Beyond Billables

From Associate in the Supreme Court to playing packed out comedy shows around the world, this week Mike caught up with the incredibly talented Josh Glanc just before Edinburgh Fringe! Josh shared openly about his journey in comedy and the real challenges anyone faces who embarks on a career in a creative field. We spoke about the impact of the pandemic, how he approaches his standup and the reality of getting work as a comedian around the world. This was a very personal, engaging chat with a hugely talented Australian who is destined for great things.

On the show this week Mike spoke with Law Firm SEO expert, Chris Dreyer, CEO and founder of Rankings.io.  Rankings.io is an SEO agency that specializes in helping personal injury law firms dominate first page rankings. This was a really interesting discussion on SEO, Content, niching down and the power of brand across everything law firms do. Chris also shared on his own interesting personal journey and how he built his brand through content and the strategies he helps clients implement. Mike also discussed the upcoming launch of Chris’ first book called: Niching up: The narrower the Market, The Bigger the prize.

On the show this week Mike spoke with the brilliant Rob Dos Santos from Cape Town, South Africa! Once upon a time many moons ago, Rob was a lawyer, practicing Commercial and Corporate law. However, he had a higher calling in life to make films. So one day he decided to ditch the courtroom for the camera and live his dream of being a filmmaker. This was a great show exploring what it means to have passion for your work and the tough journey many people need to go on to find something they love to do. Rob shares candidly and with great humour about his journey and everything it has taken to make it work.

On the show this week Mike sat down with the one and only Clarissa Rayward, law firm owner, podcaster, author and known as the Happy Family lawyer! As well as being the host for the last 6 years of the Happy Lawyer, Happy Life podcast Clarissa is also the Owner of Brisbane Family Law Center, an accredited Family Law Specialist, Mediator, Collaborative Lawyer & all-around superhuman. Over the past 15 years, Clarissa has worked with thousands of families during separation and divorce. She specializes in assisting her clients in experiencing a dignified divorce - staying away from the Court process and finding sustainable agreements for the future. Clarissa published her first book, Splitsville: How to Separate, Stay Out of Court and Stay Friends in 2015 (4.6-star review on Amazon) Launched her podcast in 2016 the Happy Lawyer, Happy Life Happy Lawyer Happy Life: How to Be Happy in Law and in Life published in 2017 Provides webinars and teaches courses to lawyers  

On the show this week Mike sat down with Ryan Loerh, a partner at Emanuel Whyboune. Ryan has over a decade of experience in the financial services industry, having worked for large retail banks, specialist investment firms, Macquarie Group and Morgan Stanley before moving to Emanuel Whybourne with its founders. Having previously studied law Ryan ended up embarking on a career in finance so it was a fascinating discussion on how he achieved this and what skills he learned in law school that helped along the way. Given the economic climate at the moment it was also a great chance to discuss inflation, interest rates and global markets and how someone like Ryan helps problem solve for his clients. *** None of our discussion on this podcast should be taken as direct or implied financial advice of any kind and does not constitute personal advice to any person. The discussion may contain statements of opinion by the speakers which are a point in time evaluation current only at the date of publication and are not statements of fact or recommendations of any kind. To the extent permitted by law, neither the presenters or BB, employees or agents accept any liability whether arising in contract, in tort or negligence or otherwise, for any error or ommission in this podcast or for any loss or damage suffered by a recipient of this podcast or any other person acting in reliance upon the information or opinion in this podcast.***

On the show this week Mike had a great discussion with Rizwana McDonald, Founder of Foundd Legal. Riz started Foundd as a way to make all of that boring, scary, overwhelming legal stuff both accessible and affordable to entrepreneurs, creatives and designers, so they can have the best shot possible of creating a legal, lucrative, kick-arse brand and business. Marketing pitch aside, Riz has an excellent and unique story of resilience and perseverance. Having been pulled out of school by her family at a young age, Riz was able to ultimately find her own path into the law which has culminated in her very own thriving practice. A truly inspiring entrepreneur and business owner Riz story is for anyone who thinks they can’t make it.

On this week's episode of the Beyond Billables Podcast, Mike had the pleasure to interview Francesca Chang. She is certainly an attorney on a journey! Francesca is a blogger, vlogger and life coach who has transformed her life, moved to Taiwan and now helps other lawyers. Francesca has a fascinating story of embracing a better life for herself and her family heritage while working to empower others to do the same. As a travel blogger and vlogger, she also works to promote Taiwan and the slow travel scene. On the show we discussed Francesca’s career, her motivations and the opportunities lawyers have to embrace multi-faceted careers.

On this week's episode of the Beyond Billables Podcast, Mike had the pleasure to interview the fabulous Dr Joanne Redburn, Director of NFP Lawyers. This was a great in-depth discussion about the not-for-profit sector and the challenges and opportunities that exist. Joanne is a true leader in the NFP space in Australia and has worked across some of the most complex NFP projects so it was great to be able to go into detail. Joanne also has a great story having started as a research scientist before transitioning into law because of her love for IP. We discussed this move, managing the juggle of growing practice with a busy family life and how Joanne has built NFP Lawyers from the ground up.

Jahan may refer to himself as a “little guy lawyer”, but we think he is an absolute legend of a lawyer and human. Head of Litigation at Executive Legal, a human rights activist, Tik Tok trailblazer and all around brilliant content creator, Jahan is a leading light in the legal industry.  On the show we chatted about all of this, his journey in law and the struggle we all go through finding balance and managing our own expectations.  What did I get out of it? A realisation that the authentic and real Jahan that shows up in my Tik Tok is the same passionate person IRL and that a focus on service and value with your content and not sales is the best way to build real connection.  

On the show this week was a brilliant discussion I recorded recently with Scott Simmons, Director of Legal Balance. We had a great in depth chat about "selling", "business development" and even the role of pricing. Diving into more of the "business of law" we discussed both the mental approach to growing a practice and the practical steps all lawyers can take.  After a successful career in law where he faced similar situations to the lawyers of today, he discovered a love of coaching and training that has seen him coaching young professionals on how to build their own careers, as well as more senior executives to become rainmakers.   Scott has spent the last 8 years coaching and training lawyers and regularly writes and speaks on the subject of professional services business development.    

This week on the show we had a great conversation with Adam Pascarella, former Attorney and Founder of Second Order Capital Management in the US. Adam is also the author of a great new book, Reversed in Part:15 Law School Grads on Pursuing Non-Traditional Careers.   Adam wrote "Reversed in Part" with a desire to help others looking to transition their careers. The book is packed with great stories and we were lucky enough to dive into some on the show.  As a former Baker McKenzie associate and graduate from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School Adam has a great story to tell himself and we hope you enjoy hearing it! 

Good friend of the podcast Peter Moran joins us on today's episode! Peter is the Founder of Peer Legal, a leading commercial firm in Australia. Peter shares his insights on growing Peer Legal into a thriving team, along with the challenges of operating during the pandemic. As a forward-thinking, progressive firm Peer Legal has grown with purpose and Peter discusses how his deliberate intention to deliver better client service has been behind their success.

Season 3 of the Beyond Billables podcast is back and this season is all about how you can develop your skills and your reputation as an expert in your field. From interview shows to insight episodes this season is focused on giving everyone the tools they need to stand out for all the right reasons.  Kicking off Mike spends this short episode talking about 4 key points that define expertise for him.

On the show this week is a great interview with the one and only James Diamond, founder of Diamond law. James is a lawyer from Queensland who certainly rode the wave of starting his own practice. James has quite the following on social media and we spent a big part of the interview discussing his crazy growth on Tik Tok and other channels. As much as I enjoy the marketing chat what I got most out of this interview was James' honesty and openness in discussing the benefits and difficulties of starting out on your own, the hard choices we have to make as business owners and how he has managed that. We also spent some time chatting about the present rights discourse in Australia and the difficulties of discussing rights in the Covid context. James is a really insightful, entertaining lawyer and business person with a keen sense of making the most of his life and opportunities. 

This week on the show I welcomed a very special guest, Kristal Naividi, Founder of Coastal Lawyers. Kirstal has an incredible and inspiring story for anyone looking to live their best life. Having grown up in public housing, made her way through university while working full time as a legal secretary and ultimately starting her own practice with three kids and a husband who had just been diagnosed with testicular cancer, Kirstal is a massive inspiration.  On the show we discussed her journey to become a lawyer from such a tough upbringing, the impetus to start her own firm and how she has managed to make it a success so rapidly. Kirstal shares very openly about the hurdles and how she worked to overcome them in her own, incredible way.  Upbeat, infectiously positive and incredibly open Kristal has a unique story that certainly makes me question the things I complain about!  

This week on the show I sat down with the one and only Alex Su, Head of Community Development at Ironclad, and the hands down most entertaining lawyer on Tik Tok!  Alex was a lawyer at a leading US firm before running his own practice and then making the move into legal tech sales and business development. You may however know Alex from his short video content which he has used to build a remarkable following on Tik Tok, Instagram and LinkedIn.  Alex brilliantly uses humour to make some serious points about what it is like to practice and some of the biggest issues facing the profession including technology change, mental health, overwork and burnout. We had a wide ranging discussion about social media, content creation, the opportunities to reach an audience and the stresses of “putting yourself out there”. Alex is a true leader and it was an absolute highlight to get him on the show.  

On the show this week I welcomed back one of the most knowledgeable and engaging experts in legal business development I have ever spoken to, Kim Wiegand, Founder of Julip Advisory and Partner at beaton. Kim has worked in Australia and Internationally for a range of leading legal service providers and brings deep expertise to our discussions on business development and what it means to deliver an outstanding client experience. Armed with both practical and quantitative insight Kim’s advice during our chat is hugely valuable if you want to grow your practice or business.

With the present mental health crisis in Australia, and following the recent suicide of a colleague, Mike speaks openly in this insight show about his struggles with anxiety and the need to keep asking the "r u ok"? question and really mean it.   Mike shares a little about his journey with what is at times crippling anxiety and stress. From the lessons learned in the fight ring, to those shared by friends that motivated him to finally seek help from a mental health professional, this is a personal show about the negative impacts of anxiety and ways to ultimately manage it. The take home? Help is there if you put your hand up, and we can all do a better job of continuing to articulate that and actively supporting those around us. 

Rap music, horror movies, slow drip coffee and equity disputes - what do they all have in common? The one and only lawyer and host of Coffee and a Case Note, James d’Apice! James is a Special Counsel at Chamberlains with a practice that straddles commercial and litigation work. As well as being a great lawyer James has built a strong personal brand in the last few years by leveraging the power of great content. Whether you have come across James on LinkedIn, Instagram or Tik Tok, his passion for the law and for sharing the journey is unrivalled. James not only makes valuable things, but he does it with a consistency that is truly impressive driven by an impressive long term strategy.  On the show, we spoke about all of this and had a great discussion around what we can do to improve the profession now and in the future. James is a passionate advocate for change so it was great to get his insight into what we can do right now and the role we can all play.   

On the show this week we hosted the brilliant Gemma Bunner & Kerri Shaw of Shaw & Bunner Legal. As the founders of a fast growing personal injuries law firm in regional Australia Gemma and Kerri have a unique and fascinating story to tell. We spoke about the challenges and benefits of starting your own firm, how they grew the business within the local community, and their ability to manage it all parenting! Gemma & Kerri have demonstrated the value of building great relationships, investing in growing a brand and reputation, and having foresight to look forward to where they want the business to go (and take action to make it happen).