At present, there exist myriad market and professional hurdles that require lawyers to think more holistically about their professional and ethical duties and, ultimately, help clients “solve some pretty wicked challenges”.

In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Cranlana Centre for Ethical Leadership chief executive Matt Finnis – who is a former lawyer – about the ever-increasing importance of ethical conduct for legal professionals, whether lawyers have a duty to “step up” in the current climate, the responsibilities upon lawyers’ shoulders in the face of current market developments, and the difficulties being faced in managing these.

Finnis also delves into the management of conflicts of interest, balancing profitability against professional obligations, ethical stewardship of tech transformation, fostering the right kind of workplace environment, and the need to learn from the mistakes of others in ensuring adherence to one’s professional obligations in the face of challenging market conditions.

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!

Discovery remains “where cases are won and lost”. Given the physical and technological changes in how discovery is undertaken, ensuring that your team’s processes – particularly in complex litigation – are designed and managed in suitable ways is essential.

In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with LK special counsel Allie Umoff about her background in litigation, how and why discovery remains crucial for optimal client service delivery, the ways in which discovery processes have shifted and even become more enjoyable, and how good discovery processes are more important than ever.

Umoff also delves into how litigation teams can and should think about redesigning their discovery processes, the practical steps to be taken to create a roadmap for success regardless of the client matter, reflections on a case study of good undertaking of discovery processes, the importance of reviewing a team’s success or otherwise in managing discovery, and ultimately what best practice looks like in redesigning and managing complex projects.

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!

Small law firms that not only understand what their idiosyncratic low-hanging fruit is but are also adept at reaching for it will be much better placed to craft business operations in ways that make sense for the practitioner.

In this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back C Legal & Co principal Claire Styles, a former winner of the Sole Practitioner of the Year category at the Australian Law Awards, to discuss what it means to grasp the low-hanging fruit and why this is so essential for boutique practices, how difficult it can be for such practices to understand the need to operate in such ways, and the benefit of learning from experience.

Styles also reflects on the law of diminishing returns, the toll of imbalance upon practitioners, the importance of undertaking annual reviews, having the option of allocating your time in ways that make sense to you, how she has gone about grasping the low-hanging fruit for her own firm, opportunity costs, and cost-benefit analyses that will reap rewards for firm owners.

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!

In the current climate, having a plan in place to develop, maintain and protect the intellectual property of a business is becoming increasingly important. Here, we unpack not just how best to do it but also how and why corporate counsel can get excited about such duties.

In this episode of The Corporate Counsel Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Procreate head of legal Sarah Standen about her interest in intellectual property, her experience in a greenfield in-house role and why being an inaugural legal counsel is so rewarding, the increasing importance of staying on top of IP matters, and whether IP gets forgotten in the shuffle of other urgent priorities facing law departments.

Standen also delves into the consequences of not protecting a business’s IP properly, the fundamental questions the law department must ask when getting started on a plan, the practical proactive and reactive steps to take in maintaining the interests of a business, the flow-on benefits from having in place a good plan to develop and protect IP, and why corporate counsel should get excited about such a transformation project.

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!

Dunedin Airport in New Zealand recently placed a cap of three minutes to hug and farewell loved ones in the airport’s drop-off zone in order to ensure safety and efficient traffic flow. Here, we unpack what common law precedent tells us about the imposition of such rules in public settings.

In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Dr Mark Giancaspro, a senior law lecturer at the University of Adelaide and barrister and solicitor in South Australia, to discuss the recent cap on hugs introduced at Dunedin Airport, how and why the rule has been implemented, and why contract law seems to suggest there are no legal issues with such a cap on airport farewells.

Giancaspro delves into the implicit acceptance of rules promoted via signage once one enters airport grounds, whether such a rule would violate anti-discrimination laws, whether an individual’s acceptance of the airport’s rules can be implicitly accepted even if communication from the airport is verbal, and ultimately why consideration of such legal quirks is a meaningful endeavour.

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!

Arbitration is the “mechanism of choice for many transactions”, with a growing appetite for this approach in Australia. However, if clauses are not properly drafted, the benefits of arbitration can be lost, argues one BigLaw partner.

In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Corrs Chambers Westgarth head of arbitration Nastasja Suhadolnik about her journey and interest in arbitration, the increasing embrace of arbitration in Australia, how and why poorly drafted clauses occur, and the implications when this occurs.

Suhadolnik also delves into the myriad benefits of arbitration (when undertaken correctly), what it means to be a good arbitrator, the prevalence of issues with clause drafting, whether Australia risks not being seen as an attractive destination for arbitration, and how best practitioners in this space can service their 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 editor@lawyersweekly.com.au for more insights!

Having recently completed the first year of her law degree, Cassidy Pole’s passion for the rule of law has only intensified. Here, she reflects on what the journey has taught her and what others coming through the ranks can glean from her experience.

In this episode of The Protégé Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Australian National University (ANU) law student Cassidy Pole about what attracted her to the law in the first place, why she chose to move down to Canberra to study at ANU, how and why her passion for the law has intensified, whether the environment of law school has lived up to expectations, and what has surprised her thus far.

Pole also muses about managing the juggle of study and work, putting one’s self out there to network and secure employment, why students shouldn’t lose hope about finding work, navigating the stress of one’s workload, staying healthy and happy, where she sees her journey in law heading, and what she knows about herself after one year of law school that she didn’t before.

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 potential implementation of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) in Australia could bring about wholesale benefits across the country, but would also have significant implications for law reform.

In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Clyde & Co partner Liam Hennessy about his work as a digital economy practitioner, the recently released RBA and Treasury paper exploring the suggested introduction of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) in Australia, and the legal implications for the nation’s monetary system and economy.

Hennessy also reflects on the likely need for significant reform across banking, privacy, and consumer protection laws; the presumed benefits across society from the introduction of CBDCs Down Under; how Australia is faring relative to global counterparts on these questions at present; the lessons we can learn from overseas jurisdictions; and what will constitute best practice for lawyers working in this space, particularly when advising 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 editor@lawyersweekly.com.au for more insights!