This Is Absurd (And That's OK) | Antoinette Moriarty
Loading player...
Finding meaning, support, and community in a profession under pressure.
“Bring back the real. Bring back the mess. Bring back the colour. When people are allowed to be human, performance doesn’t drop — it rises.”
Antoinette Moriarty, of the Law Society of Ireland, joins Sam Rockey to chat about the forces reshaping legal work: the lure of certainty versus the reality of complexity, AI’s threat-and-opportunity, and identity shifts within a status-driven profession.
Drawing on psychotherapy, group analysis, and her “This Is Absurd” festival, Antoinette reframes overwhelm as a signal — not a failure — to rebuild community, language, and leadership in law. They talk existentialists, Sisyphus and making meaning amid geopolitical flux, polarisation, and the “anti-fact” moment. Antoinette argues for richer language — kindness, compassion, forgiveness — precisely where business jargon falls short, and shows how leaders can hold ambiguity without rushing to premature certainty.
From celebrating the profession’s ethical role to designing joyful, cross-disciplinary gatherings, this conversation offers concrete ways to reduce isolation, renew purpose and restore courage in a system that often asks the impossible.
Practical, humane, and hopeful — this episode maps how lawyers can thrive without losing what makes the law matter.
“Bring back the real. Bring back the mess. Bring back the colour. When people are allowed to be human, performance doesn’t drop — it rises.”
Antoinette Moriarty, of the Law Society of Ireland, joins Sam Rockey to chat about the forces reshaping legal work: the lure of certainty versus the reality of complexity, AI’s threat-and-opportunity, and identity shifts within a status-driven profession.
Drawing on psychotherapy, group analysis, and her “This Is Absurd” festival, Antoinette reframes overwhelm as a signal — not a failure — to rebuild community, language, and leadership in law. They talk existentialists, Sisyphus and making meaning amid geopolitical flux, polarisation, and the “anti-fact” moment. Antoinette argues for richer language — kindness, compassion, forgiveness — precisely where business jargon falls short, and shows how leaders can hold ambiguity without rushing to premature certainty.
From celebrating the profession’s ethical role to designing joyful, cross-disciplinary gatherings, this conversation offers concrete ways to reduce isolation, renew purpose and restore courage in a system that often asks the impossible.
Practical, humane, and hopeful — this episode maps how lawyers can thrive without losing what makes the law matter.
Chapters
- 00:01 The Law's Promise of Certainty vs Reality of Uncertainty
- 01:10 Introduction
- 03:22 Navigating Uncertainty in the Legal Profession
- 09:09 AI's Impact on the Legal Profession
- 14:09 The Shift from Collective to Individual Focus
- 18:51 Reimagining the Legal Profession
- 23:38 Hope for the Next Generation of Lawyers
- 28:37 The This Is Absurd Festival
- 34:34 The Power of Language in Professional Settings
- 41:36 Final Thoughts on Leadership
