I am loathe to say it is a Christmas miracle, but...it's a Christmas miracle! The podcast returns! Now with monthly episodes, hopefully increasing to a higher frequency next year. It feels really good. Thank you to the many of you who reached out to me during the hiatus - you are wonderful.
In this episode I spoke to Nichola, a senior legal and policy advisor for the Law Commission with a background in private practice in New Zealand and the UK. We talked working in the UK vs working here, working in private firms vs public service, and big firms vs small, all of which came down to that beautiful notion of finding your fit. Nichola is also a parent to two wee boys and we talked about how she has navigated family life and work life. It was a joyful and utterly delightful discussion that goes quite nicely with the end of year wind down.
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This episode was all about innovation in law, a topic I and my guest Chris get very excited about. It includes a brainstorm on how to balance the need for innovation with good ol' lawyerly risk aversion. In researching for this episode I came across a press release for a 2016 report on innovation in Australasia that includes the sentence, "The majority of Australasian law firms rate themselves as innovative but there is little evidence to support this claim...". However, it is not all bleak; below are some examples of lawyers already thinking differently and doing cool things to modernise how law is practised. Again, I must emphasise my recommendation that all lawyers read the Marque Lawyers website in its wonderful entirety.
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In this episode I sat down with the lawyer self care guru herself, Julia Batchelor-Smith, to talk all things self care, balance and contentment (and nerd out about the Construction Contracts Act; apologies). We covered some GREAT stuff, including non-linear careers, taking time out to do crazy always-wanted-to ventures, parenting and lawyering, microcredentialing (Katie learns a word), how to keep on top of stress, how to manage mistakes, financial literacy and the business of Spanx.
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Hello again beautiful listeners. This episode I went to Auckland to sit down with the Law Society's current president, Kathryn Beck, who is also a partner at employment firm SBM Legal. We had a delicious wide-ranging conversation about her career as an employment lawyer, her longstanding involvement in different parts of the Law Society, her vision for the best future for law in New Zealand, her advice to new lawyers, her thoughts on mental health for lawyers, and her joy and love for the practice of law. It is always wonderful to watch someone who loves what they do, do what they do, and now you all get to listen along to that too. There is so much in this discussion, feel free to take it in bits if need be, with breaks for refreshment etc.
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This week's episode is almost a case study for episode 15. I talked to Anna, a third year litigation solicitor at a mid-sized firm about how she found some moderation in her all-or-nothing personality type. The answer seems to lie in the direction of self awareness and a great law firm culture, with a touch of mindfulness practice thrown in. I particularly loved getting into what makes her workplace so supportive of sustainable success; it's a recipe for us all. We also had lovely chats about how she came to work at that firm in only second year of law school, and her experiences as a young woman lawyer (there is even some comeuppance, listeners!). I do hope you enjoy.
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This episode is a bit different from others in that Mike is not himself a lawyer, but he treats lawyers in his practice as a clinical psychologist and basically wrote a book about us, so it counts. We discussed all or nothing personalities (of course), the antidote to the extreme versions of that personality, the consequences of letting your all or nothing nature rule your life, and what life looks and feels like when it's not quite so all or nothing.
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This episode I interviewed Eric Yu, a third year solicitor at Christchurch's Community Law office. We talked about so much wonderful stuff, including the virtues of volunteering for Community Law and the breadth of experience you can get there, how to deal with mistakes when they inevitably occur, the imperfect and sometimes unjust nature of our legal system, and how to cope with emotional fatigue and gloom at systemic injustice. It was so great.
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You guys. This episode. So cool. Mahafrin was born in India, mostly raised in Dubai, and immigrated with her family to New Zealand when she was 15. She practises in an immigration and refugee law firm in Auckland. She attended an international human rights conference a couple of years ago that you might want to attend in Sydney this year. In the episode we discuss all of this, values clashes, racial and gender prejudice, and law as purpose, and she picks my brain on advancement in litigation. It's wonderful.
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George the law student/barristers' clerk joins me this episode for a micro discussion on life as a junior in a barristers' chambers and how he got the job in the first place, as well as how much a little confidence goes a long way in the world of autonomous legal practice.
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In this episode I speak to Clayton Carrick-Leslie about all sorts, but focusing on two key areas: (1) career paths and options, including part time work, inhouse counsel work and law-related management and leadership work, and (2) depression, suicide, quarterlife crises, and how to live and work amidst these things. Clayton talks about his own experiences with depression and the impact of a friend's suicide at a Sydney law firm and why in his experience corporations have better cultures than law firms. It was a fun and joyful chat, complete with impromptu brainstorming session about what to do when you're in acute distress at work, though of course the trigger warning goes (almost) without saying.
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Well. I don't need to tell you guys how cool this episode is, but it really was very cool. We spent most of the episode discussing the results of Josh's research, but not before we discussed Josh's own legal career, which to date has included a Supreme Court clerkship, work for a rule of law-based NGO in Myanmar, and now a Masters degree at Harvard.
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In this episode I interview Tom, an S2 at the Public Defence Service, about life as a junior criminal defence lawyer.
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In this episode Brannavan, a senior solicitor in Buddle Findlay's property and litigation teams in Wellington, talks daily practice in big law, checking your ego, and how to balance creative passions alongside your legal practice.
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In this episode Emily, a property solicitor with six years' experience in Invercargill and Christchurch, talks to Katie about life as a new lawyer, stress management, her experience as a woman in law, and the work of the Christchurch Young Lawyer Committee.
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