As my second Christmas as a mediator approaches, I’ve found myself reflecting on the lessons and surprises this role has brought. Transitioning from lawyer to mediator has required new skills, a different mindset and a willingness to keep learning. Today I’m sharing some of my key reflections so far.

The most striking realisation has been that mediation is its own discipline, distinct from legal practice. Even after years of acting as an advocate in mediations, stepping into the mediator’s chair revealed how much dedicated training and feedback matter. Building trust and rapport is at the heart of the process. Credibility helps but it’s the relationships formed with lawyers and clients, often during those quieter moments, that make the work meaningful and productive. Patience and optimism are indispensable, especially when negotiations stall or doubts creep in. I’ve learned that maintaining a positive, solution-focused mindset can keep everyone moving forward, even when energy in the room is flagging.

Emotional intelligence sits at the core of effective mediation and recognising the emotional currents that run beneath the surface is essential. It’s about helping participants acknowledge these feelings of fear, frustration and uncertainty without letting them derail the process. Preparation is also vital, though it looks different from advocacy. Mediators must know the issues and the people but also remain flexible and ready to adapt as dynamics shift.

Three common mistakes I see in approaching negotiations include insufficient preparation, an over-formal approach that misses the more collaborative tone of mediation and treating negotiation as a mere platform for argument rather than a process of mutual discovery. I’m grateful to the legal community for the encouragement and support during this career transition and I look forward to more opportunities to learn and collaborate in the coming year. Wishing everyone a restful Christmas and a positive start to the new year.

Links:

Website | LinkedIn | YouTube

My conversation with Joel Barolsky, a strategic advisor with over 30 years of experience at the intersection of law and business, reveals why understanding market dynamics matters more than ever for legal professionals. Joel is the driving force behind Barolsky Advisors, a fellow at Melbourne Law School teaching the business of law and works internationally through Edge Consultancy while contributing to Thomson Reuters reports on the Australian legal market. His journey into the legal industry began unexpectedly through Melbourne Business School and consultancy rather than legal practice, proving that the most valuable industry perspectives often come from unconventional paths.

In this episode, we explore the current state of the Australian legal services market, including the rise of mega firms, the resilience of mid-tier players and whether the narrative of global firms infiltrating our market holds true. Joel's analysis challenges common assumptions, characterising market changes as more ebb and flow than widespread takeover. Our discussion ventures into private equity's potential role in Australian law firms and whether mid-tier firms might follow the UK model, the nuanced territory where law firms are competing with consulting services, and Joel's framework for understanding why some firms flourish whilst others flounder. Key factors like clear strategy, strong culture and effective leadership emerged as the differentiators between high performers and those struggling to find their footing.

Our conversation also tackled generative AI's potential to reshape the industry through pricing disruptions and efficiency improvements. Joel remains cautiously optimistic, suggesting that whilst commoditisation might affect some areas, the nuanced human elements of law remain irreplaceable. His forecasts for 2030 and insights into why Australian law firms' agility and leadership position them favourably on the global stage offer encouraging perspectives for the profession's future. For anyone interested in the business of law and where the profession is heading, this conversation provides essential strategic insights.

Links:

https://www.barolskyadvisors.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelbarolsky/

Website | LinkedIn | YouTube

My conversation with Dee Madigan, co-founder of Campaign Edge and a recognised force in advertising and political campaigns, revealed fascinating parallels between persuasion in advertising, politics, and legal practice. After teaching and stint in property, a chance pub encounter with advertising professionals pivoted her career entirely. She initially viewed advertising as "artistic prostitution," a characteristically candid assessment that captures her humorous, no-nonsense approach. What transformed her perspective was the realisation that advertising, particularly political campaigning, could serve purposes beyond selling products.

The gender dynamics in creative industries formed a compelling part of our discussion. While Dee acknowledges the industry has changed, she remains concerned about women's long-term career prospects, particularly regarding flexible work arrangements that may inadvertently impact visibility and advancement.

We explored why negative political advertisements remain effective despite public aversion. These ads stick in voters' minds longer and stimulate emotional responses crucial for engaging disengaged swing voters. This insight resonates deeply with litigation strategy, where framing arguments around what clients stand to lose often proves more compelling than emphasising what they might gain.

Our discussion of modern work practices revealed Dee's nuanced perspective on remote working. She points out the visibility issue that comes with working from home, particularly for women and how it affects career progression. While acknowledging the work-life balance benefits today's workforce enjoys, Dee warns of potential long-term career impacts and emphasises the importance of in-office collaboration for skill development.

I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation with Dee. Whether it’s in advertising, politics, or law, we agreed that success hinges on understanding human emotion, making persuasive cases and maintaining integrity while pursuing ambitious goals.

Links:

https://campaignedge.com.au/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dee-madigan-73521318/

Website | LinkedIn | YouTube

My conversation with Deborah Mazoudier, a tendering expert I've worked alongside for over two decades, revealed why so many organisations struggle with competitive bids: they fundamentally misunderstand what tendering requires. Deb's transition from legal career to tender specialist began in 2000 within international aid, where she discovered her talent for winning bids and eventually built Tender Plus into a national enterprise. What strikes me most about Deb's approach is her belief that tendering is fundamentally an exercise in empathy, requiring deep understanding of client needs rather than reliance on broad statements or generic value propositions.

One critical insight from our discussion was the persistent misconception that tendering is merely administrative work. Deb advocates passionately for recognising tender specialists as strategic assets whose skillsets encompass strategic planning, project management, and persuasive communication. The most common failing in tender responses is lack of specificity, when organisations articulate what they do rather than demonstrating the actual benefits clients will receive. While acknowledging technological advancements in AI, Deb maintains that the human element remains irreplaceable in tendering. AI can support the process but it cannot replicate the nuanced understanding and relational dynamics that human specialists bring to aligning responses with client objectives.

Working with Deb has fundamentally shaped my understanding of client engagement and strategic communication. Her guidance taught me that success in competitive bidding requires the same discipline we apply to legal practice. This means meticulous attention to client needs, precise articulation of value and strategic positioning that differentiates rather than homogenises. For professionals in legal services and beyond, these insights are increasingly crucial as tendering becomes standard practice for securing significant engagements.

Links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborah-mazoudier

https://www.tenderplusconsulting.com.au/

Website | LinkedIn | YouTube

My conversation with Steve Simpson, a veteran expert in workplace culture, challenged everything I thought I understood about organisational dynamics. Steve's concept of Unwritten Ground Rules (UGRs) cuts through the polished rhetoric of values statements and glossy brochures to reveal what actually happens within organisations.

UGRs capture the naturally occurring behaviours and perceptions that truly shape workplace culture. It’s the real-time dynamics that newcomers absorb when colleagues say, "What really happens around here is..." In professional services, these UGRs are particularly vivid and often problematic: poor behaviour tolerated if you're a high revenue generator, voices that matter only after climbing several rungs on the corporate ladder, hierarchies and tolerances that directly contradict stated values. Steve suggests that these unspoken rules can be more powerful than leadership itself. Leaders come and go but deeply entrenched UGRs persist, shaping behaviour regardless of who's nominally in charge.

The intersection of safety protocols and UGRs proved particularly compelling in our discussion. Steve's work in the aviation sector revealed how strong safety culture rhetoric often masks UGRs like "Around here, safety is a tick-box exercise." This disconnect between aspiration and reality exists across industries and functions, from safety compliance to diversity initiatives to client service standards. The path to realignment requires honest awareness of existing UGRs, which often differ drastically from stated values. Steve's methodology involves crafting clear "lead-in sentences" that open authentic dialogue which enables organisations to measure cultural health effectively rather than relying on sanitised engagement surveys.

What defines great culture, according to Steve, is remarkably simple: alignment between aspirational culture and actual UGRs. Transformative change occurs when there's minimal discrepancy between what organisations profess and what they do. Having witnessed firsthand how compelling this focus on UGRs can be, I'm convinced this methodology should be central to any serious cultural assessment and realignment effort. For leaders in professional services and beyond, Steve's work offers a framework for confronting uncomfortable truths about organisational culture, an essential first step toward genuine transformation.

Links:

https://steve-simpson.com/

Website | LinkedIn | YouTube

Most leaders can sense when something's off in their organisation. Talented people stay silent in meetings, innovation stalls, stress becomes the unspoken norm. My conversation with Carolyn Grant illuminated two concepts reshaping how we think about workplace performance: psychological safety and psychosocial risk management.

Carolyn Grant is the founder and CEO of People Plus Science, where she combines her expertise in human and organisational behaviour, neuroscience and research to help organisations thrive. A perpetual student of behavioural science, Carolyn believes that continual research and product development are fundamental to sustainable organisational success.

While psychological safety and psychosocial risk management might sound like corporate jargon, they represent fundamental shifts in how organisations must operate to remain competitive and compliant. Psychological safety creates environments where team members feel secure voicing ideas, asking questions, and challenging assumptions without fear of humiliation or punishment. This isn't about creating comfortable spaces that avoid difficult conversations. In fact it’s quite the opposite. Carolyn emphasised that genuine psychological safety requires accountability and intellectual friction, the kind that drives breakthroughs rather than stifles them.

Psychosocial hazards represent the other side of this equation. These are the workplace elements that cause stress, whether tied to management styles, job autonomy, or personal factors like financial strain. The research reveals what effective leaders instinctively understand: trust forms the foundation of everything else. Without trust, change management fails, communication breaks down, and performance suffers.

The critical insight from our discussion is that addressing these factors requires genuine commitment beyond superficial solutions. Carolyn cautioned against treating social events as remedies when deeper issues like bullying or low trust exist. Real improvement demands focusing resources where they'll achieve the greatest impact and address fundamental issues rather than treating the symptoms.

Links:

https://peopleplusscience.com/

Website | LinkedIn | YouTube

I’m talking today with my good friend, Chris Brady, a seasoned physiotherapist and co-owner of the Queensland Sports Medicine Centre. Our conversation revealed fascinating parallels between elite sports performance and organisational success.

Chris's extensive experience working with high-performance athletes provides unique insights into how teams function under pressure—lessons that translate remarkably well to professional environments. What struck me most was his emphasis on shared objectives as the foundation for any successful team, whether that's a sports squad preparing for competition or a law firm working towards strategic goals.

The concept that resonated most deeply was Chris's approach to fostering what he calls a "high-responsibility, low-credit culture." In elite sports, victories and losses belong to the entire team, creating an environment where accountability flourishes without the destructive pursuit of individual recognition. This philosophy challenges the traditional workplace dynamic where credit-seeking often undermines collaboration. When team members feel comfortable contributing and learning from experiences without fear of blame or lack of recognition, the entire organisation benefits from increased innovation and collective growth.

Perhaps most intriguingly, Chris highlighted the stark differences in time management between sports and conventional workplaces. Elite athletes dedicate themselves completely to the task at hand, with flexibility and total commitment driving their approach rather than rigid adherence to traditional schedules. This philosophy, focusing on crucial tasks rather than clock-watching, offers a compelling alternative to conventional workplace structures.

Our conversation reinforced that sustainable success, whether in sports or professional services, comes from creating environments where individual growth serves collective achievement, and where being a brand ambassador becomes a natural extension of personal excellence rather than a corporate mandate.

Links:

QSWMC Website: https://qsmc.net.au/

Website | LinkedIn | YouTube

My recent conversation with Alison Haly, a trailblazer in the Australian mediation landscape, offered a compelling look into what it means to forge a new path in legal practice. Alison’s transition from over two decades at a global law firm to establishing her own mediation practice was driven by a deep-seated passion for resolving conflict—a skill she traces back to her childhood.

As the first woman in Australia to develop a dedicated mediation practice, Alison faced significant barriers, from industry resistance to the challenge of building trust in a field where few had gone before. Her story is a testament to the importance of self-belief, perseverance, and the willingness to be “the best you can be” rather than simply better than others.

Alison’s insights into mediation highlight its distinct nature as a profession, separate from traditional legal practice. She emphasises that effective mediation is not just about legal knowledge, but about understanding behavioural dynamics, decision making and the human element at the heart of every dispute.

Alison’s international work and collaborations with professionals from diverse backgrounds such as anthropologists, psychologists and sociologists have reinforced her view that mediation requires a unique skill set. She encourages legal professionals considering this path to approach it as a full-time, independent vocation, investing in continuous learning, reflection, and a genuine commitment to people over process.

For those in the legal field contemplating a move into mediation, Alison’s advice is clear: treat it as a distinct and serious profession, not a retirement option or a side practice. She underscores the value of independence, ongoing education and building a strong network for feedback and support. As the legal industry evolves and technology like AI begins to play a role in conflict resolution, Alison remains optimistic about the enduring importance of human connection and empathy in mediation.

Links:

Alison Haly LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisonhaly/

Website | LinkedIn | YouTube