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Top 15 podcast episodes in 2021 (so far)
Lawyers Weekly’s podcast is the most popular industry-specific show in the country. Here are the episodes garnering the most attention to date this year.
Jerome Doraisamy
15. The Boutique Lawyer Show: Transform how your firm operates
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On our show dedicated to the SME market, Lucy Dickens – who spoke at our recent Careers Expo and Emerging Leaders Summit – discussed the need to do things differently, particularly as the marketplace and client expectations are evolving at such a rapid pace. Necessary changes, Ms Dickens notes can range from incorporating fixed pricing to building one’s brand by way of public speaking and book writing.
KPMG global head of legal services Stuart Fuller returned to our in-house show to list 10 predictions for what the law department in businesses and organisations of all stripes will look like by the middle of this decade. In this wide-ranging conversation, Mr Fuller talks about the percentage of lawyers within the legal department, how essential it might be for lawyers to read and interpret data, whether financial KPIs will be introduced and the extent to which standardised legal work will be subsumed into a business or organisation.
Joanna Oakey believes it is critical for SME firm owners to think of themselves as entrepreneurs if they are to build successful businesses, especially during a period of such turbulence. Part of this thinking, she argues, involves being heavily involved in the community in which one’s firm operates, and making time – and financial space – for giving back to needy causes.
Mellissa Larkin joins our show dedicated to students and grads to flesh out the benefits of transitioning skills from BigLaw to boutique (and vice versa), the skills that the employers from these different firms are looking for in their new hires, why senior legal practitioners value EQ over IQ in their young graduates, how career-seeking lawyers can track down the firm that works best for their goals and their values, and knowing when the best time is to put your hand up.
“Egocentric, outdated” models of legal practice have to be a thing of the past if Australia’s legal profession is to meaningfully move forward in a post-pandemic world, Rose Cocchiaro says. Here, she reflects on archaic attitudes she has witnessed during her career, submits a better path moving forward and details practical guidance on how leaders can take the profession to the next level.
General counsel-turned-change agent Anna Lozynski believes that professional branding is fast becoming as important a business skill as tech proficiency, and as essential an educational piece as the Priestley 11. Here, she discusses the need for legal professionals to get better in the online sphere in the new normal and outlines practical steps to improving one’s branding.
Too often, Ben Deverson says, lawyers and law firms are willing to skim off the top of an invoice, for fear of what a client might say. Too much money is being left on the table, and lawyers are not being paid commensurate to the work undertaken, he surmises. Here, he discusses how best to address this problem and ensure that pay is proportionate.
According to Kiarah Grace Kelly, there’s a lot of good to come out of a social media and online brand that could really help kickstart your career in law. Here, she discusses the fun, witty and colourful online branding that got her where she is today. From building on confidence, careers and client bases, there are heaps of benefits to online brands.
Naomi Hickey-Humble from MinterEllison – who won the Legal Operations Professional of the Year at the 2020 Women in Law Awards – discusses her journey in legal ops, what constitutes a good legal ops professional, why it is such a rewarding vocational pathway in law, and what those in legal ops have to look forward to in a post-pandemic marketplace.
Saudi Arabian-based legal counsel Cassandra Heilbronn has had, nearly her whole life, a comprehensive understanding of the importance of putting one’s self forward. Here, she discusses the many ways she has learned to network over the course of her career, what works and doesn’t work, and discusses the new and creative ways that lawyers can network – for vocational and business purposes – in the digital age and amid the ongoing pandemic.
According to Carly Stebbing – who featured on the second-most downloaded episode of 2020 – one’s job is their most important financial asset, and one’s contract is the insurance policy. As such, lawyers need to be more cognisant of what actually goes into their employment contracts, and ensure that terms and conditions are as accommodating for one’s needs as possible, particularly in a looming market where individual professionals will be more scattered than pre-pandemic.
Here, graduate Audrey Vong joins Naomi Neilson to talk about how she secured the role, what her usual day-to-day looks like at the firm, how other young lawyers can follow her lead, and offers up tips for making it in the profession and in BigLaw, particularly around finding networks and asking questions whenever you can.
According to award-winning litigation partner Jason Betts, there’s never been a better time for litigation lawyers “to do difficult and challenging work”. That comment has proved true as 2021 has unfolded. Here, Mr Betts – who last year won the Litigation Partner of the Year and Excellence Award categories at the 2020 Partner of the Year Awards – discusses the ongoing challenges for litigators and how best they can take advantage of myriad changes to the landscape.
Phoebe Macdougall lives a different existence to most lawyers – literally. A few years ago, she bought a van and has been spending her time travelling up and down the Northern Beaches of Sydney, ingratiating herself in nomad communities, all while working with CBD-based legal employers. As part of her minimalist attitude, Ms Macdougall argues that lawyers do not need to work themselves to death in order to enjoy million-dollar views.
1. Breaking up with a bad boss
The most-listened-to episode so far in 2021 was with Dr Hannah Korrel, author and neuropsychologist, who also spoke at the recent Careers Expo and Emerging Leaders Summit. In this conversation, Dr Korrel detailed the psychological impacts of existing in a toxic workplace where you feel trapped, and outlined practical steps that legal professionals can take to extricate themselves from such deleterious environments.
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly. A former lawyer, he has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. He is also the host of all five shows under The Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network, and has overseen the brand's audio medium growth from 4,000 downloads per month to over 60,000 downloads per month, making The Lawyers Weekly Show the most popular industry-specific podcast in Australia. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of Minds Count.
You can email Jerome at:
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