The Lawyer's Escape Pod

By Megan Smiley

Megan Smiley interviews recovering lawyers, career advisors, and other professionals for advice and inspiration on transitioning out of law practice.... more

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FAQs about The Lawyer's Escape Pod:

How many episodes does The Lawyer's Escape Pod have?

The podcast currently has 110 episodes available.

The Lawyer's Escape Pod episodes:

April 06, 2021Rho Thomas balances practice, a side business, motherhood, and tackling law school debt
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 holding to them. Rho’s story is a great example of what it looks like to be purposeful and committed to creating the life you want.
In this episode, we discuss:
Rho enjoys practicing trademark law, but it isn’t her sole priority
Rho moved to a reduced hour schedule when she became a mom
She wanted to work even fewer hours, but had to balance the finances first
The school debt between her and her doctor husband was significant
The vision of the life they want has kept them motivated to pay it down
She found examples of people doing this, which proved to her that it’s possible
Rho started a blog about their debt journey, which has evolved into her starting her own financial coaching business
The side business organically grew out of her natural interests
Rho has been successful at setting boundaries at work so she doesn’t burn out
The pandemic has shown her she can slow down, have her business, be a mom, and still practice
Rho’s Website: https://www.rhothomas.com/coaching/
Lawyer’s Escape Plan Quiz: http://bit.ly/lawyersescaperoutequiz
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megansmileyesq/
...more
35min
April 02, 2021 Illegal Design: Less Hustle, More Flow
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
...more
12min
March 30, 2021Kat Johnston leaves her high intensity in-house attorney job purposefully plan-less
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 along the path isn’t the same as working hard at figuring out a path
Kat enjoyed the clarity of mission working in-house and the ability to be more herself, have room to innovate and be creative
In-house practice at a Silicon Valley company is still an intense place to work
Kat was really burned out physically and emotionally
She realized that she had to take self-care more seriously and set real boundaries at work
You can start being the person you want to be before you leave your job
The more she took care of herself, the more it made her question “what are we all doing?”
As she shifted, she was more out of sync with her colleagues
For Kat, she came to decide that she didn’t need to have the answers before leaving her job
She left with no plan for a year - other than that she’d planned out the money piece with her financial advisor
She sold her home, sold most of her things, and traveled for a year
The first year was not about figuring it out - it was about allowing herself to reset and live differently
She then spent another year traveling the US in an airstream, but more focused on thinking about next steps
She’s now in the early stages of building her own wellness & nature retreat
Lawyer’s Escape Plan Quiz: http://bit.ly/lawyersescaperoutequiz
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megansmileyesq/

Kat’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wildkatwandering/
...more
51min
March 26, 2021 Illegal Design: Action Breeds Confidence
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/
...more
11min
March 23, 2021Vanessa Kuljis is a BigLaw litigator turned Gallup certified Strengths Coach
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 undergrad to law school into a litigation practice
As the child of immigrants, the idea of being a professional working in a big fancy building seemed like the ultimate achievement
Vanessa realized she really wanted more interaction with people, and more emphasis on relationship-building in her work
She also started to realize she wanted to build something, she just wasn’t sure what yet
Vanessa moved to NY for a year for her husband’s job and decided to explore other interests rather than practice
Ultimately, Vanessa went into higher education, working in student services at a law school
As part of her job, Vanessa got the Gallup CliftonStrengths certification
She ended up consulting on strengths on the side and realized this was the business she wanted to build
In leaving her job to do her new business full-time, Vanessa realized how true it is that courage isn’t absence of fear, it’s taking the leap despite your fear
It may look from the outside like a move was sudden and easy, but it’s just because you don’t see all of the the thought and processing going on behind the scenes
Strengths coaching walks you through 3 stages: awareness, appreciation, application
You often can’t see your strengths because they are so inherent to who you are
It’s a much higher return to invest in your strengths than try to improve on your weaknesses
Vanessa’s Website: www.BloomRiseCo.com

Lawyer’s Escape Plan Quiz: http://bit.ly/lawyersescaperoutequiz
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megansmileyesq/
...more
59min
March 19, 2021 Illegal Design: Experiment, Have Fun, and Be Less Boring
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/
...more
19min
March 16, 2021Vicki Huebner leaves litigation for law school career services and ultimately her own dog training company
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, she’s still working in higher education. But, she has simultaneously pursued her real passion for dog training and started her own business. She figured why wait until retirement to start doing what she really loves.
In this episode, we discuss:
Vicki’s parents had pushed her towards law as a stable and lucrative career
Vicki’s practice ranged from a clerkship, to BigLaw litigation, to small firm litigation
Vicki saw the partners at the small firm be so passionate about the work and having fun
That’s when she realized law practice was probably just not her thing
Somewhat serendipitously, Vicki came across a job in law school career services
Although it was a bit of an impulsive move and Vicki thought she might return to practice in some form, she’s now 25 years into higher education
She enjoys the scholarly environment
At some point, Vicki felt she was outgrowing career services, but was able to pivot to a more strategic area of the law school in online program development
Vicki realized she liked the business strategy and operations, which is what she’d liked from the small firm
Higher education can be very slow to evolve and bureaucratic
Vicki followed her passion for dogs and started training them and volunteering at the humane society
Her natural talent for dog training came through, and she now has a small side business
Lawyer’s Escape Plan Quiz: http://bit.ly/lawyersescaperoutequiz
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megansmileyesq/
...more
46min
March 12, 2021 Illegal Design: Why Excellence at Work is Stunting Your Career
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/
...more
13min
March 09, 2021Elena Deutsch helps women leave the law
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 StrengthsFinder test
The concept of zone of genius
We often don’t recognize our own strengths because they are so natural to us
Lawyer’s Escape Plan Quiz: http://bit.ly/lawyersescaperoutequiz
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megansmileyesq/

Elena’s website: https://womeninterestedinleavinglaw.com/
...more
39min
March 02, 2021Jay Harrington leaves a big law bankruptcy practice to start a marketing & PR company with his wife
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 committing time to pursuing your priorities, whatever you decide they are. Without that, you’re stuck in a reactive mode that makes it very difficult to move forward in a meaningful way.
In this episode, we discuss:
Jay had a relatively positive experience as a big law associate, but found he had the entrepreneurial bug
Jay jumped into a marketing business with his wife, a graphic designer
The company provided him with an outlet for more writing, which he enjoyed
The benefits of taking a chance before the golden handcuffs and family obligations take full hold
During the Great Recession, as a hedge, Jay started doing some bankruptcy work again, which snowballed into a small law firm
3 years into that, he burned out on doing both law and marketing
The way Jay decided which route to take was by deciding what he wanted his life to look like
Jay and his wife decided their priority was moving to a small town where they could get outdoors often. So, that led him to lean into the marketing business, but do it remotely
Jay now has portfolio career of marketing, consulting, trainings, and writing
Find the time to prioritize yourself, or you’ll stay stuck
Lawyer’s Escape Plan Quiz: http://bit.ly/lawyersescaperoutequiz
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megansmileyesq/

Jay’s Website: https://www.hcommunications.biz/
...more
46min

FAQs about The Lawyer's Escape Pod:

How many episodes does The Lawyer's Escape Pod have?

The podcast currently has 110 episodes available.