Presenters

Tanya Burns, Practice Manager, Nicholas O'Donohue & Co.
Tanya has over 25 years’ experience in legal business management and has worked in law firms since 1977. Tanya takes a holistic approach to management with a keen focus on achieving best outcomes for our people and our clients. She completed her Masters of Administration (Distinction) at RMIT in 2014. Tanya is a member of ALPMA (Australasian Legal Practice Management Association) and sits on the Victorian Branch Committee (Treasurer) and the Governance Committee. She is a co-convener of the Small Firms Management Group and enjoys contributing to the peak organisation for Legal Practice Management. Tanya is a keen traveller (pre-Covid) and enjoys spending time with good friends and her dog. She also loves watching her AFL team win (and lose) at the MCG.


Melissa Lyon, Executive Director, Hive Legal
Melissa is a Business Development and Innovation specialist committed to assisting professional services organisations develop and utilise client focussed and human centred skills through design thinking. To do this she draws on many years of experience in legal practice, including as a partner of a law firm. She has also held senior business development roles, including managing BD teams and leading numerous projects and programs at a top tier legal firm. Melissa is now a non-practising principal of Hive Legal, an innovative NewLaw firm which has disrupted the legal profession by introducing value pricing, truly flexible work practices and technology based solutions for its clients. Working in this innovative environment has inspired Melissa to develop a very different approach to innovation programs based on a design thinking framework and the power of purpose (HiveThinkP). She is a skilled facilitator and assists clients to develop human centred projects through interactive workshops and design sprints. Melissa is committed to sharing her experiences and insights with the profession especially those who are new to it. She is also a strong advocate for those with skills other than legal and the vital roles that they play in the legal profession. She is a member of the Centre for Legal Innovation’s Advisory Board, Distinguished Fellow of the Centre for Legal Innovation (Design Thinking), Individual Finalist – Lexis Nexis Janders Dean Legal Innovation Index 2018, Winner – Australian Law Awards, Business Development Professional of the Year 2017 and Innovator of the Year 2020.


Lara Wentworth, Wellness and Performance Coach
Lara is a certified coach with the International Coaching Federation (ICF) who specialises in coaching members of the legal profession. She helps lawyers to overcome barriers and create remarkable change in their performance, career and life. She’s passionate about supporting lawyers to enhance their leadership skills and develop and maintain a healthy mindset so they can build resilience and flexibility to manage the demands and pressures of legal practice and thrive in their careers and lives. Lara is former Partner in Family Law with a career spanning almost 20 years and involving Business Development, Leadership and Training, Coaching and Learning and Development. Being a Master Practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), Lara is equipped with knowledge, skills and experience to really help clients be in charge of their minds and therefore their results. Some areas of expertise: Breaking though limiting beliefs; Enhancing and building resources; Imposter Syndrome; Stress management; Career development. To connect with Lara for a meet and greet chat please use this scheduling link https://calendly.com/laraw/30min or email her on info@larawentworth.com.au. To read about what others say about Lara’s services visit https://larawentworth.com.au/testimonials/