Leadership for Lawyers
An Executive Leadership Short Course, specifically aimed at exploring the core values and attributes essential for success as a legal leader.
Overview
Leadership for Lawyers - Executive Course 2026.
The Centre for the Future of the Legal Profession’s flagship Leadership for Lawyers - Executive Course brought together legal professionals from firms, industry, government and regulatory environments for two days of practical, research-based leadership development.
The legal profession is changing rapidly. Lawyers are increasingly expected to do more than provide expert legal advice; they are expected to lead teams, influence organisations and navigate complex, fast-moving environments.
Designed for lawyers stepping into or already holding leadership roles, the course explored the practical realities of legal leadership. Through experienced facilitators, legal professionals, guest speakers and peer discussion, participants engaged with proven leadership frameworks and applied them to the challenges they face in practice.
The program covered decision-making, influence, ethical leadership, resilience, team leadership, change management and high performance. It also provided participants with opportunities for personal reflection, honest discussion and meaningful connection with peers from across the profession.
Leadership for Lawyers forms part of a broader lifelong learning pathway supporting lawyers to develop their leadership, management and innovation capabilities throughout their careers. Participants may also be eligible to receive recognition for completed study towards future postgraduate qualifications, subject to university requirements.
Course Highlights:
Leadership frameworks tailored to the legal profession.
Practical strategies for leading teams, managing change and building high performance.
Tools for leading with greater clarity, confidence and purpose.
Insights from experienced legal leaders and guest speakers.
Peer learning and connection across firms, in-house teams, government and regulatory organisations.
A foundation for continued development in leadership, management and innovation.
Participants represented a diverse range of legal roles and organisations, including law firms, in-house legal teams, government agencies and regulatory bodies.
We thank everyone who contributed to the success of Leadership for Lawyers 2026, and we look forward to the next iteration of the course - Details coming soon.
Course Info
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- Details
- Course outline
- Facilitators
- Special Guest Keynote
Date and Time:
Two-day intensive program: Thursday 10 and Friday 11 September 2026 + Pre-reading and reflection
Day One: 9am – 4:30pm, followed by debrief and networking
Day Two: 9am – 4:20pm, followed by debrief
Location:
Hosted at UNSW CBD Campus, 210 George St, Sydney
1. Understanding Legal Leadership
The evolving legal landscape: disruption, innovation and new ways of working
Leadership in complexity: what makes legal leadership uniquely challenging
Research-based models of leadership and how they apply in legal settings
2. Self-Leadership and Leading High-Performing Individuals
Understanding lawyer personalities: strengths, blind spots and leadership potential
Core leadership competencies: adaptability, collaboration, communication and EQ
Leading sustainable high performance in legal teams
Motivation, performance dialogue and accelerating expertise
3. Leadership, Culture and Team Dynamics
Leading across generations and supporting wellbeing in legal workplaces
Practical strategies for cultivating team cohesion and firm-wide culture
Case studies in leadership, psychological safety and trust in high-performing teams
4. Practising, Managing, Leading (The PML Trilemma)
Balancing the competing demands of practice, people management and leadership
Common traps for new leaders and how to avoid them
Aligning personal leadership goals with organisational responsibilities
5. Adaptive Leadership and the Legal System
Adaptive challenges in the legal context: disruption and change
Leading complex dynamics: authority relationships
Working with competing commitments: dissent in the system
Building adaptive skills: symptoms, causes and intervention
Shannon Finch
Shannon Finch joined Westpac in November 2021 as a Group Executive and leads Westpac’s global legal function. She is the executive sponsor of the RESPECT Employee Advocacy Group, focused on domestic and family violence‑related issues, the executive sponsor for Westpac’s Walk for a Cure initiative, and an executive mentor for the Generation Valuable program.
Shannon began her legal career at the Commonwealth Attorney‑General’s Department in Canberra before joining Mallesons Stephen Jaques (now Mallesons) where she practised in litigation, mergers and acquisitions, and capital markets for 25 years across Canberra, London and Sydney, including serving as Head of the Sydney office. Following her time at Mallesons, she joined global corporate law firm Jones Day as a Senior Partner in its mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and financial markets practices, based in Sydney.
Shannon is an executive member of the Business Law Executive Section of the Law Council of Australia and chaired the Corporations Committee from 2018 to 2021. She has extensive experience as a non‑executive director, including as former Deputy Chair of Forward Ability Support. Reflecting her strong commitment to philanthropy and the arts, Shannon is currently a Director of Bell Shakespeare. She is also a member of the AICD Law Committee, Chief Executive Women Australia, and the Australian Corporate Counsel GC100, and is a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia.
Shannon has been widely recognised by industry awards, including Australasian Lawyer’s Most Influential Lawyers (Changemaker and Corporate Lawyer of the Year), the Legal 500 GC Powerlist, Best Lawyers Australia (GC of the Year), and Lawyers Weekly Women in Law Awards (GC of the Year) (2025).
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Gallery
Leadership for Lawyers - 2026
Testimonials
"It's made me appreciate myself more and probably more confident to go for more senior roles."
"Engaging, challenging, interesting and worthwhile ."
"An excellent course - it was interactive, insightful, and very relevant for senior lawyers."
"The presenters were all fantastic! Everyone was very engaging, knowledgeable and interactive with the audience."