Deborah Hann and her black dressage horse Finnigan with Deborah wearing Core EQ smarter kinder top

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Smarter Kinder Legal Workplaces

We all know this truth. That legal workplaces can be unsafe places to work especially for young women. In Victoria, Australia, legal organisations have the highest incidence of workplace gendered violence (includes sexual assault, bullying) of any industry. Legal professionals who lead are being asked to create and sustain a smarter kinder profession.

The lived experience of the people, women and men who have left the profession or experienced psycho-social or physical injury due to the harmful behaviours and attitudes within the profession need our respect not disregard. I am one of those people and I have decided to speak out along with many others who will no longer be silenced or stonewalled or discredited. The fundamental attribution error that the victim-survivor is somehow to blame ignores the fact that it is the perpetrators' behaviours that constitute psycho-social hazards to safe legal workplaces.

Respect and Equality in the Legal Sector Project.

In 2024 I decided to investigate how the legal profession was performing in caring for its people. Was it getting any smarter in feeling and kinder in thinking about its own? Was it ready to listen yet? And I discovered that, despite strategic efforts within the profession and organisation specific initiatives, overall, the legal industry in Victoria still has the highest rate of gendered violence. I had to find a way to contribute to positive change. A safe legal workplace. For all.

I am now working as the leadership consultant on the Respect and Equality in the Legal Sector Project. This project is funded by Work Safe and hosted by the Women's Legal Service It is time to heal the legal profession. Yes the cultural change we require is epic. Inertia and ignorance is a safety hazard. We can start by acknowledging that we don't even have the language to adequately talk about this.

Legal Working Culture - safety first

Here is a start. Legal Working Culture benchmarks healthy workplace behaviours and provides a framework to understand the challenges and resistance to changing values, behaviours and beliefs. It incorporates both Professional Leadership and Organisational leadership. Importantly it acknowledges the invisible work, Leaderwork, so many lawyers do to survive and thrive to overcome the safety hazards in a workplace alive with unhealthy power dynamics.

In recovering from my own lived experience of having my legal professional development career abruptly ended I went in search of how to rebuild my life. With no income and few prospects I forged a new career collaborating with quality management professionals to build an enterprise specific Operations Management Continuous Improvement Curriculum and related training and development resources. Taking a leap of faith I bought my first horse. Several years later I launched Core EQ to offer Equine Experiential workshops in life skills, leadership and team building skills. It has not been easy because I still suffer from work related mental health issues. And battle feelings of low-esteem. Caring and working with my horses enables me to face into my lived experiences. And find the courage to act.

At Core EQ we draw on your lived experience and rigorous research to coach you and your colleagues in how to to cultivate and sustain a smarter and kinder approach to yourself and to others. Your wellbeing is our priority.

Our expertise includes:

Facilitating Leadership and Team Building days for lawyers and legal organisations
Respectful Capacity Building consulting for legal and justice organisations.
Supporting people with an acquired brain injury and who are neuro-diverse to set and achieve life goals

Interested? Contact us.

Skye 17 hand warmblood performance horse at canter ridden by Daniel Jones

We are experts in supporting people to courageously manage and sustain cultural change in legal and justice organisations. We understand the issues of workplace bullying, gendered violence and the mental health challenges of legal practice.

Learn More

Bin volunteer in Core EQ programs with Core EQ horse Sterling

Empower individuals to leverage their strengths, fostering higher engagement, enhanced confidence, and improved outcomes.

Core EQ leadership workshop with Skye horse and two participants

Enable individuals to take charge of their life and work, promoting autonomy and ownership.

Close up of right eye of Chestnut horse Rad

Equip organisations with a revitalised means to bring out the best in their people and teams

How we are different

Core EQ Founder Deborah Hann and horse Finnigan

Resilient Leadership

Our experience in senior legal, professional education, research and executive roles equips us to build individual and organisational capacity.

Equine Facilities Core EQ Smarter Kinder Master Class

Facilitation Grounded in Research

Our services are underpinned by PhD research at the University of Melbourne & later applied in large scale enterprise capacity building. Extensive professional, leadership & organisational consulting experience.

Proven Equine Experiential Education Facilitation Techniques

Harnessing the transformative power of equine-facilitated workshops we offer an internationally recognised development approach which yields tangible results - A Smarter Kinder Connection

Equine co-facilitators Core EQ Smarter Kinder

Our Smarter Kinder Service Range

1 Leadership Master Classes & Respectful Organisational Development Consulting

On-site and at client. For individuals, groups and work teams. Strengths focussed. Cultivate high performing teams. Equine co-facilitated. Horses can guide us in how to embody our Leadership strengths and become a better formal and informal leader. In both professional and organisational leadership skills.

NDIS participant and Skye horse at Core EQ facilities

2 Life & Social Skills NDIS

On site. For individuals and groups. Our customised Equine supported programs offer a unique opportunity for NDIS clients to develop their goal setting, social confidence and communication skills. The individual session plan for each client includes assessing their readiness for certain activities and safety imperatives. We also offer individual Life Coaching sessions.

Core EQ leadership workshop with Skye horse and people

3 Role Improvement Master Classes

On site. For individuals, groups and work teams. Build your strength and resilience muscle. Involves undertaking Experiential education exercises with our horses.

Take charge at work topics include:

Job Crafting

Role Sculpting

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Core EQ is located on the traditional lands of the Bunurong people of the Kulin nation. We recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ continuing connection to land, water and community and pay respect to their Elders past and present. Sovereignty was never ceded.

Core EQ is committed to providing safe and inclusive support.

Contact Us

Core EQ invites you to spend a recuperative day, relax and reconnect with yourself and nature with the help of our equine friends.We specialise in custom designed experiential learning programs for individuals, groups and work teams across 3 service areas. We offer Master Classes in Leadership (Service 1), NDIS Life and Social Skills (Service 2) and Master Classes in Role Improvement (Service 3). This third service category includes the topics of Job Crafting, Role Sculpting (for lawyers 3 CPD Points), medical and other professionals].