A project comes to an end This episode marks the finale of the New Lawyer Podcast and the New Lawyer Project (!!!) You can find the episode wherever you get your podcasts (or by clicking here). In the episode I explain what will happen to the existing episodes in the future, and I reflect on the project, and on the state of the legal industry now and into the future. I also let you know what I have been up to and where you can find the work I am making now. (The work I am making now is much less about law, but there is a through-line of themes and approaches that is likely to connect with anyo ..read more

Hello listeners and readers I have two pieces of news for you. The first is that LexisNexis has removed the $13 courier charge from The New Lawyer Companion on its website, so you can now order for Christmas without paying more! Amazing. And the second piece of news is that The New Lawyer Companion has its official book launch this week. It’s happening after work on Thursday 2 December 2021, at Wynn Williams’ offices in Christchurch. If you’re in the neighbourhood and there’s still room, do send an RSVP and come along. It would be lovely to see you, plus there will be some lovely refreshments ..read more

Hello, lovely readers Today is the official commercial release day for The New Lawyer Companion: Essays on law, life and humanity. Amazing. You can currently buy the book online through the LexisNexis store, and very soon in other places as the roll out goes along. If you want to buy it from your local bookstore or get it from a library I would be so grateful if you would go in and ask them for that - it helps them to know that people want the book. There will be some events coming up over the next few months, including an official launch, and I will update the blog here with those details s ..read more

In part 2 of my conversation with Tayla and Adair, solicitors at Kāhui legal, we talk about issues and experiences in law that matter most to them. (To hear the part of the conversation about their study and career paths to date, go here.) They talk about their experiences of admission, of some misguided and tokenistic ways firms attempt to improve diversity in the profession, and of bringing te reo and Tikanga Māori into the way they practise, as well as all kinds of other things.  They were so generous with their perspectives and experience and I loved it all. Tayla and Adair also contr ..read more

This episode is part 1 of a two part conversation I had with Tayla Afoa and Adair Houia-Ashwell, two solicitors who work for Kāhui Legal. They contributed a chapter to my book, and had so much wonderful insight and experience to share that I had to also do a podcast episode with them. In part 1 of the episode we talk about their experiences and path to date: law school, post-graduate experiences, and their work at Kāhui so far, including how their identities as Māori women feed their purpose and the ways they do their work. The variety in their work is mesmerising: Treaty litigation, commercia ..read more

Well! I, together with some wonderful co-contributors, have written a book! A collection of essays gathered into five key topics written for the purpose of improving how it feels to go through law school and law or law-adjacent careers. The book exists because of a collaboration between The College of Law and LexisNexis and will be available exclusively to College of Law students (in a non-profit way) until it is made available to the public later in 2021. It’s very exciting! Here are its front and back covers: You can hear me talk about the book in a mini bonus episode of the podcast (below ..read more

There’s, uh, no getting around that title. This is an article I wrote for LawTalk’s collection of articles regarding Mental Health Awareness Week earlier this month. I wrote it the month before, during a period in which I was especially aware of my own mental health, shall we say, and was acutely annoyed at how mental health is treated in a piecemeal, individualistic way most of the time. I have been writing about the more systemic issues around culture and mental health for a long time but this is the first time I really spell out one of the biggest systemic problems with modern legal practic ..read more

In today’s episode I spoke with Amanda Smidt is a careers practitioner at the Career Development Company and spends her work life shepherding others to authentic and sustainable career decisions.  She loves crossroads conversations almost as much as me, which is saying something.   We discussed her career, how she leads career conversations with her clients, and the best work you can do to find the best work situation for yourself. Among the other things we discussed are portfolio careers, the role of CVs in figuring out your next steps, and the role of grades in starting your c ..read more

Hello listeners - in this episode I finally sat down with Damian Hanna, specialist legal recruiter, to discuss everything I could think of related to recruitment and finding a job. Damian studied law and has over 20 years’ experience in legal recruitment in New Zealand and it was lovely to pick his brain about the legal landscape and what he does to connect job-seekers with employers. We discussed the state of play for law students and graduate lawyers, how passion plays into your job, the benefit of being flexible on the specifics of your career direction, and why it is not only better but ur ..read more

Hello, listeners. I hope this episode finds you well, and managing all the ups and downs of these strange times. This is a special episode of the podcast that has no map, but I am also producing two episodes in the usual format to be released over the next couple of weeks, one from a legal recruitment specialist and one from a career design specialist, lovely people both. Rather than release those episodes straight away it felt important to take a little stock of what is happening right now. In this special episode I Zoomed returning guest Cassandra to talk about our lives in lockdown, how we ..read more