Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network

As one expert puts it, product counsel are "Swiss army knives, who can issue, spot, and identify the different legal risks that may come" when bringing products to market. Here, we unpack the growing prevalence of such a role and what it means more broadly for in-house legal functions.

In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Piper Alderman executive counsel Katrina Sharman about what a product counsel is and why the role emerged in Silicon Valley, lessons from her tenure at Coinbase for Australian in-house teams and law firms, how AI is changing the role of lawyers and legal risk management, the evolution of embedded counsel and fractional GC models, and balancing innovation, speed to market and regulatory compliance in highly regulated industries.
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

It's Cyber Security Awareness Month! In this special episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, produced in partnership with InfoTrack, we unpack how much the risk and compliance landscape is shifting and why having humans in the decision-making process is so essential in protecting the integrity of a law firm.

Host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back InfoTrack Chief Executive Officer John Ahern to discuss the current state of affairs in cyber security and the proliferation of incidents being seen, the extent of readiness from Australian businesses, how prepared law firms are compared to other businesses, how regulation is changing the game and if it's catching up to a new world, headline vulnerabilities, increasing duties and the need for humans to remain in the loop, the nexus of human involvement to trust and verification, and urgent practical steps to be taken.
To learn more about InfoTrack, click here.

True-crime podcasts and online speculation are increasingly shaping public perceptions of criminal cases before they reach trial, raising important questions about the presumption of innocence and the right to a fair hearing.

In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Avinash Singh, principal lawyer at Astor Legal, about the tension between open justice and trial fairness in the digital age, when media coverage and online commentary risk prejudicing potential jurors, the effectiveness of jury directions in an era of widespread digital information, the legal implications of sub judice contempt for journalists and podcasters, and the options available to courts when publicity threatens the integrity of criminal proceedings. They also discuss the imbalance between prosecution narratives and the defence in pre-trial reporting, the role and limitations of suppression and non-publication orders, whether Australia's current legal framework is equipped to address the challenges posed by true-crime content, and what reforms may be needed to protect the right to a fair trial without unduly restricting freedom of expression and open 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

For five decades, Ron Bartsch has served in cockpits, boardrooms, and courtrooms, learning what separates the dreams that come true from the dreams that don't. Here, he details how creativity is a set of learnable habits and the happiness dividend that comes from treating law as a means to live, not the reverse.
In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Professor Ron Bartsch AM, chairman of Avlaw and former head of safety and regulatory compliance at Qantas Airways Limited, about being his near-death experience as a young pilot and what it taught him, the similarities between how barristers and pilots think, navigating the rigidity of legal practice as a creative thinker, the habits that lawyers should employ to better utilise creative thinking, the happiness dividend that comes from treating law as a means to live, rather than the other way around, ensuring that one's dreams can come true, and the need to strive for change in one's life.
Bartsch is also the author of Dream Today What You Can Achieve Tomorrow.
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

Optimism abounds that emerging technologies like AI will improve access to justice. However, as one law professor's research has found, there is scant evidence to suggest that AI is actually helping applicants achieve desired outcomes.
In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Professor Alysia Blackham of Melbourne Law School about her forthcoming research paper, Artificial Intelligence and Access to Justice for Problems at Work: Enabling or Challenging Legal Pathways in the Fair Work Commission?, and its findings about the extent to which justice is currently accessible, the pressure being placed on Fair Work Commission and other jurisdictions, guidance being provided by courts and the significance of that, whether the advent of AI is aiding applicants' prospects or not, the broader implications for legal practitioners and the justice system, and how best lawyers can and should be responding in the current climate.