Lawyerpreneur

After more than two years of doing the Lawyerprenuer podcast, I've decided to hang it up to make room for other things. In this finale episode with Barbara Hinske, she and I talk about strategic quitting and the next venture that she and I are embarking on together.

 Bonnie Kistler is our guest in Episode 66 of Lawyerpreneur, in which we discuss her most recent thriller novel, The Cage, and how she came up with the story concept. We talk about the influence of our legal careers and experiences on our fiction writing (mine is done under the pen name, J. W. Judge). And Bonnie talks about her appearance on the game show Jeopardy! in May 2022. 

Suzan Hixon is the founder of Legally Blissed, the coaching business she uses to help lawyers structure a practice that suits their needs. In our candid conversation, Suzan talks about her own mental health struggles and how that enabled her to shine a light on mental health issues within the legal industry. She has not only become an advocate for others, but through her business is showing other lawyers how to advocate for themselves.

For other conversations about mental health in the legal profession, check out past episodes with Brian Cuban (Ep. 14) and Annie Little (Ep. 64). 

For Episode 64 of Lawyerpreneur, Annie Little and I had one of those conversations that I thought about for a long time afterward. She is a career coach who helps other lawyers understand and recognize the skills that they have developed and put those in the context of how they fit in the job market. What really stood out to me is how ineffective we tend to be at self-assessment and the value someone else can provide in identifying for us what we don't see in ourselves.

When Annie Little figured out that practicing law wasn't the best use of her unique skill set, she had to figure out what was. Now she spends her time helping others do the same thing.

You can find Annie at her website, jdnation.com, and sign up for her weekly LinkedIn newsletter, Lawyer Love Letters.

In Episode 63 of Lawyerpreneur, we talk with Kevin Pratt about why he focuses on bringing out the humanity of lawyers in his podcast, The Human Lawyer. Kevin talks about having a bias toward action (a topic we also discussed with Colin Levy in Episode 62) and how that has driven him through his legal career and added him in navigating an unsuccessful business.

You'll note that my conversation with Kevin Pratt starts somewhat unconventionally as it actually carried over from our pre-recording conversation. But it was pertinent enough that I didn't want to leave it out.

In Episode 62 of Lawyerpreneur, Colin Levy talks about having a bias toward action, career evolution and non-linear paths, being a legal tech evangelist, and being open on social media about difficult circumstances.

 In Episode 61 of Lawyerpreneur, with Margo Weinstein about navigating the intersection of law practice, parenthood, and wanderlust. We also trade some travel stories and discuss Weinstein's new travel memoir, Jalan-Jalan: A Journey of Wanderlust and Motherhood (link). This is an episode you won't want to miss. Learn more about Weinstein at her website. 

In Episode 60 of Lawyerprenuer, Professor Jonah Perlin of Georgetown Law Center talks about the feeling of putting billable hours behind him when he entered academia and began teach legal practice and advanced legal writing. We discuss the changes in classroom instruction that have developed out of the pandemic and the ways in which he works to build and maintain relationships with his students. Professor Perlin talks about his motivation for launching an interview-based podcast, How I Lawyer, and unexpected outcomes from having the podcast. M.C. Sungaila returns to co-host the episode.

In Episode 59 of Lawyerpreneur, I talked with Norman Bacal and M.C. Sungaila in what felt very much like an extraordinary after-dinner conversation. We discussed the importance of teaching the business of law practice to the next generation of lawyers, and how they teamed up to write a series of articles for The American Lawyer on that topic. We talked about the current climate of lawyers changing firms, which is something that I've done within the last six months.

But my favorite part of our conversation was about failure. It's something that is both stressful and inevitable. And both Norman Bacal and M.C. Sungaila shared insights about finding success on the far side of their failures. 

As the managing member of Levine Family Law Group and the CEO of Hello Divorce, Erin Levine is the prototype of the kind of lawyerpreneur that this podcast has always sought to highlight. She is also using her platform and entrepreneurship to help provide access to justice to those in need. Levine is a founding member of the recently-launched Justice Technology Association, where my co-host today, Maya Markovich, is the executive director.

During the interview, Levine talks about experiencing burnout with her business and law practice, and coming out on the other side of it. A part of the burnout she experienced was the disintegration of the meaning and satisfaction she derived from problem-solving for others in her family law practice. When she realized that traditional family law approaches weren't meeting people's needs, she reached for a new method and a new model. And Hello Divorce was born, allowing Erin Levine to incorporate her creativity back into a business that would meet the needs of more people.