Legal entrepreneurs have always played a vital role in Australia. Building innovation within business models or practice management software, to automation and AI, and once tested and fully realised locally, taking it to global markets. We look at five entrepreneurs reshaping legal practice in Australia, and how they got their start. If you’re interested in legal innovation, technology or entrepreneurship, these stories may inspire you to tinker on your own projects or venture forth on your own.

Finding out you’ve been made redundant can feel very personal, and navigating the emotional experience – as well as practical next steps – is far from easy. By now, economic shocks, pandemics and disruption from AI have meant most lawyers have felt the impact of redundancy firsthand, either personally or as part of far smaller teams told to ‘do more with less.’ Prior to her role as the College of Law’s National Careers Strategist, Ruth Beran spent years as a career coach, focused on outplacement. This saw her help a number of senior lawyers navigate the fraught emotional waters following redundancy.

In Australia, we've now legislated the ‘Right to Disconnect’. On paper, this means you have a lawful right to mute Teams, shut down your computer, and leave calls for the next working day. In practice, anyone who has ever had to deliver to a deadline knows how easily this boundary erodes. But what’s more significant is what the legislation signals: a growing move to protect people's psychosocial well-being. Sam Shosanya, General Manager of FrontTier, the College's leadership accelerator, sees this expectation as an opportunity for firms.

Tasman Ash Fleming, barrister, nationally accredited mediator (AMDRAS), and adjunct lecturer at the College of Law, has decades of experience in commercial and wills and estates litigation, formal training in negotiation at the University of Oxford Saïd Business School, and a practice that spans both advocacy and mediation. He is well placed to explain how Victoria built one of Australia's most developed mediation cultures, why it works, and what it genuinely demands of the practitioners operating within it.

Should I start my own firm? It’s a thrilling yet terrifying prospect for anyone, but as barriers to entry ease, it’s also an increasingly popular alternative to climbing the career ladder within someone else’s organisation. So, what does starting a firm actually look like? We caught up with James D’Apice, who has committed to documenting the messy, behind-the-scenes reality of building his own firm, Gravamen.

We’ve distilled the top nine skills (across four themes) that every lawyer should be building, whether you’re two years PQE or twenty.

The College of Law is pleased to announce the appointment of Monique Pearson as Chief Executive Officer, New Zealand. Monique joins the College from the Arbitrators' and Mediators' Institute of New Zealand (AMINZ), where she has served as Executive Director since January 2024. Her executive career includes leadership roles with AMINZ, EY, PwC and academyEX, spanning professional services, education and member-based organisations.

Professor Kyoung-sun Min shares how JBNU students developed confidence, critical thinking and global perspectives through international learning and problem-based learning in Sydney.

Concerns about undue influence and mental capacity feature large in wills and estates practice. Here to unpack the practical red flags, interview techniques, and drafting-stage safeguards is Linda Hart, College lecturer, Principal at Solace Legal, Accredited Specialist (Wills & Estates), and a TEP. Linda outlines how to identify capacity concerns early, manage family pressure in the room, and build a defensible process that protects both client and practitioner if the estate is later contested.