A champion of change, a devotee of diversity, Peter Smith on building a career amid the ruin of the 90’s.
Release Date: 04/20/2021
Thinking Two Jobs Ahead and One Challenge at a Time with Marcus Payne
Friends In Law Podcast
“I wouldn’t take it back for all the money in the world.” That’s how Marcus Payne chooses to reflect on his role as Chief Counsel for Queensland Health during a global pandemic. “It was a wonderful experience in terms of the pressure and what I learnt but would I choose to go back and do it again? I’m not sure!” Now Head of Legal at Urban Utilities, Marcus clearly likes a challenge - in September he completed a bucket-list goal, swimming across the English Channel in 14 hours and 29 minutes. “I’m a pretty firm believer that anyone can do amazing things, it’s just about...
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Your 24/7 Ambassador - How to make LinkedIn work for you with Karen Hollenbach
Friends In Law Podcast
What’s your first thought when you get a notification from LinkedIn saying “You appeared in X searches this week”? Do you want to know immediately who they are, why they’re interested in you? Perhaps a more pressing question is - what did they discover when they searched for you? As a LinkedIn specialist, Karen Hollenbach says the platform is so much more than Facebook for professionals and refutes that it’s even part of the social media cohort. “It can be a fantastic source of information, a place to learn, a place to stay connected, a place to be found and a place to manage your...
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Being Alive to the Conversation with Bill Ash
Friends In Law Podcast
Having a conversation with someone who’s literally written the book on conversations should be daunting, shouldn’t it? Bill Ash’s professional experience is nothing short of impressive, from globetrotting corporate lawyer to highly respected counsellor/coach and now author of “Redesigning Conversations - A Guide to Communicating Effectively in the Family, Workplace and Society.” But what’s truly impressive is Bill’s own mood contagion - one of generosity, observation and insight. In this episode of Friends in Law, Bill Ash shares some of his own work and life experience,...
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Kara Cook, The Little Engine That Would
Friends In Law Podcast
How many times have you said or heard, everything happens for a reason? When Kara Cook was a Judge’s associate, sitting through highly detailed cases before the Planning and Environment court, she couldn’t have foreseen that one day she’d be part of making the very decisions developers appeal. At that time, early in her legal career, she was more concerned about matters of social justice like domestic violence and fair representation for women who’d lost their power and their voice. Now a Brisbane City Councillor, Kara Cook’s path to politics was not via the well-worn journey of...
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Ann-Maree David - The Great Resignation...or the Great Realignment
Friends In Law Podcast
Philosopher John Dewey said, “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” For Ann-Maree David, who once imagined she’d be a teacher, studying law is how she discovered her outlet to educate. The 2018 Agnes McWhinney Award winner is Executive Director at The College of Law where she has dedicated the past two decades to other lawyers’ career paths. From the danger of perfectionism, to the nuances of networking, Ann-Maree tells Alex Correa about her own non-traditional legal career, her drive to boost equality and how the current generation simply won’t follow the...
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Slowing Down, Speaking up and “Playing in Ports" with Suzy Cairney.
Friends In Law Podcast
Suzy Cairney’s eyes light up when she talks about supply chains, even if she concedes they’re a disaster. The former European Legal Counsel for the Port of Singapore, and now a partner at Sparke Helmore in Brisbane “loves playing in ports.” She speaks to Alex Correa about the family priorities which saw her choose Australia over her homeland Scotland, how helping build something is better than endless litigation and the diagnosis which changed her approach without ever changing her attitude.
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Helen Kay - The Rise and Rise of the Boutique Law Firm
Friends In Law Podcast
If NewLaw is defined by how work is won, done and run, then Helen Kay’s boutique firm is carrying the torch. “You don't have to do things the way people have done them for 50 to 100 years. We’ve got legal rules that confine us, but we don't have to be confined with the way in which we deliver those legal services.” The Managing Director of Rise Legal shares her journey from the UK to Australia, from Big Law to sole trader and the place she’s built for herself somewhere in between.
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Alister Fitzgerald’s Field of Dreams - Using Technology to Improve the Legal Load
Friends In Law Podcast
Alister Fitzgerald can remember a time when lawyers didn’t even have computers at their desks! The CEO and Founder of Field believes lawyers of the future won’t necessarily be software experts but digital platforms will change the tasks they do and how they do them. But can technology reduce the all-consuming nature of legal work and make for a more sustainable, enjoyable career? “I'm very interested in technology and how it can change the way things operate for the better.”
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Life’s a stage for Antonia Mercorella, the CEO who’s still “such a lawyer!”
Friends In Law Podcast
Antonia Mercorella turned her back on a legal career to pursue a life on the stage, so how did it all lead to her becoming the first female CEO of the Real Estate Institute of Queensland? “I remember people saying to me, you're mad. And a few times in my career that's happened, where people have judged me and said, ‘What are you doing? You're all over the place.’ Antonia is determined to right the gender imbalance in leadership and thrives on settling the disputes that inevitably brings.
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Eager, Reliable, Trustworthy but at What Cost? Minnie Hannaford Reflects a New Generation of Lawyers.
Friends In Law Podcast
Minnie Hannaford reflects a new generation of lawyers asking if a legal career is sustainable? Working parents know this struggle but the President of the Queensland Law Society’s Future Leaders Committee says early career lawyers want lives outside of work too. “We struggle with knowing how to say that without it being a career limitation, without it sounding like, you’re not committed to the work. We want to have a balanced and joyful life so we can perform at work.”
info_outlinePeter Smith spent almost half his career denying himself the chance to share who he really was at work, unaware that the truth would not only set him free, but lead the charge that was slowly taking over the corporate world.
“You felt like you were living a lie everyday of the week .. it’s quite exhausting.”
“Later when everything had changed, I remember a client for the first time ever said, ‘So what’s your partner Gregory doing?’”
In 2020, Peter was named Queensland’s Lawyer of the Year for Insolvency and Reorganisation by Best Lawyers.
As a champion of change, Peter speaks candidly to Alex Correa about the real leadership required to achieve Diversity and Inclusion.
His career also chronicles the trend away from litigation, so how does this litigator-at-heart find joy in his work?
Key Quotes:
“In my day if you picked up a CV and someone had moved three times you would not have looked at the person .. now it’s actually a blemish on a CV if you haven’t done a number of things.”
“We want really diverse teams because all the empirical evidence proves that if you’ve got a diverse team they do better than a homogenous team .. you can see the penny dropping when you see the proof of this.”
“Because I was openly out at work, it was no big deal so a number of us led that and that was just so successful across the firm and changed the way people were at work .. within a year or so everyone just walked the talk.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if there're a whole lot of women in a similar situation finding it really tough at home, particularly with a lot of littlies, but then having to come to work as if there’s nothing wrong.”
TOPICS
- Diversity and inclusion in the law
- Career paths beyond partnership
- Health and wellbeing
- Alternative firms to big law
This podcast tackles the topics of pride in law and health. Visit Developing Talent if you are looking for fun and innovative ways to build confidence and capability around these issues of diversity and inclusion within your organisation.
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Credits
Host: Alex Correa - Career Coach in Law
Brought to you by Alex Correa Executive
With thanks to our guest : Peter Smith
Friends in Law is edited and engineered by Cold Ghost (aka Fletcher Babb) Produced by Bern Young