In this special episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, produced in partnership with Mitimes, we unpack the internal levers that help ensure talent retention in the current climate and how technology can better support firms.

Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Mitimes chief executive Kirsten Rillo, Insource founder Jenn Little, and Superhero Marketing Club founder Hayley Osborne about what we’re seeing in the market on the recruitment front and what can be learnt from such trends, the extent to which wellness influences lawyers’ decision to leave their employers, how well firm leaders are managing with talent retention at present, and why technology has a significant role to play.

The guests also discuss the key questions that law firms and leaders need to be asking when it comes to improving the worker experience and thus retention rates, including through use of technology, what individual lawyers most want to see from their employers, the practical ways to better utilise technology, what optimal time management and investment of time looks like on such fronts, and whether they are optimistic that firm leaders will recognise the nexus between proper utilisation of new technologies and talent retention.

To learn more about MiTimes, 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

There is much that Craig Green – who has been a partner-level lawyer for over 40 years – has learnt from his vocational journey, including that practitioners should always be fully engaged in their clients’ transactions, give 100 per cent, and the need for substantive communication.

In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Green Mortgage Lawyers managing director Craig Green about his journey in the legal profession and experience as a firm head, setting up a new specialist banking firm in mid-2024, what he finds so motivating about being in the mortgages and diversified banking space, and the headline challenges facing practitioners in this space.

Green also delves into the pace of change of the years lawyers like himself have had to grapple with, evolving client expectations in mortgages and banking, training and managing offshore staff, opportunities for lawyers in mortgages and banking, lessons he’s learnt along the way, and what excites him about his continued, storied journey in the law.

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

While many law students may hesitate to approach experienced professionals, Kurt Cheng encourages them to take that step, emphasising that the right guidance can accelerate both career development and personal growth.

Speaking on a recent episode of The Protégé Podcast, host Grace Robbie speaks with Kurt Cheng, a law graduate at Ashurst and a global ambassador at UTS, where he shares what drives his passion for early-career mentoring, emphasises why it is crucial never to overlook the value anyone can bring to your journey, and explains why meaningful mentoring extends far beyond a one-off coffee catch-up – it’s a relationship that requires time and genuine effort to nurture.

Cheng also reflects on how empowering and transformative a mentor can be for both personal and professional growth, highlights the importance of choosing a mentor whose journey aligns with your own career path, offers practical strategies for law students looking to connect with the right people, and reflects on his own role as a mentor – highlighting just how rewarding and transformative these relationships can be.

In this special episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, produced in partnership with Cybertify, we unpack why legal practices are increasingly such attractive targets for cyber criminals, the ways they get past defences, and what firms can do to ensure that the “doors are locked”.

Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with William Welch, the principal solutions architect for the legal sector and AI security at Cybertify, about who the company is and the work he does, why the risks inherent with cyber security are so much more prominent for Australian law firms at present, why every business is a potential target, the need for “locked doors”, why law firm owners aren’t fully across the dangers, and the lessons and takeaways from recent breaches in the legal space.

Welch also delves into what BigLaw practices need to be doing right now, ensuring systems are talking to each other properly and having the right point people, what SMEs must be doing at present, the questions those smaller firms need to be asking, overcoming concerns about being time-poor, understanding the changing landscape, and how best Cybertify can help.

To learn more about Cybertify, click here.

There is much that BigLaw partner Martina Storgato has learnt about cultivating one’s place in the legal profession – chief among those lessons is that, when building a network and one’s reputation, it is better to view others as colleagues, not the competition.

In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Mills Oakley partner Martina Storgato about her work in family law, how she’s managed that practice area while also having a family of her own, at what stage of her career she realised the importance of building a network and reputation, whether she has a guiding principle for doing so, and taking a nuanced approach to generating business in idiosyncratic practice areas.

Storgato also delves into whether the advent of AI and other emerging technologies supports the idea of being nuanced in one’s approach to clientele and business generation, the biggest lessons she’s learnt about building and maintaining a good network and professional reputation, the questions lawyers should be asking of themselves in such a building process, remaining a good leader, and her broader guidance to lawyers coming through the ranks.

For many lawyers, being a practitioner can become the dominant part of one’s identity. Here, Christina Yi reflects on how a girls’ trip helped remind her to do the things that bring joy and fulfillment, so that one can ultimately better be of service to clients.

In this episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Allegra Family Lawyers legal practitioner director Christina Yi about the “urgency” involved with family law and the flow-on impacts for lawyers in this space, how being a lawyer can shape how others perceive you, how lawyering can become part of your identity, and what this means for one, both personally and professionally.

Yi also discusses a recent holiday she took to revitalise and relax, the positive impact the trip had on her, why she’ll be making more time for future getaways, the warning signs lawyers should look out for when it comes to having lawyering become too big a part of one’s identity, and what excites her about the new parameters she’s set up for herself as a practitioner.

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 for more insights!

In this special episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, produced in partnership with Commonwealth Private, we unpack the myriad benefits of private banking for legal professionals, given their idiosyncratic personal, professional, and financial needs.

Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Commonwealth Private national head of professional services Cassandra Crawford about the work that Commonwealth Private does for clients, the headline financial challenges that senior lawyers face, whether engaging a private banker is more important than ever before, and the most common questions that senior lawyers ask of private banking.

Crawford also delves into the extent to which legal professionals are financially educated, how they can better ensure holistic financial security and wellness for themselves and their families, whether complacency needs to be overcome, the questions that lawyers should be asking of themselves, the practical steps to take, and overcoming hurdles getting in the way of looking after one’s self.

To learn more about Commonwealth Private, click here.

Amid the roar of gunfire and the loss of friends to war, this law student refused to be defined by his past. Instead, he transformed trauma into purpose, forging a remarkable journey from survival to the pursuit of justice.

Speaking on a recent episode of The Protégé Podcast, host Grace Robbie speaks with Alfred Brownell, a law student at the University of Queensland, who shares his remarkable journey of growing up in a war-torn country where the sound of gunfire was part of daily life, opens up about the lasting impact of those traumas, reflects on how these experiences have shaped the person he is today, and reveals how, after being unable to pursue medical school, he found inspiration to begin working alongside his father in environmental advocacy.

Brownell also reflects on his family’s remarkable legal legacy, speaks about his father’s story of having to flee the country after government authorities targeted him for his environmental work, recounts his own experience of starting a new life in Australia along with the significant challenges that came with it, explains how the hardships he faced has helped him build meaningful new connections in Australia, and emphasises why it is so important to never give up on studying law, no matter the obstacles that stand in the way.