Advocates The Podcast

Thio Shen Yi SC is a Senior Counsel of the Singapore Bar and a leading disputes practitioner. A former debater and junior tennis player, he read law at St. John’s College, Cambridge before beginning his career in Singapore, where he trained under Devinder Singh and later worked with VK Rajah and Sundaresh Menon. In this episode of *Advocates The Podcast*, Shen Yi reflects on his path into the law,...

Commodore Ian Park is a barrister at Essex Court Chambers and former Head of Navy Legal in the Royal Navy. Trained as a barrister through a Royal Navy scheme dating back to 1947, his career has spanned courts martial, international and operational law, military legal advice, and the law of naval warfare. In this episode of *Advocates The Podcast*, Ian reflects on his path into the Navy, the role o...

The Rt. Hon. Lady Justice Geraldine Andrews DBE, PC is a Lord Justice of Appeal in England and Wales. The first female tenant at 4 Essex Court, she built a distinguished career at the commercial bar before being appointed to the High Court and subsequently to the Court of Appeal. In this episode of Advocates The Podcast, Lady Justice Andrews reflects on her journey into the law, the craft of cross...

Alan Lamplough SC is a Senior Counsel at the Johannesburg Bar in South Africa. Called to the Bar in 2002, he built a wide-ranging civil and commercial practice before taking silk in May 2021, appearing across South Africa's courts, including the Supreme Court of Appeal. In this episode of *Advocates The Podcast*, Alan reflects on his journey into the law, the craft of advocacy, and the lesson...

Advocates The Podcast sat down with Gourab Banerji, Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of India, former Additional Solicitor General, and international arbitrator. In this live conversation, he shares the mentors, the battles, and the moments that shaped a remarkable career at India’s Bar and beyond. Tune in to this episode of Advocates The Podcast.

The first episode of Season 4 is OUT NOW!  Over a long career at the Bar and on the Bench, Lord David Neuberger has seen the law from almost every vantage point. Advocate. Judge. And ultimately, President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from 2012 to 2017. In this conversation, he reflects on the journey that brought him there and the lessons learned from decades in the law. 🎧 Listen to...

Part II of 1988: Reunion of the Advocates explores the critical days following the Supreme Court’s order of 2 July 1988. In this episode, the lawyers who were directly involved share their experiences of the aftermath — including the suspension of five Supreme Court judges, the legal consequences, and the eventual disbanding of the team that defended Tun Salleh Abas. Their reflections offer a cand...

A notable chapter in Malaysian legal history, and one of the most meaningful episodes we’ve recorded.    1988: Reunion of the Advocates (Part I) brings together the lawyers who represented Tun Salleh Abas during the constitutional crisis that tested the judiciary. In this special episode, they revisit the challenges, collaboration, and decisions that marked that period – offering reflections that...

Brenda Hale, Rt Hon the Baroness Hale of Richmond DBE, is a highly accomplished legal figure with a remarkable career in academia, law practice, and judiciary. Baroness Hale made history in 1984 as the first woman and youngest person appointed to the Law Commission, where she spearheaded crucial reforms in family and mental disability law. Her judicial journey saw her ascend as a part-time judge,...

Datuk Darryl Goon is a retired Court of Appeal Judge. He is a consultant at the firm of Raja Darryl & Loh. Prior to joining the bench, he was heading the dispute resolution practice at Raja Darryl & Loh. At the bar he was widely regarded as one of the foremost litigators in Malaysia. 35 years of experience is a lot to squeeze in one episode, but we must try! Catch Gopal, Razlan and Datuk D...

I n this episode, we sit down with Clive Grossman KC, SC, a highly accomplished lawyer with extensive experience in criminal litigation, commercial and white-collar crime, money-laundering, corruption, and human rights issues. Clive graduated from the University of Cape Town and was called to the Rhodesian Bar in 1967, later becoming Deputy Director of Public Prosecution in Hong Kong before leavin...

Professor Leslie Thomas KC is a highly acclaimed human rights and civil liberties barrister in the UK, with expertise in claims against the police and other public authorities, as well as claims against corporate bodies. He has represented many bereaved families in inquests and public inquiries where there has been abuse of state or corporate power. Professor Thomas has won numerous awards for his...

Robert Richter KC is an Australian Barrister based in Melbourne who has handled a wide array of high profile cases some of which involved Defendants unpopular in the public opinion. He is the former chairman of the Criminal Bar Association, former President of Victorian Council for Civil Liberties, former part-time Law Reform Commissioner for Victoria and former member of Bar Council. Professor Ri...

We are always privileged here at Advocates the Podcast to be able to speak to top advocates with fascinating stories from their time at the bar. Dato Sitham is no exception. His is a name many in Malaysia would be familiar with having acted as counsel in numerous cases of national interest. He is well sought after as a criminal and civil trial lawyer and his skillset as an advocate is highly rated...

Steven Thompson KC, who took silk in 2005, has a commercial chancery practice in the UK with a particular emphasis on civil fraud actions, company/joint venture disputes, insolvency issues and aviation disputes. He regularly appears in all tiers of Courts in the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands having been called to the Bar of the Supreme Court of the Eastern Caribbean. Steven is regu...

Geoff Budlender SC is a human rights advocate, with clients ranging from the government to social justice organizations. In 1979, he co-founded the Legal Resources Centre, a public interest and human rights legal service for marginalized populations in South Africa. During his time there, he undertook cases involving the forced removal of communities, freedom of movement, detention without trial,...

In this special episode of Advocates the Podcast, we speak to the late Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram, who passed away in January 2023. Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram wore many hats in his illustrious career, a teacher, an advocate, a Federal Court Judge and a prosecutor. He holds the distinction of being the first member of the bar to be directly elevated to the Court of Appeal bench. He will be remembered f...

Toby Landau KC is an exceptional barrister and advocate who is also respected universally for his arbitration skills. He is frequently called on for high-value and complex cases involving commercial entities and sovereign states. He has argued hundreds of major international commercial, investor-State and inter-state arbitrations, as well as ground-breaking cases in the highest courts of England,...

Few advocates can say that their advocacy kept the United Kingdom in the European Union, albeit momentarily. In this episode we speak to someone who did just that; Lord Pannick KC, who led the Supreme Court Article 50 case against the government of the UK and argued against the prorogation of the parliament in the Supreme Court. Lord Pannick KC, who took silk in 1992, is one of the UK’s most highl...

Interested in going on a 3 month mountain climbing expedition, despite a busy schedule as a lawyer? Seremban-born, Francis Xavier SC gives you a step by step guide. We trek through Francis' early years handling criminal matters, maintaining a busy commerical practice in one of Singapore's largest law firms and the inspiration behind his rock band. Francis is ranked among Asia's Top...

Advocates the Podcast looks to Palestine in this episode. We speak to Diana Buttu, a Canadian-Palestinian lawyer and advocate of Palestinian rights. Diana takes us through her experience working in the Negotiations Support Unit of the Palestinian Liberation Organization and describes the legal battles she faces in an occupied Palestine.

In this instalment of Advocates the Podcast, we talk to Professor Carlton Larson, scholar of American constitutional law and Anglo-American legal history. In an unusual episode, Professor Larson describes how the Founding Fathers of America, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Wilson, were as lawyers and advocates. He also dips into the career of Abraham Lincoln as lawyer and advocate. 

How does one go from taking a car radiator apart to becoming an advocate? Gobind Singh Deo, prominent criminal advocate in Malaysia shares with Advocates the Podcast about just that. Gobind Singh Deo shares his journey of coming up as an advocate under the shadow of the Malaysian Internal Security Act, his approach to criminal cases and the investigative strategies he undertakes.

On this episode of Advocates the Podcast, we learn about how a young woman from Glasgow, Scotland became one of Britain's leading barristers. Baroness Helena Kennedy KC takes us back to the 70s, a time women were largely excluded from the legal profession in Britain. Listen to how she disrupted the traditional 'Chambers' model and reshaped the law for women through her work in media...

We welcome to this episode of Advocates The Podcast, Michael Kirby AC CMG, first openly gay judge and an intellectual powerhouse. After a career as a barrister, he went on to sit on the High Court of Australia, the highest court in the land.