2026 International Women’s Day Feature Article -Communications and Media Law Association (CAMLA)
Special edition of the Communications Law Bulletin celebrating International Women’s Day (Volume 45.1)
Dan Roe, Senior Counsel, The Walt Disney Company (Australia), sits down with Michelle Lau, Principal Lawyer & Founder of Blue Space Legal, to discuss Michelle's career as a commercial lawyer in the media and entertainment industry, as well as her thoughts on International Women's Day.
Michelle is an award‑winning lawyer who has spent more than 20 years working at the intersection of law, media, entertainment and business. Admitted in Australia and Hong Kong, she brings both deep legal expertise and a strong commercial mindset, with experience spanning corporate M&A, general commercial, intellectual property, technology, data privacy, employment, competition, consumer and regulatory matters. After starting her career at top‑tier global law firms King & Wood Mallesons and A&O Sherman, Michelle went on to spend 12 years in-house at Turner Broadcasting (now Warner Bros. Discovery), where she was a trusted legal and strategic partner to the Asia‑Pacific business. Supporting well‑known brands such as CNN and Cartoon Network across 15 countries and leading strategic business development initiatives, she worked closely with creative, commercial and leadership teams in a fast‑moving and constantly evolving media environment. Today, through Blue Space Legal, Michelle draws on that experience to advise boards, founders and executives on strategy, business challenges, governance and growth, particularly in media, entertainment, tech, and IP‑driven businesses, bringing a commercial, collaborative approach shaped by years inside the industry.
DAN ROE: Thanks for your time Michelle. It a pleasure to get to interview you. I’d love to ask you about your career. Can you tell me about your career path and how it led you to where you are today?
MICHELLE LAU: I always wanted to own a business or at least be involved in the strategic direction of a business, and thought that the best way to do this was to become a Corporate M&A lawyer. I began my career at Mallesons in Sydney in Banking & Finance and then Corporate M&A. After a long secondment to Citigroup, I knew that I eventually wanted to go in-house, but was equally sure that I didn’t want it to be in investment banking. The shiny lights of Hong Kong and the prospect of exploring the world drew me to move overseas for a few years.
After meeting my now-husband, we decided to settle down and so it seemed to be the right time to make the move in-house. I was fortunate to find the perfect role at Turner Broadcasting, where I started as the sole M&A lawyer for the Asia Pacific region and eventually developed a broad legal skillset and moved into a management role. It was an exciting time of growth for the company, during which I supported the business development and leadership teams transform a monolithic American pay TV business into a dynamic, locally-driven set of businesses, powered by international brands and content. To match the fast-moving markets we were either entering or competing in, and to compete in an increasingly digital world, we were nimble, open to starting (and closing) new types of businesses and were adjusting business models in ways that spun heads in the US. It was a fascinating time to be in-house, especially as the pay TV media industry started to face an existential crisis and be challenged in ways it had never been before. Eventually, those changes took over my role too.
In 2021, I started Blue Space Legal, which provides outsourced fractional general counsel, in-house legal team and strategic consulting services to corporates. Whilst most of our clients are a mixture of international and Australian media, entertainment and technology companies, we also service corporate clients across a broad range of industries, including retail, financial services, property and private equity.
DAN: What energises you about your current work?
MICHELLE: Every day, I pinch myself that I have the privilege of working like an in-house lawyer for a range of incredible local and global businesses. I get to work alongside wonderful legal teams and business leaders as an integrated part of their business, on matters that are complex, diverse, interesting and moreover, fun. To name a few, these have included: the production of a new “vertical” drama series; the launch of new apps, FAST channels and video platforms; privacy breaches; the sale of a blockchain business; influencer-led marketing campaigns; unique branded experiences; and the sale of licensed merchandise.
I’m also energised by my team’s enthusiasm for the work we do and seeing them develop their expertise and commercial acumen every day.
DAN: You have had the benefit of working across the legal, media and entertainment landscape throughout APAC over a number of decades. Based on your experience, what are some of the key shifts that you have seen over this time and how do you think this will impact the Australian landscape in 2026 and beyond?
MICHELLE: The APAC region and particularly its developing countries, have traditionally been viewed as years behind the latest technology and business ideas being led out of the USA and other Western countries. However, I’ve gradually seen this gap close and now even overtake the West with technological advancement, the pace of adoption of new technology and a pivot to new business models. This has played out across many areas, for example, the leapfrogging of older technologies such as cable television distribution to a mobile-first, direct to consumer distribution model; the rise of gaming and professional esports alongside in-app virtual and micro payments; the explosion of short-form content and super-apps; the export of Asian-made content globally; the seamless integration of e-commerce directly into content and platforms; the gamification of e-commerce; the democratisation of content creation; and more recently, the speed to market of AI-generated content.
Whilst many of these innovations have come to Australia in recent years, some of these areas are still yet to hit mainstream Australia, such as the fast and seamless integration of e-commerce supply chains into social media, the large-scale distribution of vertical or micro drama series and the further integration of gaming into content, experiences and marketing campaigns. It will be interesting to see to what extent these innovations and new business models are adopted in Australia.
Another interesting space is AI-generated content. As the use of AI for content creation becomes more sophisticated, particularly to the point where high quality content is produced at speed and at low cost through an AI model which has been trained on IP obtained through proper licences, I think Australia has a battle ahead to make globally relevant content that can be monetised for both the Australian and international markets, as well as to differentiate itself on the world stage as a producer of premium creative content utilising its strong local talent.
DAN: What is some key advice you would give to our readers to help them prepare to navigate and take advantage of these shifts?
MICHELLE: Stay curious about emerging innovations and be ready to adapt. As lawyers, at the same time as facilitating business objectives, remember to take time to consider any undue risks so the business goes into new ventures with open eyes. Especially with increasing pressure to remain relevant by finding new sources of revenue and/or reducing operating costs, including a push to quickly adopt AI tools, there can be a tendency to overlook details or brush aside risks, in the rush to innovate.
DAN: The 2026 International Women’s Day campaign theme is 'Give to Gain’. What does this mean to you and how would you like to see it applied in your industry?
MICHELLE: Leading an all-female team at Blue Space Legal, this theme really resonates with me. It is something that I’ve built into the fabric of my firm – our team works fully remotely, on a flexible basis to accommodate other life commitments and collaboratively, regularly sharing learnings with each other. To me, Give to Gain means that if we help women be the best version of themselves and bring their whole selves to work, they will be happier, more fulfilled in their careers and invest their energy into excelling at what they do. Everyone wins from this. It’s not only about providing mentorship and support to other women, but addressing traditional structural imbalances and creating safe spaces for everyone to flourish.
Both the legal profession and the media, entertainment and tech industries have a reputation of being male-dominant cultures. I would like to see more male leaders in these industries actively work to change structural imbalances in the workplace, intentionally sponsor women as they move through their careers, and proactively mentor and support women.
DAN: What are your thoughts on the role of mentorship in the profession and have you had any mentors who have especially inspired you or shaped your career journey?
MICHELLE: I would say that earlier in my career, I learnt more from bad role models than having the fortune of having mentors take me under their wing. As a junior lawyer, I remember feeling extremely lucky to have a senior associate spend an hour to explain the legal intricacies of capital raisings to me and how such a small but considered effort on their part empowered me to confidently go on to run transactions independently.
Later, I was lucky to find mentors in a number of amazing female bosses and colleagues, most notably, Annabel Archer, now Regional Counsel – Streaming, APAC, Warner Bros. Discovery and Christine Cameron, who was the general counsel for the international (ex-US) business of Turner Broadcasting. From the get-go, I felt like they always believed in me, looked out for me, sponsored me through the organisation, and generously lent me their wisdom and guidance.
As I’ve become a more seasoned lawyer, it has become more important to me to mentor other lawyers, especially junior women lawyers, both through my day-to-day work and as a mentor with The Law Society of NSW’s Mentoring Program.
DAN: For our readers who are looking for a mentor, what advice would you give to them to help them identify, build and maintain these relationships?
MICHELLE: First, find someone you like and admire, and who has the bandwidth to mentor you. Remember that the best mentor may come from inside or outside of your organisation, department or profession. Second, don’t be afraid to vocalise what you would like guidance on. Third, do the work – part of a successful mentorship journey requires you to self-reflect, pivot and grow.
DAN: What is the best career advice that you have received?
MICHELLE: I had been hand-picked in a group of about 30 management-level women from across Time Warner’s global business of about 25,000 employees, to attend an executive leadership summit in LA. In a small group exercise, I was questioning what I could do to be more seen amongst senior leadership team members, when another executive stopped me and told me that I already had a seat at that table. The whole group nodded in agreement. This was a revelation to me, and since then, I’ve sworn to banish Imposter Syndrome. This has come in handy for all those times of self-doubt as I built Blue Space Legal.
DAN: How do you create motivation for yourself and for your team?
MICHELLE: I’m lucky to have a team that is very self-motivated – a trait that is important for fully remote working. A lot of this comes down to a shared excitement about the work that we do, the calibre of clients that we do that work for and the unique niche we have carved in the legal industry.
Where the work allows, I staff projects with different combinations of team members, to provide opportunities for collaboration and learning. Although I set my team a high bar for excellence, I always ensure that I celebrate success – whether big or small, and whether personal development goals or team wins.
We also meet in person for team events such as celebratory lunches. We’ve even tried our hand at the pottery wheel, where we learned that perfectionism can kill the best looking pot!
DAN: Outside the law, what’s one passion or interest that people might not expect, but that plays a big role in who you are?
MICHELLE: Baking! I love the creative process and have quite the repertoire of children’s birthday cakes under my belt. Like my work, I enjoy it because it requires care and a perfect blend of art and science, only I get to eat the fruits of my labour!
DAN: Thanks Michelle! It’s been great chatting with you, and on behalf of the CLB’s readers, I really appreciate you sharing your wisdom. Happy International Women’s Day!