In recent years, there have been numerous examples of workers – such as rugby star Israel Folau – having suffered employment consequences, including termination, for expression of personal views. This, Josh Bornstein argues, is demonstrative of a concerning and increasing level of power and control that corporations now have over the private lives of their employees.

In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Maurice Blackburn principal and head of employment law Josh Bornstein about why workplace and industrial relations law is so stimulating for lawyers and also essential for the community, the need for trauma-informed approaches to practice, and the evolving societal landscape that has resulted in corporate entities having greater control over their employees’ lives.

Bornstein also reflects on the extent to which the court of public opinion drives corporate decision making regarding employment of individuals, how technology and social media contribute to this storm, his take on “corporate cancel culture”, the difficulty corporations have in balancing legal obligations against community expectations, how global pushback against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) may exacerbate such issues, and why he thinks we are living through a “second Gilded Age”.

Bornstein is the author of Working for the Brand: how corporations are destroying free speech.

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For Elle Jones, working as a fractional general counsel not only better suits her needs – it also works well, she says, for businesses that don’t have an in-house legal function. This vocational pathway, she has observed, is “popping up all over the place”.

In this episode of The Corporate Counsel Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Essential Legal Solutions director and principal Elle Jones about how she changed careers and ended up in law, how and why she transitioned in-house, why fractional work has become a more suitable vocational path for her, and what the day-to-day looks like while working with multiple organisations.

Jones also delves into striking the right balance with her work, the approach she employs, the value of doing non-GC work for clients, switching between various projects, ensuring a business is receptive to the idea of working with a fractional practitioner, the challenges and opportunities facing fractional GCs right now (including tech developments), and why we’ll see more fractional GCs in the market.

If you like this episode, show your support by rating us or leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (The Lawyers Weekly Show) and by following Lawyers Weekly on social media: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

If you have any questions about what you heard today, any topics of interest you have in mind, or if you'd like to lend your voice to the show, email editor@lawyersweekly.com.au for more insights!

Recently, the High Court has recognised that an “impoverishment of evidence” will not, in and of itself, give rise to successful applications for permanent stays of proceedings. Here, a BigLaw partner unpacks two recent decisions from the court and what those matters mean for litigators.

In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Clyde & Co partner Luke O’Kane about his career as a litigator and why there is an increase in the number of claims being brought pertaining to historical sexual abuse and personal injury, the lessons and takeaways from two recent High Court decisions, and the implications of those judgments for stay applications.

O’Kane also delves into how an absence of evidence should be treated in such matters moving forward, the need for courts to treat such matters in more idiosyncratic ways and not take blackletter approaches to proceedings, what such rulings mean for claimants, how the rulings change the landscape for litigators on both sides of the table, and his broad guidance to litigators nationwide in the wake of the High Court’s decisions.

If you like this episode, show your support by rating us or leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (The Lawyers Weekly Show) and by following Lawyers Weekly on social media: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

If you have any questions about what you heard today, any topics of interest you have in mind, or if you'd like to lend your voice to the show, email editor@lawyersweekly.com.au for more insights!