The Jabot

Kathryn talks with Maria Melendez about why she Ieft the practice of law to become Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Sidley. They chat about the unique challenges in this role and how she leverages her past experience. They discuss setting goals and benchmarks in the D&I space, the kinds of programs that pay the biggest dividends in the D&I world, and how a firm encourages attorneys to participate in D&I efforts, particularly during a pandemic when attorneys are already stretched thin.

Episode Resources

• https://www.sidley.com/en/people/m/melendez-maria Episode Highlights
• Wanting to earn some money - 3:59
• The demands of a big law career - 4:58
• Being a big law attorney - 6:32
• Her current role at Sidley - 6:51
• Advancing diversity in the legal profession - 7:34
• Her goals and benchmarks to achieve - 9:39
• The lack of inclusion - 13:47
• We need to have more inclusion - 14:30
• The diversity and inclusion department - 15:47
• The culture of the firm - 18:21
• It's so important to learn and listen - 20:05
• Let's learn from each other more - 21:40 Subscribe, Share and Review To get the next episode subscribe with your favorite podcast player.
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MiAngel Cody and Kathryn chat about her passion for criminal defense work and the problems with the three-strikes law. They talk about the role of social media and Kim Kardashian in justice work, about how the #90DaysOfFreedom Campaign got started, and why The Decarceration Collective is so important. MiAngel has been labeled a "Legal Legend" a "Changemaker" and a "Powerhouse Litigator" and it turns out she's great at giving advice to lawyers who are getting started in their careers and want to work on reform issues. They chat about the successes she's had in this work and also the setbacks. MiAngel also describes how she balances the work with her personal life and recharges so she's able to take on the next fight.

Episode Resources

• https://www.instagram.com/lawyermiangel/?hl=en
• https://www.thedecarcerationcollective.org/ Episode Highlights
• Why she decided to go to law school - 1:15
• Deciding to change her major - 2:58
• Working for a Federal Judge - 3:46
• Getting into the mind of judges - 6:14
• She loves telling stories - 7:48
• Some systemic injustices - 11:51
• Making the process better - 13:00
• 90 Days of Freedom campaign - 14:57
• The power of social media - 17:07
• What justice means - 19:10
• Treat every case as new - 21:30
• Being a traveler and loving live music - 24:19
• The lowest low she had experienced - 26:17
• What she can say to younger lawyers - 28:01 Subscribe, Share, and Review To get the next episode subscribe with your favorite podcast player.
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Kathryn speaks with Jennifer McGlone, co-founder of Law Champs. They chat about why she decided to start the organization, how that experience was impacted by the pandemic and the goals of Law Champs. They also discuss the Biden administration's recent change in transgender healthcare protections and what that means for folks on the ground and why they're so important.

Episode Resources

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-mcglone-ab98858
• https://www.lawchamps.com/lawchamps-team Episode Highlights
• Why she decided to go to law school - 1:14
• Choosing to pursue law school - 1:48
• Understanding the procedure aspects - 4:02
• Social justice issues - 8:10
• People being bullied - 14:53
• Women's reproductive rights - 17:59
• Wanting to make a difference as a lawyer - 19:03
• Challenges from starting Law Champs from scratch - 20:53

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Kathryn talks with Becky Greenfield and Cristina Rodriguez of Wolfe Pincavage about the new normal -- working from home. They chat about how WFH has changed the way you practice and to figure out how to grow professionally in the virtual environment, and how business development plays a role in that. They discuss what firm leaders can do to better mentor team members and foster collaborative environments.

Episode Resources

• https://wolfepincavage.com/team/becky-greenfield/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/becky-greenfield-83b0a988
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristinarodriguez22/
• https://wolfepincavage.com/team/cristina-rodriguez/ Episode Highlights
• Why Becky went to law school - 1:21
• Why Cristina went to law school - 3:35
• Taking knowledge from cases - 6:34
• Moving to a more transactional firm - 7:57
• A piece of advice for younger lawyers - 9:38
• Law school tries to prepare you - 10:17
• Your work matters - 12:33
• It all depends on the type of work that you want to do - 13:50
• Finding people to connect with - 16:44
• How working from home has changed the way to practice - 17:37
• The flexibility that it creates is fantastic but you're always "on" - 18:04
• Improving opportunities for diversification - 23:01
• Promoting diversity is a matter of communication - 24:13

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Kathryn chats with Jenner & Block's Co-Managing Partners, Katya Jestin, and Randy Mehrberg. They discuss their overall philosophy for managing a Biglaw firm, prioritizing diversity, the challenges in trying to create a unified culture across a giant firm, and how the pandemic heightened those issues. They also talk about Jenner & Block representation of Stacey Abrams' Fair Fight Action and the need to modernize the Voting Rights Act.

Episode Resources

• https://jenner.com/about/managingpartner
• https://jenner.com/people/RandallMehrberg
• https://jenner.com/people/KatyaJestin Episode Highlights
• Starting with a vision - 1:24
• How diversity became a pillar for the firm - 2:55
• The challenges of creating a culture - 6:31
• Create an environment of trust - 7:32
• Prioritizing the well-being of our people - 10:44
• Growing during the pandemic - 11:49
• Being a part of something bigger - 14:42
• There are great law firms - 22:10
• Their long-term goals - 23:14 Subscribe, Share, and Review To get the next episode subscribe with your favorite podcast player.
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Kathryn talks with Sona Pancholy, president of Meritas about the twists and turns of her career that took her to Meritas. They also talk about her goals as president and how she leverages her own personal story in achieving it. Also, they discuss the recently launched Black Lawyers Forum and Women's Leadership Congress and why that was such a priority in the wake of the murder of George Floyd.

Episode Resources

• https://twitter.com/spancholy?lang=en
• [email protected]
• https://www.meritas.org/team
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/spancholy/ Episode Highlights
• What's going on at Meritas - 1:30
• The benefits of joining a network like Meritas - 2:20
• Remaining strong and competitive - 3:12
• Where she started her career - 6:13
• Her strategic vision for the network - 10:35
• Having a global perspective - 12:52
• A comprehensive way to serve firms - 13:50
• George Floyd's murder - 14:58
• Providing something that would add value to firms - 16:02
• Accountability and actionable items - 21:17
• We want firms to be competitive - 24:40
• The practice of law is fascinating - 27:00 Subscribe, Share, and Review To get the next episode subscribe with your favorite podcast player.
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Kathryn talks with Brandi Russell, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at Balch & Bingham about her new position and how her career has twisted to bring her here. They also talk about the goals and benchmarks for the firm and two D&I initiatives the firm is passionate about -- the Balch Business Boost and Susan B Livingston Boot Camp. They discuss how to sell the ROI on diversity for those that may take a more lukewarm approach and how to bridge the gap between diversity efforts in law schools and law firms.

Episode Resources

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandi-a-russell-25b11457 Episode Highlights
• How she used her degree to get her where she is today - 2:22
• Setting goals and benchmarks for the firm - 3:25
• Focusing on recruiting - 4:31
• The beauty of this program - 5:56
• Focusing on internal growth first- 8:01
• Supporting diversity efforts - 11:51
• Recognizing keys to success - 12:52
• Her perspective about the inclusive culture - 15:49
• You need problem-solving skills - 18:04
• Why did she go to law school? - 18:44
• Some of her failures and successes in her career - 20:10
• Hosting a program virtually - 24:40 Subscribe, Share and ReviewTo get the next episode subscribe with your favorite podcast player.
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Kathryn is joined by Berkeley Law Professor Amanda L. Tyler. She's also a former clerk of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the co-author of the Justice's final book JUSTICE, JUSTICE THOU SHALT PURSUE: A Life's Work Fighting for a More Perfect Union. They discuss how Amanda went from clerk to writing this book with Justice Ginsburg. They dive into the book as Justice Ginsburg's final work, and how it frames her legacy. They talk about Justice Ginsburg's penchant for writing powerful dissents and what RBG's perspective was on that. They chat about what it was like working with Justice Ginsburg and how clerking was different than putting the book together.

Episode Resources

• https://www.law.berkeley.edu/our-faculty/faculty-profiles/amanda-tyler/ Episode Highlights
• How the idea of the book came about - 1:12
• Working as hard as ever - 2:45
• Several publishers did not want to publish the book - 5:03
• Loyalty to a friend - 6:13
• Her final speeches - 8:30
• Characterizing her legacy - 10:00
• The bigger points of legacy - 11:03
• She hates to lose - 15:25
• She was speaking to the future - 16:39
• A special message that she wanted to leave - 22:11
• Opening the door to help students - 23:47
• How to think about the law - 24:13

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Kathryn talks with Kerry Shad and Sharita Whitaker, both partners at Smith Anderson. They talked about why they went to law school in the first place and how they found the practice areas that are right for them. They also get into Diversity & Inclusion nitty gritty like what D&I means to them, what D&I initiatives are necessary for law firms, the advantages of D&I programs in mid-sized firms compared to Biglaw, the impact of D&I on recruiting efforts, and how recruiting efforts compare to retention efforts. Also, they discuss how they balance the D&I efforts and firm management generally with their legal practices.

Episode Resources

• [email protected]
• [email protected] Episode Highlights
• Being a lawyer - 4:17
• Wanting to do real estate work - 7:24
• The opportunity to work in real estate - 9:14
• Being interested in litigation - 9:07
• Trying to prevent people's problems - 10:30
• What does diversity and inclusion mean to them - 11:32
• D&I is everything - 13:32
• Seeing the growth of D&I efforts - 22:04
• Recruiting and retention - 23:43
• It's all about opportunity - 25:25
• Being a part of a very diverse team - 32:50 Subscribe, Share, and Review To get the next episode subscribe with your favorite podcast player.
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Kathryn is joined by Jacqueline Duval, a Partner with New York-based law firm Herrick, Feinstein's Tax Department, and the leader of the firm's Family Office group. They talk about why she went to law school in the first place, how she settled on tax law as a specialty. Jacqueline also has advice for associates trying to figure out their ideal practice area. They also talk about the twists in her career before achieving the brass ring of the profession, law firm partner, and about Jacqueline co-founding an accelerator law firm for women entrepreneurs and how she uses her current platform to help create space for women in male-dominated spaces like tech and family office investing.

Episode Resources

• [email protected]
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqueline-duval-58672810 Episode Highlights
• Her legal career - 4:59
• Finding where you belong - 7:23
• Being an expert generalist - 9:17
• Skills that she had developed in her career - 12:05
• Credibility is really important for a lawyer - 17:59
• Thinking like a lawyer - 19:08
• What your client objective is - 19:56
• Creating relationships with your colleagues - 22.31
• Finding a way to be authentic - 24:09

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