Are the traditional days of the "tournament of lawyers" finally over? In this episode of the Law and Beyond Show, Chantal McNaught speaks with Mel Storey - Founder of Council Media, host of the Council Podcast, and the internet's favourite "Career Big Sis" - to pull back the curtain on the realities of the legal profession.

Mel has spent 15 years in commercial practice and shares her journey from private practice to in-house Head of Legal in tech, and why she's now taking a "permanent corporate gap year". We get into the nitty-gritty of what private practice lawyers get wrong about going in-house, the hidden hurdles for first-generation lawyers, why Gen Z law students are refusing to inherit broken systems, and why putting yourself out there online requires paying the "cringe tax" every. Single. Day.

We also cover:

• Practical advice for law students trying to navigate opaque clerkship processes.
• How AI is democratising legal knowledge and disrupting tertiary education.
• Navigating the ethical frameworks and governance of LLMs in legal practice.
• Overcoming the fear of new technology and staying curious.
• The reality of corporate restructuring and why blind loyalty doesn't pay off.
• Why law firms need to be more transparent in their hiring (and why the "Gen Z stare" isn't what you think it is).

Follow Mel:

• @careerbigsis (Instagram)
• @mel.a.storey (TikTok)

🎙️ 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲.

At LegalTechTalk 2026, David sat down with Tim Follett, CEO and Founder of StructureFlow, to discuss how visualising complexity is transforming legal work.

A recovering lawyer himself, Tim founded StructureFlow after experiencing first-hand how difficult it was to map complex transactions using traditional tools.

Today, that vision is helping legal, tax, finance, and investment teams understand structure faster and make better decisions.

💡 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀:

↳ Complex legal work becomes easier when people can visualise the structure

↳ AI can automate much of the manual work, freeing lawyers to focus on strategy

↳ Structure helps both people and AI better understand complex information

↳ The future of legal tech is connected platforms, not disconnected tools

As AI continues to evolve, one thing remains clear:

Understanding the structure is the first step to understanding the problem.

#PeopleInLegal #LegalTech #LegalTechTalk #AIinLaw #LegalInnovation #FutureOfLaw #Visualisation #StructureFlow #LegalAI

🎙️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱𝘀.

At LegalTechTalk 2026, Redmond sat down with Simon Bedford from Nova8 to discuss where people fit in an AI-driven legal industry.

Despite all the excitement around AI, one thing remains true:

Clients still need human judgment.

The opportunity isn't choosing between people and technology.

It's bringing the two together.

💡 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀:

↳ Demand for legal talent remains strong, even as AI adoption accelerates

↳ The future belongs to lawyers who can work alongside AI, not compete with it

↳ Technology alone doesn't solve business problems. Implementation and change management matter just as much

↳ The most successful organisations define the problem before choosing the technology

AI can make lawyers more efficient.

But it can't replace trust, judgment, or human connection.

The future of legal isn't people or AI.

It's the best of both worlds.

#PeopleInLegal #LegalTech #AIinLaw #LegalInnovation #LegalTechTalk #FutureOfLaw #ChangeManagement #LegalTalent #Nova8