Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network

A barrister's lessons on loss, grief, and single parenthood

Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network

Show Notes

Nearly three years ago, Paul Folino Gallo's wife tragically and unexpectedly passed away while the family was holidaying in the US. Here, the Sydney-based barrister reflects on the hard truths he's learnt about life, male grieving, raising two young boys as a single parent, and how writing a new memoir, Remembering Elysha, helped him turn pain into connection. (Content warning: This episode contains insights that may be distressing to some listeners. Discretion is advised.)

In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy sits down with Paul Folino Gallo, a barrister at Third Floor Wentworth Chambers, to discuss his practice and how he became a barrister, his wife Elysha's sudden illness and passing, how and why he decided to write a book about his experiences and learnings, how writing helped his grieving process, what he's learnt about male grief, how he's dealt with loss as a legal practitioner, how he now views his role as a professional, and other lessons he wants lawyers and non-lawyers alike to learn from what his family has been through. Help is available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 and Beyond Blue at 1300 22 4636. Each law society and bar association also has further contacts available on their respective websites. If you like this episode, show your support by rating us or leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (The Lawyers Weekly Show) and by following Lawyers Weekly on social media: Facebook, X and LinkedIn. If you have any questions about what you heard today, any topics of interest you have in mind, or if you'd like to lend your voice to the show, email [email protected]

More from Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network

Oct 22, 2026

In this special episode of LawTech Talks, produced in partnership with iManage, two representatives from Sydney-based firm Swaab reflect on their impressions of iManage's next-gen platform and generative AI solution, Ask iManage, focusing on what they've learnt and ensuring best practice moving forward.

Oct 20, 2026

As one expert puts it, product counsel are "Swiss army knives, who can issue, spot, and identify the different legal risks that may come" when bringing products to market. Here, we unpack the growing prevalence of such a role and what it means more broadly for in-house legal functions.

Oct 19, 2026

It's Cyber Security Awareness Month! In this special episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, produced in partnership with InfoTrack, we unpack how much the risk and compliance landscape is shifting and why having humans in the decision-making process is so essential in protecting the integrity of a law firm.

Oct 16, 2026

True-crime podcasts and online speculation are increasingly shaping public perceptions of criminal cases before they reach trial, raising important questions about the presumption of innocence and the right to a fair hearing.

Oct 14, 2026

For five decades, Ron Bartsch has served in cockpits, boardrooms, and courtrooms, learning what separates the dreams that come true from the dreams that don't. Here, he details how creativity is a set of learnable habits and the happiness dividend that comes from treating law as a means to live, not the reverse. In this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Professor Ron Bartsch AM, chairman of Avlaw and former head of safety and regulatory compliance at Qantas Airways Limited, about being his near-death experience as a young pilot and what it taught him, the similarities between how barristers and pilots think, navigating the rigidity of legal practice as a creative thinker, the habits that lawyers should employ to better utilise creative thinking, the happiness dividend that comes from treating law as a means to live, rather than the other way around, ensuring that one's dreams can come true, and the need to strive for change in one's life. Bartsch is also the author of Dream Today What You Can Achieve Tomorrow. If you like this episode, show your support by rating us or leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (The Lawyers Weekly Show) and by following Lawyers Weekly on social media: Facebook, X and LinkedIn. If you have any questions about what you heard today, any topics of interest you have in mind, or if you'd like to lend your voice to the show, email [email protected]

See all episodes →