It can be easy for small-business owners and leaders to expect too much of themselves or overreact if they are seemingly falling short in perfectly managing the juggle of multiple duties – particularly if one is a working parent. However, there are ways to work through such thought processes and perceptions.

In this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back Curae Law director Lucy Dickens to discuss why it is so important for firm leaders to be open about struggling to manage the juggle, recent examples where she has felt that she was burning out, showing vulnerability so that your teams can feel comfortable doing the same, and how the need to wear so many hats can exacerbate difficulty in balancing all interests.

Dickens also reflects on a recent instance of catastrophising and what she learnt from that experience, gaining perspective on the seriousness of issues that can and do arise, questions to ask of one’s self to determine pathways forward, how tricky it can be for working parents to navigate such concerns while also being small-firm owners and leaders, and the need to find people you can trust and talk to.

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 editor@lawyersweekly.com.au for more insights!

A former musician himself, Julian Hewitt now represents big-name Australian artists, including Flume, RUFUS DU SOL, and Tash Sultana. Here, he unpacks the myriad directions that daily life as a music lawyer can take.

In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Media Arts Lawyers partner Julian Hewitt about his own musical journey up until the time he became a practising lawyer, whether his background in the industry provides him with a perspective that sets him apart from other practitioners, and the extent to which a music lawyer has to be a jack-of-all-trades.

Hewitt also reflects on how dynamic the music industry is, the impact of external environmental factors on his clients, the many ways in which people make a career in creative spaces, helping clients break into overseas markets and identifying opportunities to allow them to do so, and his best practice principles that other lawyers can learn from.

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 editor@lawyersweekly.com.au for more insights!

Since 2007, experienced in-house counsel David Sinclair has been leading expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic. He’s discovered, during his multiple ventures to the polar regions, that there are more similarities between leading such trips and in-house legal work than one might think.

In this episode of The Corporate Counsel Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Islands and Ice Travel director David Sinclair, who is also an experienced legal counsel who has worked for BHP, Newcrest Mining, Orica, BlueScope, and Energy Australia. He speaks about how and why he decided to set up a travel company that explores the polar regions, the perspective he’s gleaned on the challenges facing those corners of the globe, and how he balances his in-house roles with running his travel company.

Sinclair also delves into being able to engage with people from all over the world that he otherwise would not have met, what he’s learnt (personally and professionally) that have improved him as a legal practitioner, the transferable skills he’s picked up from his time in the polar regions, how other in-house lawyers can craft their own personal adventures, realising one’s sense of self, and the importance of being kind and creative.

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 editor@lawyersweekly.com.au for more insights!

Local Court solicitors often do not have enough time to communicate with clients in ways that might assuage fears. If those practitioners can better adapt their approaches, there will be positive flow-on consequences – not just for those clients, but for the community at large.

In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Legal Aid NSW Local Court criminal lawyer Matthew Wade and lived experience expert Jody Letts about why it is so important for lawyers to be better at delivering bad news, whether bedside manner is lacking for lawyers, whether lawyers have the capacity and bandwidth to learn how to be more empathetic in their news delivery, and the consequences of not delivering bad news in the right ways.

The guests also discuss the solutions for lawyers to improve on this front, evolving and adapting one’s approach, questions a lawyer should be prepared to answer, what works and doesn’t work, and how and why the community will be better placed if lawyers can get better at delivering bad news.

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 editor@lawyersweekly.com.au for more insights!

As a corporate lawyer, the idea of moving into a not-for-profit (NFP) role initially didn’t appear logical to Elisabeth Flett. However, since making the decision to transition and settling into such work, she has discovered that working as a lawyer in the NFP space has provided her with an elevated sense of personal and vocational purpose.

In this episode of The Corporate Counsel Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Cancer Council NSW general counsel and company secretary Elisabeth Flett about the day-to-day work she does with her organisation, being at the coalface of such important work for Australian communities, how and why she came to transition from a corporate role to work in the NFP space, and the questions one has to ask of one’s self in making such vocational decisions.

Flett also delves into overcoming self-limiting thought processes about what a legal career can or should look like, looking for NFP opportunities rather than waiting for them to present themselves, and why making this career transition has been so rewarding and purpose-driven for her.

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 editor@lawyersweekly.com.au for more insights!

The passage of legislation allowing for a right to disconnect for Australian workers provides law firm owners across the country an opportunity to challenge the paradigms that they hold around flexible working and design a workplace that works for their employees and fosters productivity, argues one director.

In this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back in house nous director and employment legal counsel Natasha Hannah to discuss what is meant by the term “right to disconnect”, whether and how professional services firms are responding to the passage of its legislation, the concerns that employers have, and hurdles to be overcome in the new environment.

Hannah also details the contractual and policy changes that small-firm owners will have to undertake, the various conversations that should be had both with one’s staff members and a firm’s clients, how to navigate those conversations and textual changes, designing a workplace accordingly, striking the right balance with generational attitudes and business needs, undertaking such changes against the backdrop of other firm concerns, and seeing the new legislation as a business opportunity.

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 editor@lawyersweekly.com.au for more insights!

Having reflected on the relationships in her personal and professional life that have helped her feel “most secure, supported, and passionate”, Giovanna Bongiorno has advice for the next generation of lawyers on whom they need to invest time in so as to thrive.

In this episode of The Protégé Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Curtin University commerce/law student and KPMG employment tax consultant Giovanna Bongiorno about the relationships that have been most meaningful and inspiring for her, how and why she learnt about the importance of a three-tiered relational network, and how those tiers intersect and complement each other.

Bongiorno also discusses the extent to which the next generation of lawyers are cognisant of the need for these tiers and whether they invest time in them, whether virtual learning impedes one’s ability to develop networks, practical steps to develop and maintain networks, carving out time to invest in relationships, and how and why she is a better emerging professional for having a three-tiered relational network.

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 editor@lawyersweekly.com.au for more insights!

The domestic and global appetite to consume sports and entertainment keeps growing. As such, legal work – in its myriad forms – will continue to expand alongside it, says a global firm partner.

In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back Squire Patton Boggs partner Tony Chong to discuss what’s happening in sports and entertainment law, the issues and challenges being faced on the ground by practitioners, the need for legal teams to continually anticipate evolutions in the sporting and entertainment realms, and staying on top of the social, cultural and even political zeitgeist in understanding how the environment will evolve.

Chong also details the need to immerse one’s self in the industry, engaging with other practice groups, the potential need to be a jack-of-all-trades, taking a case-by-case approach, how legal work in these spaces will continue to grow, and why it is so exciting to be at the forefront of such change.

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 editor@lawyersweekly.com.au for more insights!