Geoffrey Stein is a litigator turned portrait artist. Geoffrey initially went into the law because it was something reasonably stable to do with a liberal arts degree. Although he wasn’t passionate about it, he found himself at the top of his class and going down the standard firm route. He practiced in a few different arenas, while trying to incorporate more and more of his long-standing love for art. Eventually he decided to go all-in and leave the law to be a full time painter. In this episod...
Feb 23, 2021•29 min•Season 1Ep. 49
In today's episode I talk about identifying your unique strengths through the Clifton StrengthsFinder test, and why this will be more useful in helping you identify next steps than just trying to repackage your skills. Lawyers’s Escape Call: http://bit.ly/escapecall Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megansmileyesq
Feb 19, 2021•10 min•Ep. 48
Alli Elmunzer is the Attorney & Founder of Influencer Legal, a virtual law firm helping entrepreneurs navigate the legal side of online business. Alli started her career in commercial real estate. But after becoming quickly disillusioned, she left to be a wedding photographer. Alli was a photographer for 6 years. During that time, she also helped other creative business owners with legal issues on the side. She found that the legal work, done on her terms, was a good fit. She is now able to ...
Feb 16, 2021•34 min•Ep. 47
In this episode, I talk about how big tech companies know that well-designed spaces can reduce stress, improve cognitive function, and enhance mood, creativity, and productivity. They go to great lengths to incorporate this knowledge into their office space. I also give a few tips on how you can leverage this information to get some of these same benefits, even when you work in a boring gray box.
Feb 12, 2021•10 min•Ep. 46
Stacey Wang is the Director of Product Marketing at Ironclad, Inc. Stacey went from Harvard Law to being a BigLaw litigator, along the traditional path. But a few years in, she started to feel unfulfilled and started assessing what, specifically, wasn’t working for her. She realized that the practice of law was stifling her creativity. She also had an epiphany that you only live once, so she better make it count. So, she pushed past the identity crisis and fear and landed a job at a start-up. Fr...
Feb 09, 2021•40 min•Ep. 45
In today's episode I talk about the importance of broadening your circle of influence. If you're always surrounded by lawyers sticking to the traditional path, it's going to continue to make it hard to see different perspectives and opportunities. So, spend time with people who expand your world, not limit it. Leaving Law Made Fun Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/leavinglawmadefun Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megansmileyesq
Feb 05, 2021•10 min•Ep. 44
Amy Impellizzeri is a former big law corporate litigator who leveraged a sabbatical opportunity to do freelance writing for a start-up publisher. She then permanently left practice to lean into her interest in writing and is now, as she says, a writer who used to be a lawyer rather than a lawyer who writes. She’s published 5 fiction novels and one non-fiction book, “Lawyer Interrupted”. In 2022, “How to Leave the Law”, her second non-fiction book with co-Author Liz Brown, will be released. We ha...
Feb 02, 2021•44 min•Season 1Ep. 43
In today's episode I talk about 3 reasons why you should prioritize play in your life: Calms the mind Sparks creativity Connects you to what you enjoy doing I also talk about the 4 main types of play: Physical Ritual Imaginative Discovery Illegal Design Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/illegaldesign Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megansmileyinteriors/...
Jan 29, 2021•11 min•Ep. 42
Vanessa Perlman is a corporate attorney and has mixed freelance legal work with running her own travel business. She gives us a great example of how building a career isn’t an all-or-nothing endeavor. You can mix and match. You can go back and forth. You can do what makes most sense for each season of your life. As lawyers, we often put so much pressure on making a change, and Vanessa shows us that we can lighten up on ourselves a bit and it will still all work out. Vanessa ended up doing freela...
Jan 26, 2021•36 min•Season 1Ep. 41
Kim Nicol is a lawyer turned mindfulness and leadership coach. Kim tells us about how she explored her natural interests and that took her into a new field. It was scary, but also enlightening to realize that people actually make money outside of the legal and corporate world. Kim has created a portfolio career for herself. Among other things, she specifically works with lawyers on wellness and mindfulness. It can be an important tool to calm your brain long enough to get clarity on whether you ...
Jan 19, 2021•39 min•Season 1Ep. 40
In today's episode, I give you 5 tips on designing your home office: Quality Chair Lighting Declutter & Organize Plants & Nature Personalize Illegal Design Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/illegaldesign
Jan 15, 2021•17 min•Ep. 39
Sarah Cottrell is my podcasting soul sister. She is a former big law litigation associate who, after 10 years of practice in various forms and paying off her law school loans, moved into the work she’d been wanting to do for years. She launched the Former Lawyer Podcast in August 2019 (within a week of this podcast’s launch!) and now also runs the Former Lawyer Collaborative. In today’s episode we discuss: Sarah and I geek out on our shared brain So many of us are under-educated on the realities...
Jan 12, 2021•51 min•Ep. 38
In the Illegal Design mini-episodes, I will go deeper on how we get unstuck and actually design a purposeful and fulfilling life. Join the Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/illegaldesign
Jan 08, 2021•12 min•Ep. 37
Annette Choti left a 20 year career at the Department of Labor to start her own legal marketing firm. Annette tells us how she came to make a shift, the moment of serendipity that led her to her new career. She also tells us about all the rewards and challenges of running your own business. Annette worked for Department of Labor for 20 years The stable lifestyle of the job was worth the trade-offs for her After 20 years, when she started thinking about a shift, she didn’t know what her options w...
Jan 05, 2021•38 min•Ep. 36
Today’s episode is a little different. I don’t have a guest. Instead, I’m filling you in on what has been going on in my life and career. I get into the whole process, what I’m doing now, and what I see on the horizon. I also talk about my thoughts on building a purposeful life and my new free Facebook Group designed to help us do that together. In the episode I talk about: Getting stuck in my second career Having no idea how to start to take the next step Getting help thinking through my confus...
Dec 22, 2020•27 min•Ep. 35
Shunta Grant is a former litigator turned business owner. When it became clear that practicing law wasn’t a fit for her, she leaned into her side project making hair bows. She grew that business successfully and leveraged all of her new business experience to launch her current product, The Best Today Guide. Shunta tells us about the power of letting go of the expectations you had for yourself and creating a career around your life, rather than the other way around. In this episode we discuss: B...
Dec 15, 2020•37 min•Ep. 34
If you ever feel like you’re drawn to something that just isn’t “realistic”, think about Jess’s story. It's hard to make a bigger leap than from international human rights at the Hague to stand-up comedy. In this episode we discuss: The limited view of career options many of us have Jess’s career in international criminal law At the end of the day, practicing law is still practicing law - even in an interesting context Looking down the career path, Jess realized she wasn’t excited to practice fo...
Dec 08, 2020•43 min•Ep. 33
Jessica Medina is a former big law litigator and SEC investigator who now runs her own financial coaching business. She helps big law attorneys who need a financial plan in place to allow them the freedom to explore new career options. Basically - she helps people avoid or remove those pesky golden handcuffs so many of us get caught in. Jessica tells us about her own journey of 14 years in practice, 5 and 10 year financial plans, and finding the right fit for her next career move. I think her st...
Nov 24, 2020•49 min•Ep. 32
Charlotte Smith is a former UK employment attorney who now runs her own business coaching lawyers in her Life Design for Lawyers program. You can also check out her podcast, Limitless Lawyer. Charlotte tells us about her journey away from practicing law. She followed the breadcrumb path of her interests and intuition to her new career. It wasn’t always smooth, but these paths often aren’t. Charlotte’s core message to lawyers is that anything is possible, and you should design your life around wh...
Nov 18, 2020•46 min•Ep. 31
Jordan Hellman is the Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships at Care Partners at Home. After working in litigation in a few different environments, Jordan decided it wasn’t a context problem - he just didn’t enjoy practicing law. So, he leaned into his strength in relationship-building to create a new career in sales and business development. Sometimes your best laid plans for your career don’t pan out Pay attention to the things you enjoy about your job for clues Some people make moves in bi...
Aug 18, 2020•51 min•Ep. 30
Dr. Jan Newman is a licensed clinical psychologist, certified executive coach, and former Big Law attorney who works with multi-passionate high achievers who want to level up their lives. Jan shows us how to take a scientific, systematic approach to leaving law and finding a new career. This process is an experiment: outline your ideas, try them out, learn from the feedback. Don’t expect to have all the answers all at once. But, if you stick with it - you’ll eventually find a good career fit. Ja...
Jul 21, 2020•54 min•Ep. 29
Heather Hubbard is a former Intellectual Property and Entertainment lawyer who practiced for 10 years before being drawn by her unique talents into starting her own personal and professional development company. She tells us about her journey out of practice, the limits we place on ourselves as lawyers, and tools we can leverage to help us move ourselves forward. In this episode, we discus: Heather wasn’t miserable, she just realized there was a better fit in another roll It can take some time a...
Jul 06, 2020•43 min•Ep. 28
Summer Challenge!! Today’s episode is a little different. Instead of having a guest, I wanted us to take some of the inspiration we’ve gotten here and elsewhere and turn it into action. We can consume advice, wisdom, and ideas until we’re blue in the face. But, we need to translate that into action in our lives if we want to see real change. I think the important thing is that you don’t have to take one big, dramatic step. The idea is to just start showing up for yourself and doing the small thi...
Jun 29, 2020•12 min•Ep. 27
Alex Su is a former big law litigator who now does business development and sales within the legal technology industry. Currently, he is the Director of Business Development at Evisort, an AI-powered contract intelligence platform. Alex talks about taking the time to reflect on his interests and natural inclinations, and how this allowed him to identify his unique set of skills. His thick skin and talent for persuasion may not have found their place in litigation, but he uses them all the time i...
Jun 22, 2020•40 min•Ep. 26
Mary Cobb is both an artist and a working lawyer. She tells us about how she left full-time practice to move to Italy and learn to paint. She’s now built a dual career, returning to practice as a staff attorney while building her art business on the side. I think her story gives a good glimpse into how pursuing your interests and passions can be balanced with a legal job, if that’s where your comfort zone lies. Sometimes the life you carefully built no longer makes sense to you It’s ok to make a...
Jun 15, 2020•27 min•Ep. 25
Alexis Robertson is the Director of Diversity & Inclusion at Foley & Lardner LLP where she provides firm-wide strategic direction and oversight on all diversity and inclusion related matters. Alexis talks to us about her journey out of litigation to recruiting, and ultimately to diversity and inclusion work. We speak about the structural racism within our industry and the challenges law firms face in making meaningful progress on diversity and inclusion with respect not only to recruitin...
Jun 08, 2020•58 min•Ep. 24
For the first episode after this Covid-19 break, I’m speaking again with Annie Little, a former lawyer turned career coach specializing in coaching lawyers. We jump right into what this new reality means for lawyers thinking about career shifts. There are obviously a lot of challenges in this new reality, but there are also a lot of opportunities. And I hope this episode is more hopeful than anything. We discuss: Big firms are generally cutting salaries over laying off lawyers Will some of these...
Jun 01, 2020•53 min•Ep. 23
After nearly two decades in litigation practice, Chris Gillett took his hobby of photography and grew it to a full-time headshot photography business. Chris shows us that prioritizing time pursuing an interest can open up doors down the road. His story also emphasizes a theme we’ve discussed before: there are seasons in your life and career if you allow there to be. In this episode, we discuss: It is possible to enjoy the people you work with, but still hate practicing Inertia keeps you in place...
Feb 25, 2020•45 min•Ep. 22
My guest today is Josh Ferguson, a Research Consultant at Common Good, a government reform think tank. Josh practiced at a firm for a few years, then moved into legislative work at the Maryland State House, which he loved (making him a little bit of a different case than some of my other guests). But, with a baby on the way, his wife got a new job in a new city. They wanted one of them to stay home with the kids, so as it shook out - Josh decided to leave practice to be a stay-at-home dad for 12...
Feb 11, 2020•30 min•Ep. 21
Angela Han is Corporate Counsel at HealthPro Heritage, runs her own company, Angela Han Health, and hosts the podcast Fit to Practice. Angela gives us some great tips on how to devote time to a side hustle you love while you’re still practicing. She’s not looking to move out of law completely. You could find a dual career balance, as she has. Or maybe you take her approach as a stepping stone towards fully leaving the law. Either way, she really shows us what it means to purposefully build the l...
Feb 03, 2020•40 min•Ep. 20
