Morgan Thomas Hall is an Account Executive at Twilio Inc. Morgan practiced in both a firm and for the government before realizing that it wasn’t just a job problem, it was a career problem. She went back to the drawing board to explore her interests, and found herself drawn to tech, and then specifically to tech sales. In addition to her day job, Morgan now also helps people transition from other careers into the tech industry. In this episode, we discuss: Morgan had both firm and governmental j...
Oct 05, 2021•40 min•Ep. 79
Marie Sotelo is a former lawyer turned freelance writer. After leaving the law, she leveraged her legal experience to become a go-to ghostwriter for entrepreneurs and chief executives in the law, compliance, and risk management space. She firmly believes that money is a means to an end—lifestyle freedom; and that you really CAN do anything with a law degree. She now helps other freelancers make smart money moves in their business and teaches other lawyers how to launch a writing side hustle. In ...
Sep 28, 2021•46 min•Ep. 78
Heather Eastwood is a public interest lawyer (with a brief detour into BigLaw) who found her long-term calling teaching public high school. In today’s episode, we discuss: Heather came out of college feeling adrift without a clear path to follow She went to law school somewhat on a whim, because it was at least an extension of learning Heather ended up working for legal aid in Hawaii Her best professional experience was based on a highly collaborative environment Heather decided to move to the B...
Sep 21, 2021•39 min•Ep. 77
Rachel Coll is a lawyer turned life coach. Although Rachel actually largely enjoyed practicing, she allowed herself to evolve and follow the threads that interested her. She ultimately felt called to get into coaching. It did require pushing through some discomfort and external judgment around the decision, but she has now built a successful full-time practice. In this episode we discuss: Rachel largely enjoyed her practice first as a public prosecutor, then at the Board of Elections Rachel came...
Sep 15, 2021•46 min•Ep. 76
David Johnson is a lawyer, writer and professor at Stanford Law School. He started his career working in house at tech companies, received a JSM in Law, Science, and Technology and now (among other things) teaches a course on design thinking as applied to negotiations at Stanford Law. Dave talks to us first about how he got into academia outside the tenure-track, and gives us some great tips around finding adjunct professor positions. Then Dave lays out the framework for using Design Thinking to...
Sep 07, 2021•48 min•Ep. 75
Today’s episode is the audio from the webinar I hosted last week, The 5-Step Lawyer’s Escape Plan. It walks you through the roadmap that will take you from stuck and uninspired to having clarity and a plan. The 8-week Lawyer’s Escape Plan group program begins next week, so if you’re interested in joining us, sign up before doors close on Friday, June 18 at midnight EDT! 8-Week Group Program: https://pages.megansmiley.com/lawyersescapeplan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megansmileyesq/ Lawy...
Jun 15, 2021•50 min•Ep. 74
On Thursday, June 10th at 7:30pm EDT, I'll be hosting a free live webinar. A replay will also be available. I'll be walking you through the 5-Step Lawyer's Escape framework that you can follow to go from stuck and uninspired to confident and planning your move. Sign up for the free webinar here: https://pages.megansmiley.com/webinar-signup-page
Jun 08, 2021•3 min•Ep. 73
Risa Weaver-Enion is the founder and chief planner at Risa James Events, where she both plans weddings and offers product branding photography services. Risa went to law school thinking she’d get into entertainment law, but after her summer internship, quickly realized that there was a lot about actually working at a firm that she didn’t like. After some time in law and quasi-legal positions, a cross-country move proved to be an inflection point that prompted her to go back to the drawing board....
Jun 01, 2021•54 min•Season 1Ep. 72
Eimear McCann is the Head of Strategy at Summize, a legal tech company in the UK. Eimear left law school vowing not to practice. But, after a stint of freelance writing, she came back to the law and worked in immigration and human rights. She loved the work, but when her organization lost funding, she decided it was time to move on. She was intrigued by the technology space - it’s innovation, creativity, and flexibility. She followed that interest into legal tech. In this episode, we discuss: Ei...
May 25, 2021•43 min•Season 1Ep. 70
In today's episode, I talk about how can take an overwhelming project (like eating an elephant or finding a new, fulfilling career) and break it into bite-sized, executable steps. You can do hard things. It's just about getting started, strategizing, and taking one step after the other. Get on the VIP Waitlist for The Lawyer’s Escape Plan program: https://view.flodesk.com/pages/609057c10c791e4ece1d9104 Lawyer’s Escape Plan Quiz: http://bit.ly/lawyersescaperoutequiz Instagram: https://www.instagr...
May 21, 2021•17 min•Ep. 71
Jen Berson left civil litigation after she “saw the light”, decided to pursue more creative endeavors, and founded her own business. She is now the President & Founder of Jeneration PR and the creator of the Agency Accelerator, where she teaches entrepreneurs how to launch, grow & scale a profitable PR & marketing agency. Jen talks about listening to and following her inner voice to a career she finds incredibly fulfilling and which allows her to also prioritize being a present paren...
May 18, 2021•43 min•Season 1Ep. 69
I'm letting you in on the top 2 mistakes I see people make when trying to change careers. First, they start by asking what job they think they can get, rather than asking what they want. Second, they don't prioritize themselves and the process of figuring out the next best career step. Get on the VIP Waitlist for The Lawyer’s Escape Plan program: https://view.flodesk.com/pages/609057c10c791e4ece1d9104 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megansmileyesq/...
May 14, 2021•12 min•Ep. 68
Robert Ingalls is a former litigator turned founder of Lawpods, a podcast production company for lawyers. Robert tells us how he tried a variety of practice areas before realizing that law just wasn’t the right fit for him. While he still had a full-time job, Robert experimented with a number of business ideas and followed the path of his interests. That ultimately led Robert to starting the company he runs today. Robert reminds us of the importance of expanding your circle of influence beyond l...
May 11, 2021•51 min•Season 1Ep. 67
You know those people who seem to just always have things work out? From career to relationships? They're just "lucky." Turns out it's not magic. There are some habits these people have that put them in the path of luck more frequently: Putting themselves out there Listening to their gut Having a positive attitude and believing that good things are coming Resilience Get on the VIP Waitlist for The Lawyer’s Escape Plan program: https://view.flodesk.com/pages/609057c10c791e4ece1d9104 Instagram: ht...
May 07, 2021•13 min•Ep. 66
Rob Bertman is a senior consultant at Student Loan Planner, and a CFA and CFP. Rob talks to us about how it’s possible to manage your student loans around your life, rather than have them dictate what your options are. We get into how it’s even possible to have a runway for starting your own business while carrying loans. If there’s one message I hope people get from this is that you aren’t as trapped as you may think, and you do have options. You just have to tackle the issue head-on. In this e...
May 04, 2021•42 min•Ep. 65
Lisa Rosen is the Chief Operating Officer at SustainCERT. After starting her career in litigation, Lisa followed her interest in environmental issues to an in-house legal position at a non-profit and ultimately transitioned into an operations role there. Lisa’s story shows how your legal experience is seen as valuable for a non-legal position and that by taking that first step, you put yourself on the path for new, more interesting opportunities to present themselves. In this episode, we discuss...
Apr 27, 2021•49 min•Ep. 64
Francesca Chang is a lawyer turned marketing professional, tech recruiter, published travel writer, and now life coach for lawyers. Francesca tells us about leaving practice to explore various other career opportunities. It’s a great example of what can evolve when you don’t tie yourself to a preconceived notion of what your career might look like. In this episode, we discuss: Francesca went to law school because of interest in social justice Coming out of law school, she worked for solo practit...
Apr 20, 2021•30 min•Ep. 63
Are you living your life by design or by default? As crazy as the world is right now, it's a great opportunity to move forward more purposefully.
Apr 16, 2021•11 min•Ep. 62
Dr. Aisha is a former practicing physician turned coach specializing in helping high achievers create change in their lives. Her core message is that in order to make meaningful change in our lives, we need to slow down long enough to get off autopilot and connect to our real thoughts and desires. The world can be very loud and distracting and often confuses us with respect to finding our happiest path. In this episode, we discuss: A lot of family and social pressure around leaving medicine Leav...
Apr 13, 2021•47 min•Season 1Ep. 61
Rho Thomas is a trademark lawyer at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, a financial coach for lawyers, and the mom of two young boys. Rho tells us how she has a vision for her life that includes working as a lawyer, pursuing her side business, and being a present mom. Part of that journey has been creating more financial freedom by tackling the substantial school debt she and her husband accrued in becoming a lawyer and doctor, respectively. It has also meant setting boundaries at work and h...
Apr 06, 2021•34 min•Season 1Ep. 59
In today's episode, I talk about Human Design, hustle & flow, and why it's ok to be more of a sprinter than a marathoner. Lawyer’s Escape Plan Quiz: http://bit.ly/lawyersescaperoutequiz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megansmileyesq/ Human Design Chart: https://www.jovianarchive.com/get_your_chart
Apr 02, 2021•12 min•Ep. 60
Kat Johnston spent over a decade between BigLaw litigation and being in-house at a Silicon Valley company. The intensity of working in those environments and the stress took their toll. So, Kat started to prioritize taking better care of herself. Ultimately, as her focus and priorities shifted, Kat decided to leave practice and has taken the past 2 years off to give herself time to reset, explore, and find the next right step for her career journey. In this episode, we discuss: Working hard alon...
Mar 30, 2021•51 min•Ep. 57
We all want to be able to sit in a room, research our career options, and come up with a plan we're 100% confident in before taking action. But here's the thing: you can't wait for total confidence and clarity to take action because it's the action taking that grows your confidence and clarity. Lawyer’s Escape Plan Quiz: http://bit.ly/lawyersescaperoutequiz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megansmileyesq/...
Mar 26, 2021•11 min•Ep. 58
Vanessa Kuljis is the Founder of BloomRise LLC and a GALLUP Certified Strengths Coach. She works with lawyers and other professionals to discover individual talents, own their unique value proposition, and move toward setting and achieving authentic goals. Vanessa was previously the Director of Professional Development and Leadership Initiatives at the University of Miami Law School and, before that, a litigation associate. In this episode, we discuss: Vanessa went straight through from undergra...
Mar 23, 2021•59 min•Season 1Ep. 56
Being a lawyer can make you feel very one-dimensional. Finding the time and space to explore your interests will both make you a happier person in the moment, and help you figure out that elusive right next step in your career. Lawyer’s Escape Plan Quiz: http://bit.ly/lawyersescaperoutequiz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megansmileyesq/
Mar 19, 2021•19 min•Ep. 55
Vicki Huebner is the Director of Online Legal Programs and an Adjunct Professor at Santa Clara University School of law. She is also the founder of Upskilled Canines, a dog training business. Vicki spent a number of years in litigation, from a clerkship, to a big firm, to a smaller firm. She realized that practice did not light her up the way she saw it do for some people she worked with. On somewhat of a whim, she took an opportunity to work in career services at a law school. 25 years later, s...
Mar 16, 2021•45 min•Season 1Ep. 54
Working in your zone of excellence can be the enemy of finding true fulfillment at work. I know it can be very hard to even think of what else you'd do besides being a lawyer. Working to uncover your Zone of Genius is one step in that process. Lawyer’s Escape Plan Quiz: http://bit.ly/lawyersescaperoutequiz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megansmileyesq/...
Mar 12, 2021•13 min•Ep. 53
Elena Deutsch is the founder and CEO of WILL (Women Interested in Leaving Law). With a background in executive and leadership coaching, Elena guides women through the process of discovering what they want, leveraging their strengths, and researching inspiring new possibilities. In today’s episode, we discuss: Many of Elena’s clients want to do work that’s more meaningful to them Try saying “I do lawyering” versus “I am a lawyer” We are all creative, we just have to access it The power of the Str...
Mar 09, 2021•39 min•Ep. 52
Jay Harrington is the Co-Founder and Chief Strategist at Harrington Communications. Jay went from a big law bankruptcy practice to a portfolio career that spans from marketing & PR to training & coaching to book author. Jay highlights two things I think are so important. First, you can design your life. You can pick the work that supports the life you want to live, rather than live the lifestyle demanded by a certain job. Second, he talks about making yourself your own best client and co...
Mar 02, 2021•46 min•Season 1Ep. 51
A gratitude practice will not only make you feel happier on a day-to-day basis, but it will help transform you into the kind of person who sees possibilities, rather than limitations. Lawyers’s Escape Call: http://bit.ly/escapecall Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megansmileyesq
Feb 26, 2021•9 min•Ep. 50
