In a profession where burnout and mental health struggles have become all too routine, Tammi McDermott warns that mental health literacy isn't just essential for the next generation of legal leaders – it demands action and support from the entire profession to spark the urgent, transformative change law desperately needs

In a recent episode of The Protégé Podcast, host Grace Robbie speaks with Tammi McDermott, the founder of Lawnch and a board member of the mental health charity LIVIN, about the alarming rate of mental health challenges among lawyers, explains why this issue drives her passion for making mental health literacy a core skill for lawyers, calls out the profession's tendency to sideline mental health, and unpacks how genuine change can only happen when firms start prioritising their people over clients and billable hours.

McDermott also reflects on how little progress has been made in the way mental health is addressed in law since she first entered the profession, praises the younger generation of lawyers for reshaping the narrative by prioritising their wellbeing, calls on legal leaders to take responsibility for driving change by starting with more open conversations about mental health in the workplace, and emphasises that emotional preparedness and mental health awareness are just as vital as technical expertise for the next generation of legal leaders.

In this special episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, produced in partnership with Unisearch Expert Opinion Services, we explore how forensic and cognitive psychology is being applied in the justice system, and how – together with facial recognition technology – such developments may have implications for legal proceedings.

Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Professor Richard Kemp, PhD, and Unisearch Expert Opinion Service business development manager Christopher Aaron Yong about Professor Kemp's research fields, why experts like him are in greater demand, the pertinence and necessity of such services in ensuring access to justice, the limitations of such scientific fields, and addressing gaps in legal proceedings.

Professor Kemp and Yong also delve into the types of proceedings that such services can be applied to, the place for facial recognition technology in such conversations, risks to be navigated, implications for legal practitioners on the ground, case studies and lessons from those proceedings, and also explore how to assess the reliability of one's memory.

To learn more about Unisearch Expert Opinion Services, click here.

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, X 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

The proliferation of negative sentiment around migration into Australia, both politically and socioculturally, can take a toll on legal practitioners in this space. To this end, migration law can be seen as a potential bellwether for the legal profession's role in ensuring access to justice and our national identity.

In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with BDO national leader in migration law Rebecca Thomson about her background in this legal practice area and why it's so rewarding, the sociocultural and political discourse surrounding migration and its disconnect to the realities on the ground, the impact on practitioners like herself, and whether now is the most challenging time to be a migration lawyer.

Thomson also delves into the numerous roles that such lawyers have to play in the current climate, bringing a holistic viewpoint, staying on top of a shifting regulatory and legislative landscape, having a community, the importance of migration law moving forward, and lawyers' role in ensuring access to justice.

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, X 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