Advocates The Podcast

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, eventually becoming a QC in 1989 and a full-time judge in the Family Division of the High Court o...

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 Darryl in this episode of Advocates the Podcast!

In 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 leaving the public sector in 1994. He has been involved in many high-profile cases and has advised sever...

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 work, including Legal Aid Barrister of the Year in 2012 and 2016, and Outstanding Contribution t...

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 Richter was admitted to practice as Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria in 197...

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. Dato Sitham is the past Chairman of the Penang Bar Committee and a past member of the Malaysian...

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 regularly instructed on international arbitrations from London to Dubai and is one of a very few Engl...

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, citizenship, labour rights and consumer abuse. From 1996-2000, he was director general of t...

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 for his excellent advocacy and landmark judgments. Our hosts Razlan and Michelle got a unique oppo...

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, Singapore, Hong Kong, Pakistan and the Caribbean. Toby Landau KC is above all, a gentleman whose ...

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 highly regarded advocates. He has appeared in 100 cases in the Appellate Committee of the House of Lor...

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 15 Litigators by Asian Legal Business in 2021.

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, landmark cases and in law-making at the House of Lords. This interview contains discussions of gender ...

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.

In this installment of Advocates The Podcast, we sit down with the former Solicitor General of India, Harish Salve KC. Harish is a familiar face in high profile cases having represented India before the International Court of Justice, Vodafone and even Bollywood heartthrob, Salman Khan. Intriguingly, Harish expanded jurisdictions and is now a Queen's Counsel at Blackstones Chambers, just 7 years after being admitted to the Bar of England and Wales.

What is it like to have Jodie Foster play you in a movie? Nancy Hollander, named America's Top 50 women litigators, says it is a very strange feeling. Nancy has spent her career taking on the U.S. Government including representing Mohamedou Ould Slahi who was held captive in Guantanamo Bay for 16 years. Find out why Nancy thinks country music is an effective source for learning good advocacy, here on Advocates The Podcast. CW: This interview contains mentions of torture.

In our second episode, Tan Sri Dato' V.C. George. Malaysian legal legend and legendary wit. Having entered the profession in 1957, George gives us a lens into legal practice in early independent Malaya. Later in his career, George was among the first four judges appointed to the newly formed Commercial Division of the High Court in 1983. He sat in the Court of Appeal until 1995. In 2021, he published a memoir, 'Some Stories I Have Told and Some That I Haven't'.