The Resolution Room

Career reinvention is rarely neat, and it often starts with a quiet question you cannot unhear. In this episode, I’m joined by Joanna Wong, host of the podcast Chasing Waves, to talk about career transitions, leadership growth, and what it looks like to walk away from what is not working without treating quitting like failure. Joanna’s story spans three continents and global brands including Meta,...

Mindful leadership is not a wellness trend, it is an attention skill, and in this episode I sit down with Susan Pearse to talk about what that really means in modern work and life. Susan and I have known each other for 30 years, and this conversation is both personal and practical, tracing how she stepped away from the corporate path early and went on to build some of Australia’s first mindfulness...

Vicarious trauma is one of the most overlooked psychosocial hazards at work, especially in high exposure roles like law, insurance, health, and frontline services. In this episode of The Resolution Room, I’m joined by Vanessa Daniel from MLCOA to share 20 practical takeaways for reducing the risk of psychological injury from vicarious trauma, and to make the conversation more useful than the usual...

Vicarious trauma is not just a clinical concept; it is a real workplace risk for lawyers, claims teams, clinicians, and anyone who spends their days reading, hearing, or working inside other people’s worst moments. I’m joined today by Dr Naveed Sheikh, consultant psychiatrist and senior medical practitioner, and Vanessa Daniel, National Customer Legal Manager at mlcoa, to have a conversation about...

Business development in law is changing fast, and this episode is a practical look at what that means for partners, BD teams, and anyone responsible for growth in a law firm. I’m joined by Kim Wiegand and Charles Handley for a wide-ranging conversation on the future of legal business development , legal marketing and the skills firms will need to stay competitive as client expectations shift. We t...

PTSD can turn a legal claim into something far more personal than paperwork and timelines, and this episode is about what that looks like in the real world. It’s a follow-on from our previous conversation, and I’m joined by Vanessa from MLCOA, forensic psychiatrist Dr Derek Lovell, and barrister Charlotte Campbell to talk about how PTSD shows up in legal matters and what helps people move through...

Two people can live through the same traumatic event and walk away with completely different psychological outcomes. In this episode, I’m back in the forensic psychiatry space, looking at PTSD in the context of personal injury claims, and why it is showing up more often in the work lawyers, insurers, and clinicians are doing. I’m joined by Dr Derek Lovell, forensic psychiatrist and co-author of th...

Will McCartney deferred his Arts/Law degree to build Habeas, a specialised legal tech startup aiming to bridge the AI trust gap in professional practice. In this conversation, he joins me to unpack why generic AI platforms fall short in high-stakes legal settings and how traditional Boolean search leaves practitioners frustrated. Will shares his personal trajectory; from starting his studies at Ca...

If you’ve ever walked into a negotiation thinking the law and the facts would do the heavy lifting, and then watched the whole thing stall anyway, this episode will feel familiar. I’m joined by Nicole Davidson, accredited mediator and negotiation trainer, to talk about why disputes don’t settle on logic alone, and what actually moves people when positions are entrenched. Nicole brings a rare mix o...

Most workplace issues do not start as legal problems. They start as friction, fatigue, missed cues, and someone quietly thinking, I’m trying my best here and it still isn’t working. This conversation looks at how ADHD and neurodiversity can sit underneath those moments, and what employers can do early, before it becomes formal, adversarial or avoidable damage. I’m joined by Vanessa from mlcoa , ps...

ADHD is everywhere in the conversation right now, but there is still a lot of confusion about what it is, what it is not, and what good support actually looks like. I’m joined by Dr Tim MacDonald, a psychiatrist with deep academic and clinical experience, and Vanessa Daniel, National Customer and Legal Manager at mlcoa. Together we explore their collaboration, Law, Medicine and Everything in Betwe...

I sat down with Dr George Beaton, one of the sharpest minds on the future of the legal profession, to talk about what is changing and what is staying stubbornly the same. George has a rare mix of academic and commercial credibility, with a background in medicine, an MBA and PhD, senior fellow roles at the University of Melbourne’s business and law schools, and decades advising professional service...

Tania Waters is a conflict management specialist, accredited mediator, and conflict coach who has spent years in senior global roles across HR and legal services. She founded Taite in 2021 and now focuses exclusively on workplace mediation. In this conversation, we get practical about why mediation is still underused in workplaces and why bringing it in earlier, rather than after an investigation,...

Michael Schiffner has spent years helping professionals get better at business development, and this conversation gets to the heart of why that matters. As the founder of Collective Intelligence and former National Business Development Coach at KPMG, Michael brings a practical and refreshing perspective to an area many lawyers still resist. We talk about why BD is such a pain point in professional...

I sat down with researcher and political pollster David Talbot (Talbot Mills/The Enactor Group) to discuss his background in politics and polling, including his work with Jacinda Ardern during COVID. We also unpacked his workplace culture survey and what it means for generational engagement and leadership. David explained the methodology: around 1,000 Australians were surveyed using a weighted, ce...

I recently caught up with Simon Morrison, Managing Director of Shine Lawyers, for a proper behind the scenes chat about what it’s like to spend 38 years inside one firm and still be hungry for what’s next. Simon and I both come from Toowoomba and went to St Mary’s, so there’s a shared thread running through the conversation, but the real story is how a small local practice became one of the bigges...

In this episode of The Resolution Room, I sit down with Julie Somerville, a former solicitor turned mediator who has built a national reputation for her trauma-informed approach. Julie has been recognised in the New South Wales market, listed in Doyles for the last five years, and named Mediator of the Year (Australian ADR Awards) in 2022. We talk about why trauma-informed practice matters in civi...

In this episode, I sit down with Dan Toombs, founder of law firm marketing agency Practice Proof, who took an unorthodox path from his early days at St Mary’s in Toowoomba into law, social justice work and eventually two decades at the forefront of digital strategy for lawyers. Dan understands the legal profession from the inside, which is exactly why his take on marketing feels both practical and...

I recently sat down with Travis Schultz, a name deeply respected in the Queensland legal market and the founder of Travis Schultz and Partners. This episode is about leadership in personal injury law, what it takes to build a firm with a strong culture, and how to stay commercially sound without defaulting to the usual corporatised playbook. Travis and I go back to 1988 when we finished school, an...

Sitting down with Lara Wentworth, former lawyer turned coach and founder of Coaching Advocates, was a timely reminder that many in the legal profession spend years occupying a chair that doesn’t quite fit. Lara’s journey from legal practice to coaching is a testament to the value of self-discovery and the courage to carve out a new path. Through Coaching Advocates, she has created a space where la...

I recently sat down with Shannon Fentiman, Former Queensland Attorney-General, Queensland’s Shadow Treasurer, Shadow Minister for Women and Member for Waterford since 2015. Shannon’s journey from employment lawyer and community advocate to holding some of the state’s most significant ministerial portfolios is a masterclass in purpose-driven leadership. Raised on the Gold Coast and deeply committed...

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 p...

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 contribut...

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...

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...