William and Lonsdale - Lives in the Law

Today, we revisit our 2022 conversation with former Federal Court Justice Iain Ross AO. From ACTU Assistant Secretary to Vice President of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission; from County Court Judge to the president of VCAT; Iain has had a dynamic and impactful career, and we were thrilled to hear about his Life in the Law. www.greenslist.com.au/podcast

This week, we revisit our 2022 conversation with Sally Nicholes, founder and managing partner at Nicholes Family Lawyers. Sally has worked on some extraordinary cases throughout her career, including a groundbreaking matter involving sperm donor rights and an international kidnapping case that she led as an articled clerk and first-year solicitor!  www.greenslist.com.au/podcast

This week we revisit our conversation with the former Chief Judge of the County Court of Victoria, The Hon. Peter Kidd. During his first few years in a commercial firm, Peter was unsure if law was for him, but a decision to move to crime ignited his passion for the profession. After his time at the Commonwealth DPP, he went to the bar and was quickly working on very large and often high profile ca...

This week, we revisit our 2021 conversation with Genevieve Collins, former Chief Executive Partner at law firm Lander & Rogers. Over the course of her 40-year career at Landers, Genevieve was a Practice Group Leader for 13 years, the first female Equity Partner and Chair of the Board. Genevieve is passionate about innovation in the law, and to that end, she led initiatives in law tech and well...

This episode we welcome HH Mag. Trieu Huynh from the Bendigo Magistrates Court. At the age of one, Trieu and his family came to Australia as refugees from Vietnam. From this brave yet humble beginning, Trieu gained a scholarship to a private secondary school and ultimately completed a double degree in law/science with honours in genetics. Trieu has remained passionate about the law through every s...

This week, we welcome Fleur Katsmartin, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary at The Royal Melbourne Hospital. Throughout her law degree, articles and early legal roles, Fleur never felt like she was in the right place. In her words, it always seemed like she was “too much”. But Fleur found her legal sweet spot working in-house, specifically in purpose-driven organisations. This clarity led...

This week we welcome recently retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria - The Hon. Elizabeth Hollingworth. Like so many of our guests, Liz is a high achiever from way back. At school and University she excelled academically, at sport and in leadership, which culminated in her receiving a Rhodes Scholarship to study a Bachelor of Civil Law, and row in the blue boat for Oxford. Interestingly,...

This week, we welcome County Court Judge Sara Hinchey. Sara has had a rich and dynamic career in the law. From her early days at the bar, working in huge cases and Junioring to iconic barristers, to her time as Victorian Coroner and Country Court Judge.  A passion for travel and cooking almost drew Sarah away from a life in the law. Although the law won out in the end, she has worked hard to maint...

This week, we welcome Dr Carly Schrever, psychologist, lawyer and empirical researcher. Although Carly got her law degree, had wonderful articles at Allens and was associate to Justice David Habersberger, Carly always knew pure law would not be her path. Since 2015 her work has focussed specifically on judicial and lawyer wellbeing, conducting Australia’s first empirical and psychologically ground...

This episode we welcome lawyer Michael Dolan. Michael’s life in the law has taken him from city firms to country practices, two separate stints at the Law Institute Victoria and a decade in the UK working in the mobile phone industry at a time when the link between phone towers and cancer was a major public concern. Today, Michael is special counsel - ethics at the LIV, a role he thinks may be his...

This episode we welcome former Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass OBE. After completing her law degree at Monash, Deborah headed straight overseas to begin decades working in many interesting and varied roles - none of which were in the law!  She worked in the financial services sector in Europe, was Senior Director of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and became Deputy Chair of the I...

From everyone at Lives in the Law, and all the staff at Greens List Barristers, we wish you a happy and safe Festive Season.

Today we welcome Vincent Shin to Lives in the Law. Vincent is Program Manager of the Youth Law Program at West Justice, and notably, he was the first School Lawyer in the country. Vincent came to Australia with his family when he was one. He grew up with a violent father, struggled through school due to his trauma and failed year 12. How Vincent overcame these enormous obstacles to qualify as a la...

This week, we welcome former Australian Government Solicitor Michael Kingston to the show. Michael has had a diverse and fascinating career. Beginning with articles at Mallesons, he went on to become a partner and spent over two decades there, primarily in commercial law. He also worked in London, Papua New Guinea, was the chief legal officer at ASIC and, most recently, the Australian Government S...

This week we welcome The Hon Marcia Neave AO. Marcia began her legal career as an academic and is known to generations of law students as both an exceptional teacher and the co-author of the seminal textbook, “Sackville and Neave, Australian Property Law”, now in its 12th edition. She was also the first academic to become a Supreme Court Justice in Victoria, sitting on the bench from 2006 to 2015....

This week we revisit our wonderful conversation with barrister Michelle Britbart KC. Michelle practices primarily in common law, insurance law, public liability and personal injuries litigation, running trials in both the Supreme and County Courts. For many years Michelle grew her practice whilst also being a single mother to two young children. And on top of that, she managed to gain a Graduate D...

This week we revisit our wonderful conversation with Her Honour Magistrate Abigail Burchill, former barrister and one of only two Indigenous magistrates in Victoria. Abigail is a proud Yorta Yorta Dja Dja Wurrung woman from a long line of academics and activists. At high school in Mooroopna, Abigail could not see a clear path to the law but her mother knew better and simply would not let her poten...

With the AFL grand final a week away, today we revisit our 2021 conversation with AFL CEO Andrew Dillon. When he began at the AFL in 2000, Andrew was the first ever in-house legal counsel. The 20+ years since his legal training prepared him well for the enormous growth of the AFL and all that has entailed: unprecedented TV and internet deals, drug scandals, the introduction of the AFLW, navigating...

This week we revisit our 2022 conversation with Rob Hulls AM, former Deputy Premier and attorney-general of Victorian, and current director of the Centre for Innovative Justice at RMIT. As attorney-general, Rob introduced many significant and lasting changes to our Justice System, including the introduction of the Koori Court, Drug Court and Australia’s first Neighbourhood Justice Centre. Through...

Today we revisit our 2022 conversation with Emma Dunlevie, lawyer and principal at Russell Kennedy. Emma’s career is split between her work as a commercial lawyer and managing the pro-bono practice within the firm.  From a case in the Tasmania Supreme Court during her articles, to a groundbreaking case that began with a disheveled man showing up unannounced at Russel Kennedy’s offices and the rela...

This week, we revisit our 2022 conversation with Julian McMahon AC SC. Julian is a barrister at the Victorian Bar who came to international prominence representing Australians on death row. In the early 2000s, Julian defended Van Nguyen in Singapore and later Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, part of the infamous Bali 9, against drug charges that ultimately led to their deaths. He is highly regard...

This week we welcome barrister Debra Coombs to the show. Debra’s Life in the Law has seen her work in the private sector, the public sector and as a barrister - in two separate stints. She has worked for the Department of Labor, for the State Electricity Commission of Victoria and for Corrections Victoria and is now back at the Bar working in the very interesting and relevant area of elder law. It...

This week we welcome entertainment lawyer Bryce Menzies. You name an Australian film and Bryce most likely worked on it; Muriel’s Wedding, Romper Stomper, Proof, Ned Kelly, The Great Gatsby, The Babadook and The Dry - to name a few. From coordinating 100,000 people at an anti-uranium rally in the 70’s, to bringing together multiple parties on major movie contracts, Bryce says the fundamentals are...

This week on Lives in the Law, we speak with Peter Bartlett, one of Australia’s leading media and communications lawyers. This year, Peter celebrates 50 years of partnership at Minter Ellison, one of Australia’s largest law firms. Peter’s practice focuses mainly on defamation law, and he has been involved in many high-profile and fascinating cases, including the highly publicised and extraordinary...

This week we welcome Lizzie O’Shea, principal lawyer at Maurice Blackburn, advocate and author. Lizzie is an internationally renowned expert on digital privacy rights and the intersection between technology, privacy and the law. She has worked & studied internationally, including getting a Master’s from Columbia University and now specialises in class actions, recently leading the class action...