Lawyer Archives - Don't Stop Us Now

Not Your Everyday Lawyer – Sarah Davis

December 6, 2023December 6, 2023
by Claire

Our guest this week is someone who’s never been one to sit around and rest on her laurels. What’s more, Sarah Davis is not what you’d describe as your everyday lawyer.

Sarah’s high profile career in the UK has seen her garner much recognition for her legal career including being shortlisted for the Black British Business Awards and the UK’s Hot 100 Lawyers to name a few.

London-based Sarah, has a broad non executive board career these days and also advises other organisations as a General Counsel. During her executive career she spent more than 15 years as General Counsel at The Guardian Media Group. That meant she was there in the thick of it when The Guardian was publishing the first Wikileaks stories, the Edward Snowdon stories, and of course so much more, which we’ll hear about.

We think you can tell from Sarah’s Board career which includes Unicef UK and the Women’s Prize Trust (which awards the highly regarded Women’s Prize for Fiction) that Sarah has a huge heart and clearly a love of the written word.

In this episode you’ll hear more about Sarah’s love of books as well as:

How she came to be a lawyer and what drew her to the Media
How Sarah made a transition after nearly 17 years at one company
The challenges she faced (& lessons learnt) when things just didn’t feel right whilst navigating her new role during lockdown
How Sarah’s coped with the micro aggressions and slights she’s received during her career as a woman of colour; and
Her advice to others who are at the receiving end of similar behaviour.

There’s lots of great insights in this conversation so enjoy this episode with the warm and impact-focused Sarah Davis.

Useful Links

Unicef UK

Women’s Prize for Fiction

RGSI – global think-tank for the legal industry

International Catalogue Raisonné Association

Interview

Winning Ways – Zali Steggall

May 2, 2023May 2, 2023
by Claire

Today we have a big ‘first’ for this podcast, our first Olympic medallist!

However Zali Steggall, Olympian, barrister and now an independent member of parliament in Australia is so much more than these labels!

Last year, Zali was re-elected to Federal Parliament after a stunning and, for some, an astonishing victory in the same seat at the previous election, three years earlier.

Zali really is a pioneer (and winner) in so many fields: she was Australia’s first ever individual medallist and first Australian female medallist at a Winter Olympic Games. Plus, when she won the World Championship slalom skiing event a year later in 1999, she became the first ever person from the southern hemisphere ever to win that event.

Not one to do anything by halves, when Zali was first elected as a member of Parliament in 2019 she defeated a former Prime Minister! What’s more, she did all this as an independent candidate with no big political party to support her, however she had an army of enthusiastic supporters and volunteers.

In this episode you’ll hear:

The key things Zali learnt from her Olympic skiing career that still serve her well today
Zali’s strategies for dealing with the fear of failure
How she made the transition from being a competitive skier to becoming a barrister
Why Zali decided to enter the competitive and often antagonistic world of politics
How she deals with negativity and criticism; and
The one thing she wants you to walk away with.

Zali truly has unique stories, experiences and advice to share so enjoy this episode with the indefatigable and purposeful Zali Steggall.

*For full transparency, Greta worked pro bono on Zali’s re-election campaign last year for several months.

Useful Links

Zali’s website:

Amazon link to Zali’s mum’s book Alpine Beach: (it’s an e book)

Photo credit: Zoom /Allsport

Interview

Championing Equality – The Honourable Nicola Roxon

January 30, 2023January 31, 2023
by Claire

We’re excited to bring you our first show for 2023.

Our guest today is a topical choice given the recent surprise announcement by New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, that she was stepping down. Topical because we’re speaking with another female political trailblazer.

The Honourable Nicola Roxon was elected to Australia’s Federal Parliament at the age of just 31. She became Australia’s Health Minister for 4 years and then the country’s first Attorney General.

After 15 years in politics she decided it was time for a change and she now has a portfolio of board roles as director and Chair.

In this episode you’ll hear:

How a High Court Judge joked Nicola may cause a constitutional crisis when, as a young Associate, Nicola shared her plans for her next career step
How Nicola handled and navigated the cut and (sometimes brutal) thrust of politics without taking things personally
About the world leading health initiative she introduced that’s been copied around the world and received special recognition from the World Health Organisation; and
How Nicola made the transition from politics to corporate boards after 15 years in Parliament.

We think you’ll glean lots of useful nuggets from this conversation with the thoughtful and purposeful Nicola Roxon.

Enjoy…

Useful Links

Nicola’s website: https://www.nicolaroxon.com/

Nicola on Linkedin

Interview

Smart Operator – Vered Raviv Schwarz

March 8, 2022March 8, 2022
by Claire

We have a smart operator and a great champion for women on the show this week.

Her name is Vered Raviv Schwarz and she’s spent the past 20 years in disruptive tech companies, based in Israel.

These days Vered is President and Chief Operating Officer for Guesty, a property management platform offering software that’s used by people renting out short term and vacation rental properties around the world. With Guesty’s multiple features they can easily list and manage their rentals on multiple sites such as AirBnb and Vebo.

Before Guesty, Vered spent nearly 6 years at the freelancer marketplace Fiverr as Chief Operating Officer. And prior to that she was a lawyer and General Counsel at other tech companies.

We’ve been struck by what a smart operator and thinker Vered is.

In this episode you’ll hear a lot of great advice including:

How some of the best advice Vered was given, and now gives herself, changed the course of her entire career
Why she’s passionate about making tech companies more diverse and what she’s doing about that
How she helps companies successfully scale and grow globally
And why Vered’s a great believer in being able to make decisions quickly.

Without further ado enjoy this episode with the switched on and dedicated Vered Raviv Schwarz.

Links

Guesty Website

Vered on LinkedIn

Vered on Twitter – @VRavivSchwarz

Interview

Michelle Guthrie – Playing the Long Game

December 15, 2020
by Claire

Brought to you by Microsoft’s The New Next

We can’t think of a better note to finish 2020 on than this week’s episode with an incredible woman and international leader, Michelle Guthrie.

Michelle may be best known for her time as Managing Director at the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation which is Australia’s equivalent to the UK’s BBC). She was dismissed halfway through her contract amidst great public controversy.

Prior to her role with the ABC, Michelle spent much of her career based in Asia where she was CEO of Star TV with more than 4,000 staff; and she also spent 5 years at Google Asia Pacific as a Managing Director there.

Nowadays, Michelle sits on a number of company boards and advises tech companies on scaling globally.

We had a really fascinating and uplifting conversation with Michelle and you’ll hear how:

Michelle transitioned her career from lawyer to global media and technology executive
Joining Google after running Star TV was a bit of a culture shock
She bounced back from her very public end at the ABC and how she thinks of this time;
And, hear her views on women being held to different standards in business.

We really loved this open conversation with Michelle and think you will too. Don’t miss this one!

Holiday Wishes from Us

This is our last episode for 2020 as we take a break and recharge our batteries. The podcast will be back again on 20th January featuring a great conversation with the amazing social entrepreneur Ronni Kahn.

Wishing you and your loved ones a wonderful, happy and healthy festive season (if you’re celebrating) and great transition to the New Year.

If you enjoy our podcast and would like to make our year a little brighter then please rate and review our show on your podcasting platform of choice. We’ve heard Santa really rates people who do this too! 😉

Useful Links

Michelle on LinkedIn

Board’s Michelle Sits On:

Ellen Broad – Her Surprising Path to Big Data…

November 3, 2020November 13, 2020
by Claire

Brought to you by Microsoft’s The New Next

This week’s episode features a woman who never dreamt she’d end up working in a high tech environment. In fact, Ellen Broad imagined she would be a lawyer or librarian when she was younger.

However this tech exec and academic is now a Senior Fellow at the 3A Institute at the Australian National University. The Institute is a multi-disciplinary department created to help humans prepare for, and navigate, a world that will be forever altered by AI-powered ‘cyber-physical systems’.

A little bit more about Ellen, she trained as a lawyer (more about that in our conversation) and she’s worked in data-related roles in the Hague and in the UK, including being an expert adviser to the UK Secretary of State on Data, and head of Policy for the UK’s Open Data Institute.

Not only that, but Ellen has also written an award winning book on AI and its impact on humans called ‘Made By Humans’.

In this episode you’ll learn:

How Ellen navigated moving countries, and finding work, without having any network in her new home-base
How she’s found her voice to speak up against gender bias
What it’s like working in a truly diverse team – hint it’s not always easy
Why she’s using social media a lot less these days, and
Where she thinks technology will go in the next five years.

Enjoy this episode with the unassuming and very smart Ellen Broad.

Links

3A Institute website

Ellen Broad’s website

Ellen’s Book – Made by Humans

Griffith Review Article – Computer Says No

Resources Recommended by Ellen

Coded Bias Documentary

Algorithms of Oppression by Safiya Noble

Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O’Neil

PAIR Program with Google

The Coding Train – Daniel Shiffman

Interview

Deanne Weir – Following Her Passions

June 2, 2020June 2, 2020
by Claire

This week on the show we’re excited to introduce you to Deanne Weir, a former media lawyer and executive; turned media entrepreneur, investor and company director.

Deanne started her career as a corporate lawyer in Australia and spent years in the telco and television sectors. She became one of the most respected executives in the broadcast industry.

In 2012, as a member of the senior leadership team and a shareholder of Austar, an Australian cable TV company, she played a key role in the sale of the company. The capital she personally earnt from the sale, gave Deanne the opportunity to start her own investment company and start a new career.

Her company, WeirAnderson.com, invests in entrepreneurs and storytellers in the media and social sectors to help them change the world. She is the Chair of three start-ups including one in data and analytics and one in AI, as well as supporting numerous not for profits including being Chair of the Sydney Film Festival and Global Sisters.

In this conversation you’ll learn:

How Deanne’s upbringing in a regional town in Australia shaped her desire to change the landscape for women
What she learnt as an investor when three of her investments failed all around the same time
Why Deanne thinks there will be massive change after COVID-19 and the type of conversations we need to be having about the world we want to live in
And, ways we can all personally make a difference in society and effect change.

Enjoy this conversation with the driven and passionate Deanne Weir.

Links of Interest

Deanne on LinkedIn

WeirAnderson

WeirAnderson Foundation

Seer Data & Analytics

AI-Media

Hoodlum

Sydney Film Festival – Starts June 10th 2020 online

Global Sisters

The Australian Institute – they offer many interesting webinars, some of which Deanne has tuned into