victorian Law Reform Commission and the Sentencing Advisory Council. He later led the Human Rights Law Centre and was CEO of the Yoorrook Justice Commission before being appointed President of the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Along the way, each role has brought Hugh into different communities and given him a deeper understanding of the people and experiences that sit behind questions of law, justice and human rights.

We’ll hear about all this and more in today’s episode. It’s a fascinating conversation, and an honour to hear about Hugh’s Life in the Law.

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This week, we welcome criminal lawyer Lauren Cassimatis, founder and principal of Gallant Law.

Lauren has spent more than two decades defending people at some of the most frightening and consequential moments of their lives. For Lauren, good representation means seeing the person behind the charge and understanding the bigger picture of their life.

Lauren is also the founder of Connecting Lawyer Mums, a nationwide community supporting thousands of women as they navigate law, leadership and family.

We’ll hear about all this and more in today’s episode, including Lauren’s insights into the experiences of women who commit crime, her love and study of fashion, and the influence of her Greek heritage on her life and career.

It’s a fascinating conversation, and a pleasure to hear about Lauren’s Life in the Law.

www.greenslist.com.au/podcast

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This week, we welcome Brind Zichy-Woinarski KC, one of the longest-serving and most respected members of the Victorian Bar.

From his first mooting competition at university, Brind knew he wanted to be a barrister. As he puts it, he simply wanted to be on his feet, making a fool of himself.

In this episode, we hear about being named "Mr Junior" while he was still a reader at the Bar, becoming one of the founding members of the Criminal Bar Association, and appearing in some of Australia's most significant legal matters, including decades of criminal trials, the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Lindy and Michael Chamberlain's Convictions, and serving amicus curiae in the Nicola Gobbo (Lawyer X) litigation.

It is wonderful to have Brind on the show, and fascinating to hear about his long and distinguished Life in the Law.

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This week, we welcome Derek Humphery-Smith, Partner and Head of International at Lander & Rogers, to Lives in the Law.

Derek practises in all areas of workplace relations and safety law. He is also Chair of TerraLex, the world’s largest network of independent law firms, and Chairman of the Victorian Council of Governors for the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia - roles we explore in this episode.

Derek first studied science at the University of Queensland, where he discovered a passion for anatomy. But while completing his honours year, it dawned on him that science might not be his lifelong path, so he embarked on a law degree. Around the same time, he was transitioning from playing AFL football at university to umpiring. He went on to become an AFL umpire, a role that brought him to Melbourne, where he pursued both his legal career and umpiring simultaneously. As you’ll hear, in a football town like Melbourne there were significant professional benefits to being on the inside of the AFL, and often unexpected advantages to having both strings to his bow.

It’s a fascinating conversation about a career that has spanned the law, international legal practice, governance and elite sport, and a pleasure to welcome Derek to Lives in the Law.

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This week we welcome Peter Gordon, one of Australia’s most prominent class action lawyers.

Peter’s worldview was profoundly shaped by growing up in Melbourne’s west. It informed both his politics and his approach to the law - particularly his belief that the law could, and should, be used to protect ordinary people from the wrongdoing of powerful institutions. It also forged a deep and lifelong passion for the Footscray Football Club, where he would, of course, go on to serve as President - twice.

As we’ll hear today, even before he was admitted to practice, Peter was taking on large companies he believed were doing the wrong thing - and he hasn’t stopped doing so since.

Over the decades, Peter has been involved in many landmark cases, including the first successful mesothelioma litigation in Australia, representing medically acquired HIV patients, acting for women injured by defective breast implants, and survivors of Thalidomide. It is a wide ranging and fascinating conversation, and a pleasure to welcome him to Lives in the Law.

www.greenslist.com.au/podcast

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This week we welcome recently retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria, The Honourable Christopher Beale - and, for the first time on Lives in the Law, we welcome a second guest later in the episode: Chris’s eldest son, Max, a well-known and much-loved member of Melbourne’s legal community.

Chris became known around the world as the presiding judge in the case of Erin Patterson, the so-called “mushroom murders.” We will hear about that experience in detail, but despite the global attention the case attracted, it is far from the most compelling chapter in his life.

Across his career, Chris has seen the criminal law from every angle, starting young at the Victorian Bar, lecturing in criminal law at Monash University, working as a Crown Prosecutor, and later presiding over some of the state’s most significant cases. Along the way, he also authored and continues to update Pocket Evidence Law - an iconic and freely available resource relied upon by practitioners across Victoria. 

It was an absolute pleasure to welcome Chris and Max to the show, and hear about their Lives in the Law.

www.greenslist.com.au/podcast

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This week, we welcome migration lawyer, principal and founder of Mason Chen Lawyers, Traci Chen. As you’ll hear today, Traci is a natural entrepreneur. While studying law, she built and sold a successful solar panel business, purchased her first home at just 19, and over the past five years has grown Mason Chen Lawyers from a sole practice operating out of her home office into a firm with more than 80 employees.

Traci has also used social media to extraordinary effect, building a powerful platform to communicate with current and prospective clients and grow her business. She has more than a quarter of a million followers on TikTok and an even larger audience on Instagram.

It’s a fantastic conversation, and a real pleasure to hear about Traci’s Life in the Law.

www.greenslist.com.au/podcast

www.themelbournemap.com.au