LawHer

Defense attorney Jacqui Ford is the lawyer she wished her dad had. When she was young, his felony conviction derailed Jacqui's life, sending ripple effects throughout the family. Resolved to defend the accused, she was the first to go to college and receive a J.D. After passing the bar she spent six years as an Oklahoma County Public Defender, representing 3,000 people charged with felonies. Awarded the peer-nominated Clarence Darrow award she stood at the podium knowing she could make a stronger impact.

In 2011 she opened her firm Jacquelyn Ford Law. Since then she has graduated from the Trial Lawyers College and received Top 100 Trial Lawyers three years in a row.

On today's episode, I sat down with Jacqui to discuss motivation and finding your true values, effective rehabilitation, and the future of Oklahoma County.

Founding partner of Albany-based Wallace Turner Law, Raysheea Turner, along with her partner Kim Wallace, are actual trailblazers for black women in law. The duo launched their remote-first law office in 2020. With a mission to heal a broken system, they help renters become first-time homeowners and ambitious entrepreneurs create thriving businesses.

I spoke with Raysheea about the importance of creating strong support systems and how to make a substantial impact in the communities you wish to serve. We also cover how to build a business without sacrificing personal life or happiness.

CEO of Legal Back Office, Jaimee Hall along with co-founder Sarah Stock, teaches attorneys how to increase profitability through systemization, technology, and client development. Legal Back Office manages the business side of small to midsize law firms so that attorneys can focus on what matters most - their clients.

Jaimee is acutely aware of the challenges unique to women in law. Her insightful advice for woman attorneys is actionable and practical. I talked with her about what it really takes to start a law firm, the importance of early goal settings for founding partners, and what it means to be a bad-ass boss and an imperfect human.

Successful trial lawyers understand empathy, effectively communicating the humanity of their client to the jury. For over a decade Lauren Wood, Senior Lawyer at Omega Law Group Injury & Accident Attorneys, has advocated for personal injury victims in California, obtaining hundreds of six and seven-figure verdicts and settlements - in no small part thanks to her commitment to travel. Lauren believes that travel is an ideal way to gain human lessons on understanding, compassion, and empathy.

Named a Southern California Super Lawyers Rising Star four years in a row, Lauren's career is a perfect example of passion inspiring innovation. Curiosity led her from civil defense to personal injury law where she thrived in trial and earned a position as a partner for over 10 years. I sat down with Lauren to discuss her career and how she is creating supportive and educational spaces through travel for women in law and The Women in Trial Travel Summit.

Sara Williams is an attorney, an educator, and a top-notch personal brand builder. On top of a thriving legal career at Alexander Shunnarah Trial Attorneys (where she recovered more than $15 million for her clients just five years into her time at the firm), Sara dedicates a lot of time to mentoring, advising, and advocating for professional women and young attorneys via her blog, newsletter, and YouTube channel where she unpacks practical strategies for building a successful legal career. I spoke with Sara about the importance of mentorship, the barriers to entry facing women and people of color in the legal field, and how she defines career success at this stage in her life.

LawHer, a new podcast from Rankings.io, is here to shine a light on some of the brightest and boldest women in the legal industry. From attorneys to judges, entrepreneurs to politicians, we will be discussing their unique career paths, as well as the tools they developed along the way. Coming Spring 2022.