This week on the show I sat down with the one and only Alex Su, Head of Community Development at Ironclad, and the hands down most entertaining lawyer on Tik Tok!  Alex was a lawyer at a leading US firm before running his own practice and then making the move into legal tech sales and business development. You may however know Alex from his short video content which he has used to build a remarkable following on Tik Tok, Instagram and LinkedIn.  Alex brilliantly uses humour to make some serious points about what it is like to practice and some of the biggest issues facing the profession including technology change, mental health, overwork and burnout. We had a wide ranging discussion about social media, content creation, the opportunities to reach an audience and the stresses of “putting yourself out there”. Alex is a true leader and it was an absolute highlight to get him on the show.  

Beyond Billables

Alex Su - Head of Community Development at Ironclad

On the show this week I welcomed back one of the most knowledgeable and engaging experts in legal business development I have ever spoken to, Kim Wiegand, Founder of Julip Advisory and Partner at beaton. Kim has worked in Australia and Internationally for a range of leading legal service providers and brings deep expertise to our discussions on business development and what it means to deliver an outstanding client experience. Armed with both practical and quantitative insight Kim’s advice during our chat is hugely valuable if you want to grow your practice or business.

Kim Wiegand - Partner at beaton and Founder of Julip Advisory

With the present mental health crisis in Australia, and following the recent suicide of a colleague, Mike speaks openly in this insight show about his struggles with anxiety and the need to keep asking the "r u ok"? question and really mean it.   Mike shares a little about his journey with what is at times crippling anxiety and stress. From the lessons learned in the fight ring, to those shared by friends that motivated him to finally seek help from a mental health professional, this is a personal show about the negative impacts of anxiety and ways to ultimately manage it. The take home? Help is there if you put your hand up, and we can all do a better job of continuing to articulate that and actively supporting those around us. 

Insight show - Stress, anxiety and seeking help

Rap music, horror movies, slow drip coffee and equity disputes - what do they all have in common? The one and only lawyer and host of Coffee and a Case Note, James d’Apice! James is a Special Counsel at Chamberlains with a practice that straddles commercial and litigation work. As well as being a great lawyer James has built a strong personal brand in the last few years by leveraging the power of great content. Whether you have come across James on LinkedIn, Instagram or Tik Tok, his passion for the law and for sharing the journey is unrivalled. James not only makes valuable things, but he does it with a consistency that is truly impressive driven by an impressive long term strategy.  On the show, we spoke about all of this and had a great discussion around what we can do to improve the profession now and in the future. James is a passionate advocate for change so it was great to get his insight into what we can do right now and the role we can all play.   

James d'Apice - Special Counsel, Podcaster and social media trailblazer

On the show this week we hosted the brilliant Gemma Bunner & Kerri Shaw of Shaw & Bunner Legal. As the founders of a fast growing personal injuries law firm in regional Australia Gemma and Kerri have a unique and fascinating story to tell. We spoke about the challenges and benefits of starting your own firm, how they grew the business within the local community, and their ability to manage it all parenting! Gemma & Kerri have demonstrated the value of building great relationships, investing in growing a brand and reputation, and having foresight to look forward to where they want the business to go (and take action to make it happen).

Gemma Bunner & Kerri Shaw

What are three key things we've learned in the last few years creating the show? You'll have to listen to find out! In this episode Mike discusses the creation of the Beyond Billables Branding business, the struggles everyone finds with positioning(yes, even us) and the role of ego and status in decision making.  It's been a wild ride bringing this podcast together for the last 4 years so we wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who has been with us on the journey so far! 

Season 2 - On positioning and ego

On the show today we had a great discussion with Kate Sherburn, Legal Beagle (Senior Legal Counsel!) at Who Gives a Crap. No, you didn't read that wrong, Who Gives a Crap is a toilet paper business committed to helping 2 billion people around the world get access to sanitation and clean water. During the interview we discussed Kate's background, how she ended up working in-house, how she managed during the last 18 months as a busy parent and lawyer, and what she is looking forward to in the future. We also spent some time talking about how businesses and individuals can properly commit to and follow their mission and make a real difference.

Kate Sherburn - Legal Beagle at Who Gives a Crap

Today's show is a great chat I had with Amy Sanders-Robbins. Amy is an Accredited Family Law Specialist and Director at Bespoke Family Lawyers. Amy helps clients resolve family law issues through a holistic, collaborative and resolutions focused approach. Breaking away from tradition, Amy has taken to social media to empower and educate her audience about the separation journey and how to disentangle legally, emotionally and practically from the relationship.   Amy works from the basis that separation can be an opportunity for her clients to rebuild and move forward so they live their best life going forward.  It is this future focused approach that leads Amy to creating personalised solutions for your client that take into account the life and social aspects of separation, not just the law!

Amy Sanders-Robbins - Founder of Bespoke Family Lawyers

On the show today I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with Theo Kapodistrias, General Counsel of UpGuard, Key note speaker, director and Tasmanian ambassador! Theo has been a big supporter of ours over the years so it was terrific to be able to finally sit down with him and get to share his story. What makes Theo stand out so much is not just that he is a great guy, but he has been able to grow a personal brand and really invest the time and effort to make it work. He has gone on to use that to propel his speaking business and create real opportunities in a variety of different areas of his career.  Theo Kapodistrias is a multi-award-winning lawyer and is the inaugural General Counsel of UpGuard. Prior to this, he worked for the University of Tasmania for almost 6 years.  He is an ACC Certified In-House Counsel (ICC) having completed the ACC In-house Counsel Certification Program in August 2020. Theo has been recognized in Australia being named the 2020 Young Lawyer of the Year by the Law Society of Tasmania, the Academia, Training and Education Lawyer of the Year at the 2018 Corporate Counsel Awards, the 2017 and 2018 30 Under 30 (Corporate Counsel), and featured in the 2019 Legal 500 Australian Rising Stars Publication. In addition, he has been shortlisted for several other legal and community service awards. In addition to his substantive legal role, Theo is a keynote speaker, trainer and facilitator where he assists individuals to be seen, be heard and make an impact.  Theo is a Non-Executive Director and Tasmanian Divisional President of ACC Australia, a Tasmanian Ambassador and Industry Champion with Business Events Tasmania, an ambassador for World Idea Day, and the past Co-President of the Southern Young Lawyers Committee of Tasmania. 

Theo Kapodistrias - General Counsel & Keynote Speaker

Today on the show I had the chance to sit down with my friend and all around legal superstars Mel Scott. For any lawyer interested in building relationships with in-house decision makers this is a must listen episode!  Mel is the Senior Counsel at Megaport, a global technology company founded in Australia, listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2015 and now is in the ASX200. She has worked in house for 7 years across multiple industries such as aviation, infrastructure, financial services and now, cloud computing. Mel has previously been awarded the Lawyers Weekly Corporate Counsel 30 Under 30 Award. She is a passionate advocate for all things in-house and shares career insights for law students and graduates on Instagram @theinhouselawyer. She serves as a Member of the Queensland Law Society's In-House Committee and as the In-House Advisor to the Women Lawyers Association Queensland. Mel is a "recovering perfectionist" who believes that done is better than perfect. She launched Counsel, a self-made podcast about in-house lawyer life, during COVID-19 Lockdown.

Mel Scott - Senior Counsel Megaport

This week on the show I had a great discussion with John Farren, Director at Farren McRae Workplace Lawyers & Consultants. John has a fascinating background in the law and life in general having started out his professional life as a musician and ended up running his own firm! We chat about John's journey in the law, how he has grown his practice and his embrace of social media and other marketing channels.  John has extensive experience in all aspects of workplace and employment law. He has represented employers and employees before Workplace and Industrial, Administrative and Statutory Tribunals and Courts at both State and Federal levels, and is a skilled workplace investigator for complex workplace relations matters. With a special interest in dispute resolution, John is also an experienced workplace mediator. His mediation approach assists the parties to identify the root causes of their conflict and agree on how to positively move their working relationships forward. Before co-founding Farren McRae, John practised as a Barrister-at-Law at the Queensland Private Bar for over six years. He chose to move to practising as a solicitor as he believed he could more effectively help individual employers and employees resolve complex workplace disputes and issues as a solicitor in his own firm. 

John Farren - Director at Farren McRae Workplace Lawyers & Consultants

In this short insight show Mike discusses 20 key tips to help you kickstart your 2021. From having a mentor, to guarding your time and everything in between, this 20 minute show will help you get the year off to a great start. While it focuses on business owners there are a heap of tips for anyone looking to move ahead in their career. 

20 ways to kickstart your 2021

In this special edition of the Beyond Billables podcast it was my privilege to speak with Jacob Little, founder of About Time for Justice. Jacob was subjected to abuse in institutionalised care, spent time in prison and ultimately has come out to rebuild his life and help others who go through institutionalised abuse. This is an honest and raw discussion where Jacob shares so openly about his story. Having started About Time for Justice this year Jacob has turned his life around, finished his high school studies and is on track to start a degree and ultimately fulfil his dream of becoming a lawyer. We discussed what more can be done to protect kids, what Jacob is trying to do to empower people who have been subjected to abuse, and how he has managed to rebuild his life from scratch.     

Jacob Little - About Time for Justice

On the show today I had the great pleasure of sitting down with Michael Kemp, founder of Kemp Law one of Queensland’s largest PI law firms. This is one of the best discussions I’ve had on the ups and downs of growing a firm as Michael shared very openly on the challenges and opportunities. He clearly loves what he does and has a real passion for helping his clients but it's certainly been a journey.  Michael’s business was built through the power of personal brand and connection and he shares how he invested in this in good and bad times. Importantly, we also discussed how busy firm owners can better manage their mental health, and how Michael’s very successful partner has been a huge part of his story.

Michael Kemp - Founder of Kemp Law

On today's show I sat down with Brad Vinning, corporate and commercial partner at Sparke Helmore Lawyers. Brad was one of my first ever guests three years ago and after our first podcast Brad went and started his own!  He shared on the journey of starting and marketing a podcast, what he learned and what he gained both for his practice and personally.  We chatted at length about the ups and downs of the last year, how he managed his practice and what we are looking forward to in 2021.  

Brad Vinning - Partner at Sparke Helmore Lawyers

The Beyond Billables podcast is for lawyers and professionals looking for inspiration in their career or business. As a former lawyer and now owner of a number of legal services focused businesses I love to share the stories of lawyers and professionals who have carved unique paths. Whether it is in the interview shows, or our new Insight episodes, I get to the bottom of how successful professionals embrace change, take advantage of opportunity, and manage to find balance to keep it all going! Whether you want to be a great lawyer, grow a business or simply need inspiration, we’re here to support you on your journey.

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Beyond Billables

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