Trigger warning!

This episode contains content about mental health and suicide. If you need to talk to someone, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

R U OK Day is held annually on the second Thursday of September. It is a day to remind us to check in with ourselves, our friends, family and colleagues and encourage us to connect with those around us on the topic of mental health and aim to prevent social isolation and suicide.

On this episode of The Callover, we hear from Denise Marshall, a Legal & Workplace Culture Consultant with the Queensland Law Society. Denise will share the importance of protecting our mental health as legal professionals, why R U OK Day matters and provide us with some practical tips and key takeaways from the QLS Mental Health First Aid Course.

On this episode of The Callover, we speak with Fauve Kurnadi, the International Humanitarian Law Coordinator for Australian Red Cross about International Humanitarian Law, what it is, how it’s relevant in 2023 and how it impacts war, law and business.

Fauve has a Master of Laws in Public and International Law from the University of Melbourne and was a Pro Bono Australia Impact 25 Winner in 2022.

On this episode of The Callover, we speak with the Honourable Justice David Boddice about the findings of the Commission of Inquiry into Forensic DNA Testing in Queensland and the Court’s approach to dealing with them.

Admitted as barrister in 1984, Boddice JA developed a busy practice in civil and criminal matters, appearing in state and federal courts and the High Court of Australia. 

Good journalism is fundamental to a democratic society. On this episode of The Callover, we unpack what constitutes good journalism, how it has shaped Australia and why it is so important to our legal system, with special guest, Russell Marks. 

Russell Marks, an author, adjunct Research Fellow at La Trobe University, journalist for The Monthly and criminal defence lawyer practising in the Northern Territory.

Jo-Anne Bragg OAM has been advocating in public interest environmental law for more than three decades. In 2022, she was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for her services to environmental law and is currently serving as the General Counsel of the Environmental Defenders Office.

She is the perfect person to speak to in celebration of World Environment Day 2023, about the state of environmental law in Australia, the challenges that it is facing and where to from here.

Lawyers are lifelong learners. Legal education traditionally consists of three stages: the law degree, practical legal training and the continuing legal education that occurs post-admission.

On this episode of The Callover, we focus on that final (yet never-ending) stage of a lawyer’s education in our conversation with Professor Nick James, the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Law at Bond University.

Preparing for your first trial or sentence can be intimidating and stressful, but on this episode of The Callover, we try to make it a little easier by seeking advice from Nick Dore, Managing Principal of Fisher Dore Lawyers, a leading criminal law firm in Queensland.  

Nick has been practising since 2000, is an Accredited Specialist in Criminal Law and a well-regarded and respected solicitor in the area.

On this episode of The Callover, we speak to Rebecca Fogerty, an accredited criminal law specialist, a partner at Jasper Fogerty Lawyers and the current Vice President of the Queensland Law Society 2022.

We discuss the Queensland Government’s changes to the Youth Justice Act, as well as why it is so important that the profession stand up to protect judicial independence.

On International Women’s Day, we had the pleasure of speaking with The Honourable Anthe Philippides, a retired judge of the Queensland Court of Appeal, about the benefits of and need for a diverse legal profession and bench.

Justice Philippides was the first woman of Hellenic heritage to be admitted as a barrister in Queensland in 1984 and to attain silk in Australia in 1999.

Many would know her for her efforts to increase diversity in the profession and bring like-minded lawyers together to promote mental wellbeing and social inclusion

Most people have never heard of the Forensic Disability Service but if you are alleged to have committed a crime in Queensland and deemed unfit for trial because of an intellectual or cognitive disability, you may find yourself as one of its residents.

On this episode of The Callover, we are joined by John Chesterman, the Public Advocate for Queensland, who will explain what the FDS is and why it is so important that someone looks out for its vulnerable residents.

John was appointed as the Public Advocate for Queensland in 2021 after having acted as Victoria’s Deputy Public Advocate. He has extensive experience and expertise in areas of law including human rights, guardianship and supported decision-making.

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland, the Honourable Helen Bowskill, needs no introduction.

Before Her Honour was appointed as the Chief Justice in 2021, she was a University medallist, a successful barrister and a judge of both the Queensland District Court and the trial division of the Supreme Court.

Her Honour is committed to supporting (and inspiring) a community of connected and capable lawyers.

We are delighted that Chief Justice Bowskill has joined us as our final guest for the first season of The Callover, to discuss her illustrious career, her advice for young lawyers and her hope for the profession in years to come.

Joelene has worked in family law for almost 20 years and is a mediator and an Associate Director at McLaughlins Lawyers on the Gold Coast. Joelene spearheaded the Gold Coast District Law Association’s mentoring program in 2016 which is an ongoing initiative they provide today.

We talk about when Joelene was first a mentee in law and her more recent experiences as a mentor and some of the questions she is asked to answer in that role.

Joelene shares her advice with us about the benefits of keeping a “smile file”, something to remind you of some of the great days when you’re having a not so great one. 

In honour of R U Ok Day episode, our newest episode features two special guests who offer their insights into how to manage our mental health to ensure we can sustain a long and fulfilling legal career.

Retired Magistrate David Heilpern AM, who served in the New South Wales local court from 1998 to 2020 is our first guest. In 2017 when he delivered a lecture entitled, “Lifting the judicial veil - vicarious trauma, PTSD and the judiciary”, it was one of the first times that a sitting judicial officer had expressed such frank reflections, publicly, on the impact that their work had on their mental health. It inspired many within the profession to begin honest conversations about mental health.

Then we hear from Melissa Sadlo, a psychologist who works with LawCare, about when and how to ask a friend, colleague or yourself, RUOK?

If there’s anyone who knows about how to take the combat out of legal conflict, it’s Anne-Marie Rice. She’s now a Senior Judicial Registrar of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia and before that she was a director of Rice Dispute Resolution and the principal mediator at Rice Mediations.

She’s been practicing in Family Law for 20 years, is an accredited specialist in family law and a nationally accredited mediator and a registered FDRP and Arbitrator.

In 2018, Anne-Marie won the WLAQ Leneen Ford AC Woman Lawyer of the Year and has otherwise been involved in QLS Committees and Family Law Practitioners Association of QLD.  For more than 10 years she has practiced and taught practitioners in mediation, arbitration and collaborative practice. In other words, she promotes a “positive approach” to problem solving and invites others to embrace the idea that “conflict can be resolved without combat”.

On this episode, we unpack what it means to take a positive approach to problem solving and the benefits of taking the combat out of conflict.

In celebration of NAIDOC Week we welcome Joshua Creamer to The Callover. Josh is a barrister specialising in human rights class actions and native title.

He is a proud descendant of the Waanyi and Kalkadoon people from North Western Queensland, received the National Indigenous Legal Professional of the Year Award in 2017 and sits on the Board of Legal Aid Queensland. 

On this episode, Josh shares his insights into the barriers faced by first nation’s people when entering the legal profession or interacting with it, and what can be done to improve. He also provides some great resources for young lawyers looking to educate themselves about the plight of indigenous Australians.

After spending 20 years as a partner at a large law firm, Midja Fisher took a leap into a new career with a specific focus on building leaders with career confidence. Midja shares her insights about stepping away from a career in the law, imposter syndrome and how she uses the book, “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt”, to help her clients. 

Bruce Cowley takes us on a walk through his life in the law from when he began his articles in 1981 to his retirement from the very same firm some 40 years on. Bruce’s passion for the law oozes through in our conversation while he shares his insight into the changes, both positive and not so positive, that he has observed over his life in the law.  

If you would like to know more about the 2022 Queensland Law Society’s President’s Medal awardee, this article in Proctor is a wonderful read.

We all make mistakes. What’s important is what you do when you’ve discovered it. Dan Rogers is the Principal and Legal Director at Robertson O’Gorman Solicitors and regularly represents lawyers in professional discipline matters.

On this episode, Dan talks about some practical steps you can take when you realise you’ve made a mistake to ensure you’re complying with all your ethical and profession obligations and how to seek practical help if you need it.

For more about the QLS Senior Counsellors program Dan mentioned and how they can provide guidance to practitioners on professional or ethical problems, visit   QLS Senior Counsellors.

The Hon Margaret McMurdo AC is a trailblazer.

When her Honour finished law school, she was one of a handful of women at the Bar. In 1991, she went on to become the youngest person appointed to Queensland’s District Court (and the first woman ever to sit on that Bench), before becoming the first (and still only) female President of Queensland’s Court of Appeal in 1998. Since her Honour's retirement from the Bench, Justice McMurdo has continued to serve the community in many ways.

On this very special episode of The Callover, in honour of International Women’s Day, we have the privilege of speaking with Justice McMurdo about her incredible journey in the legal profession.

Whether appearing in the Magistrates Court as duty lawyer or the Supreme Court in a high profile trial, it’s fair to say the Kristy Bell spends her days on the front lines of the criminal justice system.

On this episode, we discuss her experiences working for both sides of the criminal justice system and how she deals with maintaining her objectivity and professional obligations when dealing with controversial clients. 

Kirsty Bell has been practising in criminal law since 2011, is an accredited criminal law specialist, a current member of the QLS Criminal Law Committee and is currently a partner at Howden Saggers Lawyer. 

Michael Murray wasn’t sure he wanted to be a lawyer, particularly not after he failed two subjects in his first semester. But that was before he decided to buy into the university experience and give “making it as a young lawyer” all he had.

We talk about what young lawyers can do to best prepare for life as a lawyer, the benefits of engaging in community law and local district law associations.  

Michael is now a supervising solicitor with Townsville Community Law, academic and lecturer at James Cook University and the winner of the QLS Young Lawyer Award for 2020.  

Ann-Maree champions the idea that the law is fundamentally a service profession so the more diverse the profession, the better we can serve clients from all walks of life. 

We talk about how the face of the legal profession has changed since she began 40 years ago, why young lawyers should feel comfortable being themselves at work and how we can tackle that niggling imposter syndrome. 

Ann-Maree has worked across public and private sector roles and is now leading legal education as an Executive Director at the College of Law. She was previously a founding director of the Australian Gender Equality Council, is the immediate past President of Australian Women Lawyers and in 2018, won the Agnes McWhinney Award.