Friends In Law Podcast Alex Correa

“I wouldn’t take it back for all the money in the world.”

That’s how Marcus Payne chooses to reflect on his role as Chief Counsel for Queensland Health during a global pandemic.

“It was a wonderful experience in terms of the pressure and what I learnt but would I choose to go back and do it again? I’m not sure!”

Now Head of Legal at Urban Utilities, Marcus clearly likes a challenge - in September he completed a bucket-list goal, swimming across the English Channel in 14 hours and 29 minutes.

“I’m a pretty firm believer that anyone can do amazing things, it’s just about having the right approach and not trying to do too much too quickly.”

The “right approach” to something as difficult as swimming The Channel includes training in the cold and dark from three in the morning, ahead of a busy work schedule. But most importantly, it involves a team of motivators.

“You’re not allowed to wear a watch either so I very quickly found myself surrendering to the fact that I didn’t know where I was, I didn’t know how long I’d been out there, I didn’t know how long to finish - I just resigned myself to be very present in each moment.”

In this final episode of Friends in Law for 2022, Marcus explains the lessons such a huge physical challenge share with the daily challenges of life and career, the role senior lawyers must play in a post-pandemic office and the slowly tipping scales of work/life balance that can only come when you truly enjoy what you do.
TOPICS
LinkedIn for Lawyers (and all other professionals)   Corporate Athlete  Career planning Goal Setting Legal careers   In-house legal career  Enjoyed the podcast? Share and Enjoy!  Please don't forget to leave a rating via Apple Podcasts Never miss a drop by subscribing on Apple Podcasts or Spotify If you want to talk about your career in law reach out to us here   Or why not connect with Alex on LinkedIn    Credits Host: Alex Correa - Career Coach in Law
Brought to you by Alex Correa Executive  
With thanks to our guest : Marcus Payne
Friends in Law is edited and engineered by Cold Ghost (aka Fletcher Babb)  Produced by Bern Young 

What’s your first thought when you get a notification from LinkedIn saying “You appeared in X searches this week”?
Do you want to know immediately who they are, why they’re interested in you?
Perhaps a more pressing question is - what did they discover when they searched for you?
As a LinkedIn specialist, Karen Hollenbach says the platform is so much more than Facebook for professionals and refutes that it’s even part of the social media cohort.
“It can be a fantastic source of information, a place to learn, a place to stay connected, a place to be found and a place to manage your online reputation.”
Karen is the first non-lawyer to feature in the Friends in Law podcast because her insights into this powerful platform are helpful no matter what age or stage your legal profession is at.
From thought leadership (“is not for everyone”) to the basics of using good photos (“you wouldn’t walk into a room with a paper bag on your head!”) to cheering others on from the sidelines even if you’re not ready to commit the time to regular posts.
“The reason why a lot of people approach myself and my team is because they see people who aren’t as competent as them, shining brighter on LinkedIn.”
“I don’t like comparison, I think it’s really dangerous but the reality is most of the clients we work with have completely under-represented themselves online - that’s a career limiting move.”
TOPICS
LinkedIn for Lawyers (and all other professionals)   Personal branding and marketing    Career planning Managing your personal online brand Legal careers   Enjoyed the podcast? Share and Enjoy!  Please don't forget to leave a rating via Apple Podcasts Never miss a drop by subscribing on Apple Podcasts or Spotify If you want to talk about your career in law reach out to us here   Or why not connect with Alex on LinkedIn    Credits Host: Alex Correa - Career Coach in Law
Brought to you by Alex Correa Executive  
With thanks to our guest : Karen Hollenbach
Friends in Law is edited and engineered by Cold Ghost (aka Fletcher Babb)  Produced by Bern Young 

Having a conversation with someone who’s literally written the book on conversations should be daunting, shouldn’t it?
Bill Ash’s professional experience is nothing short of impressive, from globetrotting corporate lawyer to highly respected counsellor/coach and now author of “Redesigning Conversations - A Guide to Communicating Effectively in the Family, Workplace and Society.”
But what’s truly impressive is Bill’s own mood contagion - one of generosity, observation and insight. 
In this episode of Friends in Law, Bill Ash shares some of his own work and life experience, his thoughts on leadership and seniority and navigating personal and professional relationships.
 He chalks it all up to “taking notice”.
“When I look back on my career, the important things have been the relationships I’ve had in that career - you know I’ve done this, that and the other projects but it’s the relationships (that are important).” 
“I’ve been very lucky with the leaders I’ve had, they’ve probably never been to a leadership course in their life but they’re fabulous leaders because they’re human, experienced and relational.”
“I just encourage everyone to make those requests .. senior people love to be asked.”
TOPICS
Leadership  In-house lawyers  Alternative careers Effective communication for life, work, and family    Enjoyed the podcast? Share and Enjoy!  Please don't forget to leave a rating via Apple Podcasts Never miss a drop by subscribing on Apple Podcasts or Spotify If you want to talk about your career in law reach out to us here   Or why not connect with Alex on LinkedIn    Credits Host: Alex Correa - Career Coach in Law
Brought to you by Alex Correa Executive  
With thanks to our guest : Bill Ash
Friends in Law is edited and engineered by Cold Ghost (aka Fletcher Babb)  Produced by Bern Young 

How many times have you said or heard, everything happens for a reason?
When Kara Cook was a Judge’s associate, sitting through highly detailed cases before the Planning and Environment court, she couldn’t have foreseen that one day she’d be part of making the very decisions developers appeal.
At that time, early in her legal career, she was more concerned about matters of social justice like domestic violence and fair representation for women who’d lost their power and their voice.
Now a Brisbane City Councillor, Kara Cook’s path to politics was not via the well-worn journey of student politics or volunteers and advisors, which is one reason she wasn’t ready for the brutality.
But as you’ll hear, her legal career readied her for the fight.
“I constantly remind people around me that the political environment is not the real world and how people behave and act in that environment is not what would happen in a regular organisation.”
“You can be empathetic and still be a good leader.”
“I was never the smartest kid in the class but my husband jokes to me, that I’m like the little engine that could.”
 
TOPICS
Women in politics  Alternative careers in the law Agents of change  Social Justice  Enjoyed the podcast? Share and Enjoy!  Please don't forget to leave a rating via Apple Podcasts Never miss a drop by subscribing on Apple Podcasts or Spotify If you want to talk about your career in law reach out to us here   Or why not connect with Alex on LinkedIn    Credits Host: Alex Correa - Career Coach in Law
Brought to you by Alex Correa Executive  
With thanks to our guest : Kara Cook
Friends in Law is edited and engineered by Cold Ghost (aka Fletcher Babb)  Produced by Bern Young 

Philosopher John Dewey said, “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” For Ann-Maree David, who once imagined she’d be a teacher, studying law is how she discovered her outlet to educate.
The 2018 Agnes McWhinney Award winner is Executive Director at The College of Law where she has dedicated the past two decades to other lawyers’ career paths.
From the danger of perfectionism, to the nuances of networking, Ann-Maree tells Alex Correa about her own non-traditional legal career, her drive to boost equality and how the current generation simply won’t follow the mistakes of the past.
“We can actually be humans at work, that’s a big lesson for people to learn and if you’ve been a career lawyer for 30-50 years that’s not something you’re going to give up readily because it’s what you know.”
“That armour still exists .. We’ve seen a lot of people leave the profession over the last few decades because they couldn’t maintain that armour, it was too heavy.”
“We can be very good at our jobs but we can also accept that we are fallible humans.”
TOPICS
Career alignment through values and purpose          Perfectionism in the workplace and the shift toward being our authentic selves     Cultivating the next generation of legal talent Diversity & Inclusion Alternative careers in law  Enjoyed the podcast? Share and Enjoy!  Please don't forget to leave a rating via Apple Podcasts Never miss a drop by subscribing on Apple Podcasts or Spotify If you want to talk about your career in law reach out to us here   Or why not connect with Alex on LinkedIn    Credits Host: Alex Correa - Career Coach in Law
Brought to you by Alex Correa Executive  
With thanks to our guest : Ann-Maree David
Friends in Law is edited and engineered by Cold Ghost (aka Fletcher Babb)  Produced by Bern Young 

Suzy Cairney has seen a lot of shipping containers in her time but the most memorable one was in the foyer of a French shipping agency, transformed into a giant shark tank.
“That was brilliant advertising, you knew exactly what you were getting into when you negotiated with those guys.”
The former European Legal Counsel for the Port of Singapore, has worked in several in-house roles in Australia and overseas and is now a partner at Sparke Helmore in Brisbane.
She speaks to Alex Correa about the family priorities which saw her choose Australia over her homeland Scotland, how helping build something is better than endless litigation and why her eyes light up when she talks about supply chains!
Suzy also details the diagnosis which changed her approach without ever changing her attitude.
“I would not suggest that cancer was something anybody wants .. however, I'm actually quite grateful for the experience.”
“You do mature, maybe grow into yourself a little bit and I really think that changing perspective is something that has been a surprise for me.”
TOPICS
Working in-house for multi-national companies  Practicing law in Europe, Asia, and Australia     Life as a law firm partner         Women in engineering and construction   Maintaining wellness while practicing law Enjoyed the podcast? Share and Enjoy!  Please don't forget to leave a rating via Apple Podcasts Never miss a drop by subscribing on Apple Podcasts or Spotify If you want to talk about your career in law reach out to us here   Or why not connect with Alex on LinkedIn    Credits Host: Alex Correa - Career Coach in Law
Brought to you by Alex Correa Executive  
With thanks to our guest : Suzy Cairney
Friends in Law is edited and engineered by Cold Ghost (aka Fletcher Babb)  Produced by Bern Young