Lawyer by day
In his spare time, Melbourne Law School alum Mark Tyndall hosts a podcast exploring the hidden talents, projects and stories of lawyers.
Mark (JD 2015) works as a lawyer at Herbert Smith Freehills advising on corporate disputes, regulatory investigations and corporate crime. In early 2017, inspired by encounters with his peers, Tyndall launched the podcast Lawyer By Day.
“I kept meeting lawyers with stories and experiences outside legal practice that I found fascinating,” he says.
“There is a limit on how much time you can take from someone to just have a chat about their interesting project or story. So I thought: ‘why not just help them tell that story to a broader audience?’.”
In the first season of the podcast, Tyndall interviews a range of practising lawyers running non-legal businesses in their spare time.
Guests on the show include Belinda Wilson, President of the Law Institute of Victoria and former CEO and Corporate Counsel of Port Phillip Bay Scallops, as well as Zara Lim, IP lawyer and creator of the fashion label Edward Kwan.
In the final episode of the first season, due for release shortly, Tyndall interviews a Canadian migration lawyer who runs her own business teaching English to lawyers transitioning from non-English-speaking jurisdictions.
“The thing that drives me when I am interviewing someone for the podcast is the curiosity I have about the person. I will hone in on that and spend time trying to unpack what I am most curious about,” Tyndall explains.
It’s this same interest in people that saw Tyndall decide to undertake a Diploma of Leadership, Coaching and Mentoring.
“I want to become the type of lawyer and person that can help other people achieve their goals,” Tyndall explains.
“It is an amazing opportunity to be able to sit down with someone and have a conversation with them about their lives, their values and what they want to achieve and what might be holding them back.”
He plans to produce a second season of Lawyer By Day in 2018 and encourages anyone from the legal profession with an interest in telling their story to get involved.
“If you have a story about yourself to share or another lawyer you know who you find inspiring, creative or funny – please get in contact with me at mark@lawyerbydaypodcast.com,” Tyndall says.
Tyndall recommends
An avid podcast listener, Tyndall has a few recommendations to share.
The first podcast Tyndall recommends is The Turnaround with Jesse Thorn. The show is produced by Maximum Fun and Columbia Journalism Review and features conversations with prominent interviewers about their careers and their craft.
“To me it’s fascinating and as a podcast creator and host, learning that craft more effectively is exciting,” Tyndall says.
“As a lawyer too it’s a lot of what we do, which is talk to people and find out their story. So I’d highly recommend that.”
The second recommendation on Tyndall’s list is a local podcast from Behind the Wire and the Wheeler Centre called The Messenger. The show is about one man’s experience of living in detention on Manus Island.
“It is more relevant than ever to listen to The Messenger,” Tyndall says.
Image: Mark Tyndall. Credit: Darren Sandford.