Episode 226- No Smoke and Mirrors, just Customer Service with Hunter Steele
Release Date: 01/26/2022
Episode 237 - Clarissa Rayward & Jennifer Harris - That's a Wrap! Wellness in Law: Where Are We Now & Where to Next?
happyfamilylawyer's podcast
So we made it to then end! In this very last episode of the Happy Lawyer Happy Life podcast I sat down with my now very dear friend Jennifer Harris. Jen and I met thanks to this show and her friendship will forever be one of the greatest things that has come as a result. When I was trying to work out who would be the perfect person to help me wrap this all up I immediately thought of Jen. So here we are! Talking all things happiness in law, what we have both learned over 237 episodes and 6 years of podcasting. Before publishing this episode today I was listening...
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Episode 236 - Do the Things You Want to Do with Claudia Maw
happyfamilylawyer's podcast
In this week's episode of the 'Happy Lawyer Happy Life Podcast' I had the pleasure of interviewing Claudia Maw. Claudia is based in WA, and she is a great friend who I have had the privilege of working with over the past couple years. She has a very fascinating story and has lived such an interesting life. Claudia is building a brilliant niche Estates firm in her regional town of Albany (which is apparently 5 full hours south of Perth!). It was fantastic to learn more about her background in both law and life, and how she came from a travelling military family in the UK to set up a small firm...
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Episode 235 - Deep Thinking & Soul Searching With a Sense of Humour with Andrew McCormack
happyfamilylawyer's podcast
In this second last episode of the 'Happy Lawyer Happy Life Podcast' I had the pleasure of interviewing Andrew McCormack, family lawyer with Thynne + Macartney Lawyers. Andrew is a great friend of mine, who like me is a Family Lawyer in #brisvegas! Andrew has has been a big part of my legal career, and I am so glad to be able to interview him before this Podcast comes to a close. His story-telling, his sense of humour and his 'law nerd' abilities are things that I greatly appreciate, and this interview really embodies these amazing qualities. Andrew has also been a wonderful friend to me...
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Episode 234 - Taking The Time For You First with Kate Sherburn
happyfamilylawyer's podcast
In this episode of the 'Happy Lawyer Happy Life Podcast' I had the pleasure of interviewing Kate Sherburn. Kate is an inhouse lawyer at a company I am a raving fan for- 'Who Gives a Crap'- a company who despite a pandemic have a product that sure has been in high demand!! Kate and I have chatted a few times over the pandemic years and it was great to catch up with her in the last few weeks as we close out this show. Like anyone who lived in Victoria, the last few years have taken a toll but Kate's positive mindset explains so much about why she and her team have been able to...
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Episode 233 - Chasing Your Passions Like You Chase Your Dog & Kids with Elspeth Finney
happyfamilylawyer's podcast
In this week's episode of the 'Happy Lawyer Happy Life Podcast' I had the pleasure of interviewing Elspeth Finney, director of Shoalhaven Family Law on the south coast of NSW. Elspeth is someone I’ve known for a few years, and while this interview was recorded all the way back in the Covid-scape of 2021, I am so pleased to have been able to get this episode out there to you all. Elspeth is such an incredible young woman, and is absolutely someone to watch in the legal space moving forward! In this interview, it was such a pleasure to learn more about her. We discussed Elspeth’s earlier...
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Episode 232 - It’s All About Those Magical Morning Moments with Elizabeth Fairon
happyfamilylawyer's podcast
In this episode of the 'Happy Lawyer Happy Life Podcast' I had the pleasure of interviewing Elizabeth Fairon, business owner extraordinaire of both Life Law Solutions and Acumen Leadership. You may not know too much about Elizabeth if you live outside of Queensland, but I can say she is one of the most talented lawyers and business owners I know. In this interview, Elizabeth takes us through so many of the things that makes her such a fantastic leader, business owner and person. From her non-linear journey into law, her love for learning and writing, and her new business ‘Acumen...
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Episode 231 - The Pieces that Make Up the People with Perpetua Kish and Jonathon Naef
happyfamilylawyer's podcast
In this week's episode of the 'Happy Lawyer Happy Life Podcast' I had the pleasure of interviewing Perpetua Kish (Pepe) and Jonathon Naef (Jono) Co-founders of Balance Family Law. I’ve known Pepe and Jono for a few years now, and it’s been incredible watching them from afar as they have built and created their firm. This was recorded quite a while ago, so apologies to you both that this episode has taken me so long to publish! What really stood out for me in this chat was how Pepe and Jono have found themselves working in Family Law with such a similar vision, but with such different...
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Episode 230 - 'Do your own thing and take a different path' with Rachael Bosnjak
happyfamilylawyer's podcast
In this week's episode of the 'Happy Lawyer Happy Life Podcast' I had the pleasure of interviewing immigration lawyer, Rachael Bosnjak. Rachael is someone who I’ve gotten to know through this Podcast as a dedicated listener so it is fitting that she is bringing home our last 7 episodes ever! About a year ago now, right in the midst of the pandemic with international borders closed, Rachael took a giant leap and opened her own law firm, Passage Migration. Now you might think opening a migration practice at a time when migration was near impossible was a little left of centre but a year...
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Episode 228 - Loving people, loving law, and a Coral Trout pivot with Joplin Higgins OAM
happyfamilylawyer's podcast
In this week's episode of the 'Happy Lawyer Happy Life Podcast' I had the pleasure of interviewing family lawyer Joplin Higgins OAM. Joplin is someone I’ve known through the excellent work she does in the family law space for a while now, so it was such a privilege to be able to sit down and learn more about her story. Joplin really is such a great example of someone who came into law through a fascinating pathway, found her calling, and has created a unique space in #Lawland where she continues to flourish. While covering what led her to where she is now (Joplin’s rural upbringing, love...
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Episode 229 - Living your best life with Kate Christie
happyfamilylawyer's podcast
In this week's episode of the 'Happy Lawyer Happy Life Podcast' I had the pleasure of interviewing the wonderful Kate Christie.
info_outlineIn this week's episode of the 'Happy Lawyer Happy Life Podcast' I had the pleasure of interviewing Hunter Steele. Now Hunter is a lawyer turned tech company head and one of the creators of the Legal Software Company Smokeball. So how does a boy from Western NSW find himself at the head of one of the world's leading legal tech companies? Well that is what I found out in this chat!
As is the case in so many of these interviews, I was again reminded that our training and skills as lawyers have such broad application if we let them. For Hunter, it was growing up in his Dad's regional law firm, seeing the everyday challenges of small business, that kickstarted his interest in legal tech. That and a wonderful friendship early in his career with another lawyer turned tech guru, Christian Beck.
Hunter's knowledge and love of legal practice shines through in this conversation. And I have decided that building legal tech is sort of 'building' with virtual lego blocks so it makes so much more sense to me now! Jokes aside though, Hunter is another great example of using your skills, following your passions and building a career in law that works for you.
In this interview, Hunter and I also chatted about-
- If Hunter was not a lawyer he would have been in the tech space - which is where he is now!
- Hunter has always been creative and shares how he ended up in the software field, rather than heading into the construction space.
- As a child, Hunter lived in Bathurst and his experience of growing up in a beautiful regional town.
- His time studying law at Bond University.
- Joining the software writers at 'Leap' and how this changed the trajectory of his life.
- The beginnings of 'Leap' and how the founder, Christian Beck, was well ahead of his time.
- The beginnings of 'Smokeball' and how Hunter started this spin-off business with the support of his mentor and.
- Building the culture within a business has brought the most joy to Hunter.
- In the last 2000s, Hunter launched Smokeball into America.
- Hunter's experience of living in Chicago USA, through Covid and, the political environment in 2021.
- Legal market trends and how verticalization (or niching) is changing in Australia.
- A day in the life of Hunter!
- The legal trend changes, in Australia, and the average law firm's attitude towards technology.
- The advantage of a fixed-fee and client-centric business model.
- Hunter's predictions for the future of tech in the law.
- His advice for those looking to shift into technology space and, how these programs can be used to reduce stress.
- Hunter's Happiness Tip.
Sit back and enjoy this interview with Hunter Steele.
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Learn more here about upcoming events and courses and connect with Clarissa Rayward at the ‘Happy Lawyer Happy Life’ knowledge centre- A community for lawyers who want to make the best out of their life in and outside of the law.
Listen to last week's episode here