In this episode, we are joined by Willie Hamilton, a senior generalist litigator who made his way up by throwing himself into it. From his self-proclaimed casual performance at University to a top tier national law firm in Chapman Tripp, Willie shares how he managed to absorb experience from a range of places, situations and people and borrow their best for himself. Willie's purpose of coming on the podcast aligned nicely with the overall reason for creating it - to reach juniors with...

This episode was a really fun one to put together. Sunny and Sam have known each other for years so it was a bit like old times. This conversation with Sunny is focussed on Criminal Law and the competing elements of Prosecution and Defence. During the early parts of Sunny's career he was immersed in Defence with the Public Defence Service before his more recent few years doing Prosecution on behalf of the Crown. We tap into this unique perspective to reveal what the role of each lawyer...

In the first episode of Season 2, we sat down with Derek Roth-Biester, a Corporate (TMT) Partner from Anderson Lloyd's Queenstown office. Derek has been around computers and technology since he was young fella, always finding interest in them and their potential. Derek's professional career as a Lawyer has taken him all around the globe and landing in the adventure capital of the world recently. Derek's fascination with technology, and more recently Artificial Intelligence is infectious. He...

In this episode, we discuss the world of Digital Assets with James Cochrane, a Partner in Lane Neave's national dispute resolution team. James has had a broad career spanning large top tier Firms with challenging and intricate work to specialist practice building and really honing in on his now-refined speciality. In this discussion, we visit James' passion for Cryptocrurrency and how his interest in the subject matter helped morph his thinking and skill-acquisition. James describes various...

In this episode we sit down with Fiona McMillan, an elite Employment and Health & Safety Partner in Lane Neave's Auckland office. Fi's career has seen her faced with many opportunities, from starting out in Christchurch to opening an office in Auckland. Hear from Fi around what different opportunities you could be presented with and those you might need to search or fight for. Fi has consistently been recognised for her work across some of the industry's major media publications and...

In this episode we explore Emma's backgrounds in Private Practice (8 years) and her In-house Government experience (8 years), and discuss the differences she has experienced first hand between the two of them, in the field of Corporate Commercial Law.‍ Emma began her career as a Russell McVeagh Scholar and moved to the capital for the biggest opportunity of her young career. She spent 4 years learning the ropes of a large corporate culture before moving to a new mid-tier firm in Morrison...

In this episode we are joined by Ana Coculescu - an internationally-qualified, Senior Associate at Dentons Kensington Swan in the field of European Union Law, Resource Management and ESG. ‍ We track Ana's career from Romania, France, Australia and ultimately to New Zealand where she now specialises in ESG, or Environmental, Social and Governance. This ESG concept is not as widely talked about as employment, family or commercial law and there is no legislation supporting it currently. We...

In this episode, we are fortunate to have one of New Zealand's leading environmental law specialists, Sarah Scott from Simpson Grierson. Sarah has amassed a whopping 17 years at SG that have seen her gain immense exposure to various areas in the law and the opportunity to specialise and grow where she now practices. We delve into her expertise and knowledge of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) and what has been happening here recently. With two new pieces of legislation set to be...

In this episode we are joined by the effervescent Bec Robertson from the QLDC, who leads the Corporate Commercial function for the southern region. Bec is all about having a person-first approach, a growth mindset and a positive attitude towards life and work. We discuss the benefits and barriers to being forward-thinking in the modern world and put some real-life examples to it. Bec discusses how a progressive approach can benefit the lawyer as a human being, as well as the quality and...

In this episode we are joined by tech wizard Peter Fernando from Duncan Cotterill's partnership, who specialises in TMT under the Corporate Commercial umbrella. Generative Artificial Intelligence is a hot topic with the introduction of more tools this year in 2023 than ever before. But the written law surrounding AI hasn't changed since the Privacy Act was passed in 1993 or in more recent versions (2020) - only the subject matter has. Peter discusses the three biggest legal risks he sees...

In this episode we explore Sara's background and the reasons why she chose to specialise in Family Law. We listen to all the work she does on a daily basis, hear of the new areas coming into the her practice and hear her pleas for more Family lawyers in the Hawke's Bay region. Sara is a determined Family law expert who's purpose is to help Aoteoroa's children have a better childhood than hers, listen in for some gold nuggets in this one.

In this episode we are joined by Gerard Elwell, a Senior Associate and Head of Employment at Young Hunter. We explore his background and expert views on the Employment Relations Authority (ERA), some proposed legislative changes and creative solutions to current issues within the framework. We ask Gerard our quickfire five and gain further insight into him as a person as well as a Lawyer.