In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Carmen Rosas of the Your Legacy Protection Firm, regarding the tough truth of growing your own firm. Carmen narrates how she came into the practice area of being an estate attorney and what the pros and cons are for people who are considering being in the practice area. She also shares how the experience was owning a firm and how she grew it from having a paralegal slash legal assistant to delegating the tasks to her paralegal, executive assistant, and partne...
Jul 01, 2022•25 min•Ep. 117
In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Yvette Ostolaza and Mike Schmidtberger of Sidley Austin LLP, about the rationale behind dedicating different resources to the members of the firm without fearing them leaving. They also share what the twists and turns of their careers were to where they are now. Yvette also talks about her goals and priorities as she takes over the role of the first female chair of Sidley's management committee. Together, Yvette and Mike describe how they keep the balance bet...
Jun 24, 2022•23 min•Ep. 116
In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Katharine von Ter Stegge, a circuit court judge for the Multnomah County in the Oregon Judicial Department, about the best lessons on being a judge. Katharine talks about how the law has always interested her and how her career changed her view on what law really is. She also shares the skills she's learned throughout her career that helped her in being a judge, as well as her own advice to somebody who wants to be one. Additionally, Katharine narrates the hi...
Jun 17, 2022•25 min•Ep. 115
In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Anne Cortina Perry of Jenner & Block, and how she balances her work at the firm, her personal life, developing her practice area, and even writing her book of business. Anne shares her transition from going to law school to her path to partnership, and her own advice to people who want to take the same path. She also runs down the different red flags in a toxic work environment and how the development of the culture risk and sensitive investigations pract...
Jun 10, 2022•26 min•Ep. 114
In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Samantha Barbas, a University at Buffalo School of Law professor and Director of the Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy, about the future of the first amendment. Samantha talks about who Morris Ernst is and how he got recognition in the field. She also discusses how she was able to go through all the materials and documents left by Morris Ernst to share his work and life to other people. Additionally, Samantha shares about the contents in the first amendm...
Jun 03, 2022•22 min•Ep. 113
In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Donna Edbril, a Certified Leadership Coach, about how she helps female lawyers find the balance between their personal lives and working in a law firm. Donna also shares her transition from starting out in law school, working in different companies to being a career coach. She also runs down the different advice she can give to people who are finding it difficult to set boundaries and the proven methods for them to take control of their career paths. Episode ...
May 27, 2022•22 min•Ep. 112
In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Hannah Brenner Johnson and Renee Knake Jefferson about their book focusing on the research on the women who appeared on the presidential shortlist back in history. Hannah and Renee not only share the stories of the women who represent the gender on the court, but also how the nomination impacted the lives and careers of those who did not make the transaction. They also discuss the biggest takeaways they learned from these women and the process they underwent ...
May 20, 2022•27 min•Ep. 111
In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Jodi Schwimmer, partner at Reed Smith and global co-lead of the Financial Industry Group, about how she balances firm leadership responsibilities with her practice. Jodi shares how the Financial Industry Group has changed because of the pandemic, and some firm priorities for this year. She also discusses some of the biggest successes and failures of her career. Episode Resources https://www.lexisnexis.com/lexisplus https://www.reedsmith.com/en/professionals/s...
May 13, 2022•26 min•Ep. 110
In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Tamra Moore, partner at King & Spalding, about the twists and turns of her career that led her to her role at K&S. Tamra shares what latering during a pandemic was like, and how she decided on a firm that worked for her. She also discusses the differences between Biglaw, in-house, and government service. Tamra additionally talks about what a day in the life of a Government Matters attorney is like. Episode Highlights Why she decided to go to law schoo...
May 06, 2022•27 min•Ep. 109
In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Renauld Clarke, Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Brown Rudnick, about the biggest diversity challenges in Biglaw. Renauld discusses the most relevant benchmarks for diversity in the legal profession, and why he launched the Racial Justice initiative. He also shares how he is approaching recruitment and retention given the intensity of the lateral market right now. Episode Resources https://brownrudnick.com/ https://brownrudnick.com/people/rena...
Apr 29, 2022•30 min•Ep. 108
In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Jodi Warren, a partner at Capell Barnett Matalon & Schoenfeld, about a day in the life of a Real Estate, Corporate and Commercial Transactions, and Religious and Charitable Organizations attorney. Jodi shares her biggest career successes and failures, and what she learned from them. She talks about what virtual lawyering has looked like for her during the pandemic, and whether it has been easier or harder to balance that with the rest of her life. Jodi sh...
Apr 22, 2022•22 min•Ep. 107
In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Leslie Garfield Tenzer, a professor at Pace University School of Law. Professor Tenzer discusses how she decided to get into legal academia and the twists and turns of her career that have led her to this point. She tells Kathryn why she decided to write the Legal Emoji Dictionary, and speaks about how emojis have been used in legal cases. She shares which emojis have a surprising legal definition, and talks about some of the pitfalls for lawyers if their cas...
Apr 15, 2022•27 min•Ep. 106
In this episode of The Jabot Kathryn chats with Elizabeth Williamson, author of Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth. They chat about the ins and outs of the defamation cases filed by families of the victims of the tragic Sandy Hook mass shooting against the infamous Infowars host Alex Jones. What was billed as an epic First Amendment showdown fizzled to a default judgment with a lot of money potentially on the line. Elizabeth and Kathryn discuss the role of lawyers on both s...
Apr 08, 2022•25 min•Ep. 105
In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Stephanie Wachman, CEO and founder of Symetree, about the evolution of her career and the founding of Symetree. They discuss pressing issues in the industry, such as balancing a law career and "real life," dealing with the stress of career challenges, and strategies for business development. Stephanie also speaks about how she helps women lawyers grow their practices and achieve leadership roles in their firms. Episode Resources Connect with Stephanie Wachman...
Apr 01, 2022•1 min•Ep. 104
In this episode, Kathryn speaks with family law attorney Aliza Shatzman, who recently submitted a Statement for the Record for the House Judiciary Committee hearing about harassment in the judiciary. Aliza discusses her Statement, what happened with the judge, why the system that currently exists is insufficient, and what should be done to change it. Episode Resources Statement for the Record of Aliza Shatzman Connect with Aliza Shatzman: https://twitter.com/alizashatzman?lang=en https://www.lin...
Mar 25, 2022•23 min•Ep. 103
In this episode, Kathryn speaks with author and professor Gilda Daniels, about the process of writing her book, Uncounted. Gilda speaks about the current voter suppression efforts and the throughline from Jim Crow era efforts to what we are seeing today. Gilda discusses whether there is any hope that the Supreme Court will protect voting rights, and what Congress can do to protect such rights. Episode Resources https://www.lexisnexis.com/lexis-plus http://www.gildadaniels.com/ http://law.ubalt.e...
Mar 18, 2022•29 min•Ep. 102
In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Sahar Aziz, author, and Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School. Sahar shares how she first became interested in her book, The Racial Muslim. She details some historical examples of how the book's hypothesis is supported and discusses how far back the ideas go. Sahar also talks about the dichotomy between belief in the First Amendment and how that squares away in modern political discourse with the reality of how Muslims are treated. Episode Resources https://...
Mar 11, 2022•33 min•Ep. 101
In The Jabot's 100th episode, Kathryn is joined by Jennifer Schramm, a partner at King & Spalding. They discuss Jennifer's career highs and lows, and how she balances her professional life with other interests. Jennifer also speaks about what it was like to make partners during a pandemic, and how to make the best of your career during tumultuous times. Episode Resources https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferschramm https://www.kslaw.com/people/jennifer-schramm Episode Highlights The reason wh...
Mar 04, 2022•24 min•Ep. 100
In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Michelle Quinn, partner at Gallet Dreyer & Berkey, about the twists and turns of her career that led her to her current role, and how she decided on her practice area. They also discuss how her practice has been impacted by COVID. Michelle talks about some career highs and lows and what she learned from them, and also shares her favorite war story from her practice. Episode Resources https://www.gdblaw.com/michelle-quinn https://www.linkedin.com/in/michel...
Feb 25, 2022•23 min•Ep. 99
Kathryn speaks with Mansi Shah, author of "The Taste of Ginger" and Senior Vice President of Legal at Warner Bros., about how she balances her writing and legal careers, and what the process of writing is like for her. Mansi discusses the biggest challenges she faces when writing a novel, and why she decided to root her book in the immigrant experience. She also talks about how she decided what to draw on to create the main character of her book. Episode Resources https://mansikshah.com/ The Tas...
Feb 18, 2022•22 min•Ep. 98
In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Ting Ting Cheng, Director of the ERA Project, and Kati Hornung, Director of VoteEqualityUS, about the current status of the ERA and why the amendment is so vital in 2022. Ting Ting and Kati discuss their varying perspectives and skill sets when tackling the ERA, and what they say to people that think gender equality is a passé issue or something that's already been achieved. They also discuss the motivations behind the new and improved pocket constitutions, a...
Feb 11, 2022•28 min•Ep. 97
In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Heather Weigler, Assistant Attorney General at the Oregon Department of Justice, about escaping big law and making the world a better place. Heather tried to eliminate the existential dread and unhappiness from work that affected her life and well-being. Gender imbalance in the legal realm further motivated her to volunteer to help women gain their place in the industry. Tune in to know how Heather manages to be more than her last achievement, finding that un...
Feb 04, 2022•33 min•Ep. 96
In this episode, Kathryn talks to Peter Lynch, Cozen O'Connor's Office Managing Partner, on why he went to law school and how he chose his practice area. Peter discusses why he values D&I programs at business and bar association levels. He shares why he founded DisabilityRightsNow along with the organization's objectives. The legal profession has fallen behind in the hiring of people with disabilities. Thus, Peter poses some solutions that the legal industry may implement to correct this his...
Jan 28, 2022•30 min•Ep. 95
Kathryn sits with Emer Simic, partner with Neal Gerber Eisenberg Intellectual Property Practice Group, to discuss her reason for shifting from the field of science to law. Emer shares why she chose IP as her specialization and what a typical day in her office entails. She also outlines some of the diversity challenges she sees in IP and the legal sector in general. And she elaborates some of the steps and efforts she recognizes as effective to address the said adversities. This episode also expl...
Jan 21, 2022•30 min•Ep. 94
In this episode, Kathryn speaks with professor and author Ruth Colker about her path to legal academia and how she came up with the concept for her new book. Ruth discusses why conservatives have been able to win the rhetorical battle on so many issues using insults, and how progressives can flip the script. She also talks about how the insult playbook has played out in relation to #MeToo cases, and the current SCOTUS term. Episode Resources https://wgss.osu.edu/people/colker.2 https://directory...
Jan 07, 2022•27 min•Ep. 93
In this episode, Kathryn speaks with entrepreneur Gabriela Isturiz about the ups and downs of working in the legal tech space. They discuss what led to the founding of Gabriela's Fund XX, and why it is so important to harness the power of women investors and entrepreneurs. Gabriela also shares the advice she has for folks getting involved in the legal tech space. Episode Resources https://thefund.vc/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielaisturiz Episode Highlights The twists and turns of Gabriela ...
Dec 30, 2021•24 min•Ep. 92
In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Elizabeth Todd, an attorney with the law offices of James Scott Farrin, about the twists and turns her career has taken to get her to where she is today. Elizabeth shares what a typical day looks like for her, and discusses how COVID has impacted the personal injury and nursing home negligence space. She also shares her biggest battles as a result of COVID and speaks about what nursing home policy should look like. Additionally, Elizabeth talks about the bigg...
Dec 23, 2021•24 min•Ep. 91
The transition to parenthood is not easy if you belong in the legal industry. How to survive working as a parent? Kathryn speaks with Lori Mihalich-Levin, a health care lawyer in private practice at her firm. She is the founder of The Mindful Return, a platform that helps parents in planning a radiant, empowered, and smooth return from leave. Lori shares her reason for entering law school and the twist and turns in her career. Being a mother of two was not easy for her. However, she will discuss...
Dec 17, 2021•26 min•Ep. 90
Kathryn speaks with Yvonne Cort, partner at Capell, Barnett, Matalon & Schoenfeld, about how her law school career goals matched up with her actual career. Yvonne discusses how she settled on her practice area and the process of making a lateral move during a pandemic. She also speaks about the benefits of small firms, and what it's like being the only woman partner at her firm. Yvonne also shares her advice for folks just starting their legal career. Episode Resources https://cbmslaw.com/te...
Dec 10, 2021•26 min•Ep. 89
Kathryn speaks with Judge LaDoris Hazzard Cordell about how she made her way onto the bench and the decision behind writing her recent book. They also discuss some of the biggest responsibilities and challenges Judge Cordell has faced during her time on the bench, and she shares some of the hardest cases she has presided over. Judge Cordell also details how her experience as a Black queer woman has shaped her opinion on the justice system, and what she thinks is broken about our judicial system ...
Dec 03, 2021•28 min•Ep. 88
