Talk To My Lawyer – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Adrian welcomes Will Marshall, Head of Legal & Risk Management at Altea Insurance and previous Partner at DWF and Capsticks Solicitors, into the studio to discuss the question: Is there a good time to step out of the Law profession and into industry?

In this episode, Will also delves into:

• Studying alternatives to Law before venturing into a career as a lawyer, ie. History;
• The challenges of looking objectively at cases in criminal law;
• Increasing pressures on young lawyers to specialise early - keeping doors open could be a better option for many;
• AI and whether it will enable us to help move both law and healthcare forwards;
• The importance of complaints - gives you a chance to get your house in order.

And stay tuned for some wonderful advice for young lawyers on the importance of developing a client following when progressing through your career in the law. 

This week Adrian welcome’s Jon Gregson, employment lawyer and Partner at Weightmans, into the TTML studio to discuss his journey from day 1 to day 5,719 of making Partner. If you are part of the lawyer community on LinkedIn, you will almost certainly have seen Jon’s witty and insightful content appearing on your feed, from quips about his ginger hair to life as a Partner in a top UK law firm, Jon’s voice has pierced through and grabbed the attention of a growing audience.  

In this episode, we also discuss:

·         How Weightmans has provided Jon with the opportunities to stay at the firm, establish his position through hard work and progress both his career and the culture of the company;

·         Employment law as a practice that you can find yourself in rather accidentally depending on the seat you have during your training contract;

·         Working with the product and innovation team and the importance of having the right people in the room at the right time on solving client problems in different ways, particularly using new technologies;

·         Visualizing data to help lawyers solve problems pragmatically with clients;

·         Finding your voice on LinkedIn and the benefits on Jon's work as a lawyer - If you need something from Jon you already know what you are going to get as you have an insight into who he is as a person from his LinkedIn presence. 

And stay tuned till the end to hear about a case Jon worked on that ended up in a Netflix Documentary!

In this episode, I invite Charles Anderson into the studio, Legal Director at MET Group and author, to discuss practicing law across the globe. Charles’ fascinating journey through the world of law has taken him from Melbourne to Moscow via London and Paris, finally ending up in Switzerland where he practices today. 

Along this journey, we discuss:

• Balancing risk and reward when choosing to work abroad;
• The appeal of London in the late 90s;
• The challenges of working with different languages;
• How Charles has managed working in a host of different jurisdictions, each with a distinct approach to practicing law. 

And stay tuned till the end to hear how Charles found himself being deported from Russia immediately after landing in Moscow airport.

For this week’s episode of Talk To My Lawyer, I speak to a fellow Melburnian, the brilliant Lewis Grimm, about using his online presence to nurture and build relationships as a lawyer. He discusses the importance of showing one’s personality through portraying interests outside the world of law, building a transpersonal online presence and taking time to write about topics you care deeply about.

In this conversation, we also discuss: 

·        The challenges and differences of practicing law in three different continents; 

·        Finding an area of practice that suits your personality; 

·        Building trust with clients through finding common interests outside of work.

And stay tuned till the end to hear about Lewis’ Sunday Karaoke sessions and how meeting different people and not talking law have helped his career!

For this week's episode of Talk To My Lawyer, I spoke to Private Client lawyer James Badcock about the challenges and opportunities presented by working as an Independent Solicitor.  We discuss James’ fascinating career and how he came to the decision to move away from his role in a traditional firm and work as a Private Client Lawyer attached to a number firms. 

In this conversation, we also touch on:

·        The benefits and difficulties of working abroad;

·        Tax lawyers and tax accountants – do they step on each others toes?; 

·        The UK law conversion system and how it opens the pathway into the world of law to many more individuals. 

And stay tuned till the end for some intriguing insight from James about how AI will change the way we practice law, but not decrease the number of lawyers needed in the world!

For the first episode of the Talk To My Lawyer podcast, I have a conversation with the brilliant Heledd Wyn. We talk about ageing and money, having tricky discussions with family members and more, but not before hearing about her fascinating journey into the law, including: 

• The influence of a strong-willed grandma; 
• Getting thrown in the deep end and thrown out of court...5 times; 
• The challenge of moving to a new city for university.

 Stay tuned till the end for a few curve-ball questions that lead to some great career advice from Heledd!

Fortnightly interviews with interesting people in the legal profession with great stories to tell. 

Arvinder Mangat joins Adrian in the TTML studio this week for a fascinating conversation on working as a General Counsel in a variety of different start-ups and technology firms. Arvi gives detailed insights into his winding career as a lawyer, trying several different paths before settling on the one he is in now. 

This conversation also leads to the discussion of:

·        Arvi's initial attraction to law stemming from watching TV shows like LA Law and Rumpole of the Bailey;

·        The importance of connecting with people in other areas of law to widen your expertise and approach to your own field; 

·        The increasing need for there to be a wider understanding of the extent of the hard work that comes with being a junior lawyer, despite getting paid good money at such a young age;

·        Characterizing the work of General Counsel - do you still get your hands dirty and have a say in building a team?;

·        What Arvi would say to someone having just attained their law degree, in terms of their options and whether it is too soon to go into the business side of things or do you need some experience ‘in the trenches’ so to speak?

And stay tuned till the end to hear what Arvi has been thinking about our question to all the TTML guests - whether the world needs more lawyers. A slightly different take than the answers we have had before!

This week we are having a brief mid-season break, but Adrian wanted to record a short episode recapping the first 10 episodes and reflecting on the themes that we have covered and countries we have travelled to. 

We also wanted to thank the brilliant team at Talk To My Lawyer, Frank Page our producer and Fiona Lynch our editor, as well as our wonderful guests who have brough life to the podcast. 

And last but not least, thank you to our listeners who have been patient with the teething problems, and we are excited to bring you more content on the world of law, with 3 brilliant guests lined up for the upcoming podcasts. 

Amy Cousineau Massey joins Adrian in the TTML studio this week to give some really personal and insightful thoughts on ‘Adversity and the human lawyer’. Amy talks about dealing with adversity and personal challenges having lost her baby boy when 6 months pregnant. We discuss how LinkedIn can and should be used to talk openly and in detail about experiences and tragedies like Amy’s.

In this podcast, we also discuss:

·        How law degrees differ across the globe and the ways this impacts the journey into law firms;

·        The benefits of a good memory on studying law and how this is not a core skill when it comes to practicing law, rather being able to find the law quickly and relay it to the client in a way they can understand;

·        The sales aspect of being a lawyer and bringing in new business not being taught enough when studying law;

·        Employment law as an emotional practice – dealing with people’s livelihoods whilst managing your own emotions and making sure you are proceeding with the law behind you;

·        Deciding to leave private practice after dealing with the challenges that come with returning to work after having a child, embracing consultancy and the freedom and power that comes with this career change. 

And stay tuned till the end for our discussion on the importance of putting the idea of widespread gender diversified boards into practice.