What You're About with Chad Aboud

I used to take others’ career opinions as commandments.

But he only took them as data points.

And that let him design the career of his dreams.

By April of 2023, Nolan Ritzel had done all of the things:

- Success in Biglaw

- AGC at Shopify

- GC at DC Bank

Impressive titles. Great money. Proud parents.

But something was off.

He wanted his career to fit into his life.

Not the other way around.

So when Brett Colvin and Team Goodlawyer created the Fractional GC offering, Nolan walked away from his impressive title.

And bet on himself.

In this week’s episode of the What You’re About x Goodlawyer podcast, Nolan shares how he built the Fractional GC career of his dreams.

With the type of work he loves, flexibility he wants and as much (or more) money as he made before.

If you’ve ever wondered how to design your career around your gifts, values and personal goals, this episode is for you.

In this interview you’ll take away:

02:00: When it isn’t enough to achieve all of the things

04:04: A rare LinkedIn post sheds new light

07:05: The best parts of both worlds

11:00: Taking opinions as data points, not commandments

15:00: Focusing on greatest fit, not most opportunities

20:00: Loved ones might not get alternative career paths

25:10: Is there a false sense of security in a full-time job?

25:55: How the money part works as a Fractional Lawyer

29:05: The flexibility of a bottom-line lifestyle (instead of top line)

35:30: What Nolan values in this next phase of his career

Episode Resources:

Learn more from Nolan Ritzel on how to design your fractional legal career here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolan-ritzel/.

Learn more about how Goodlawyer drives the business forward, on budget here: www.goodlawyer.ca.

From Anchorage to Toronto in a market crash.

And from BigLaw to In-House, to BigLaw and back again.

Angie Jackson, Director of Legal at Uber and Pam Hinman, AGC at the University of Calgary know what it takes to bet on themselves.

They realized early on that testing themselves was part of designing an intentional career.

Careers filled with twists and turns they could never have expected.

But that allowed them to grow.

And led them to where they are now.

In this week’s episode of the What You’re About x Goodlawyer podcast, we have a double interview with two legal leaders proud of their atypical Career paths.

They share their struggles, their reflections and what they’d advise their earlier selves if they were doing it all again.

If you’re thinking that maybe the traditional paths aren’t for you, this episode has all the inspiration and tools you need to take that step forward.

In this interview you’ll take away:

00:55: Lots of overlapping history

03:45: Their first impressions of each other at U of Calgary

06:20: Opportunistic vs. reactive career moves (from coast to coast)

12:00: What mattered most to you in a Law Firm?

17:45: How authenticity is a culture and talent builder

20:45: Signals in interviews that tell you if it's a fit

24:50: Going back to the Firm after being In-House

29:00: Building your own boundaries and dreams

31:45: What creating community does for your Career

36:10: How to figure out what motivates you

39:40: Intentionality is the antidote to fear with atypical career paths

42:40: The scariest part to learn when you go In-House

Episode Resources:

Learn more from Angie Jackson and Pam Hinman on how to build an intentionally designed career here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelamjacksonjd/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamela-hinman-807376109/.

To uncover your natural gifts and elevate your Career or your Team, connect with me here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/chadaboud/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.chadaboud.com⁠⁠

Learn more about how Goodlawyer moves the business faster here: www.goodlawyer.ca

His parents were happy he was working at a prestigious Law Firm.

But his dream was always pushing him further.

So he ran after it.

Figuratively and literally.

Down hallways. Through cold calls. And slammed phones.

Manav Deol grew up playing competitive sport. And very early on he knew he’d do everything to make sport his Career too.

In this week’s episode of the What You’re About x Goodlawyer podcast, we interview the Chief Administrative Officer & General Counsel of Vancouver Whitecaps FC, a franchise in Major League Soccer.

He’s thoughtful. He’s resilient. He’s living his dream.

If you’re trying to figure out how to turn your dream into your reality, this episode is for you.

In this interview you’ll take away:

02:20: The day you find out your dream came true

05:00: When your passion is meant to be your profession

10:40: Calling everyone you know to pursue your goal

15:50: Rewiring our minds to recognize our wins

19:50: Your loved ones see it when you love your work

24:04: Navigating family life with an atypical career

27:00: The Future of Law for a GC in a lean legal team

33:55: Best career advice for earlier Manav

38:45: There's more opportunity for Lawyers than you think

Episode Resources:

Learn more from Manav Deol and about the Vancouver Whitecaps here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manav-d-70435572/ and https://www.whitecapsfc.com/.

To uncover your natural gifts and elevate your Career or your Team, connect with me here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/chadaboud/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.chadaboud.com⁠⁠

Learn more about how Goodlawyer moves the business faster here: www.goodlawyer.ca.

She’s faced lies, slander and ridicule.

But she remains a warrior for the Legal industry.

Having no interest in the status quo and proving that empathy and curiosity make money.

Leena Yousefi has absorbed more hate than most in the legal industry could ever imagine.

Yet she’s turned that negative energy into fuel to become CEO of YLaw, the largest female led Law Firm in Canada, an author, voted Top 25 Lawyers in Canada and one of Canada's 100 Most Powerful Women, ranked Top 10 Innovators in Canada, named 40 under 40 and a Lexpert Rising Star.

But Leena doesn’t care about all of that.

She cares about shaking up the Legal Industry.

Making it a place where everyone feels like they belong.

And she won’t stop no matter what the haters say.

In this episode, one of the most courageous voices of the Legal industry, shares how she’s fought back from lies and slander to build a Law Firm that leverages empathy and inclusivity to drive growth.  

If you’re looking for hope for the Future of Law, this episode is for you.

Because Leena is the future right now.

In this interview you’ll take away:

02:45: How to be courageous in the face of misinformation

06:45: Taking risks & being unafraid (even when you're anxious)

10:25: How YLaw treats Lawyers better and makes more money doing it

15:20: It's our duty to make the industry better, so give first

21:45: What happens when you share what you care about

26:30: Using your natural gifts & shaking up the Legal industry

30:30: Best advice for earlier Leena

32:30: On lies, slander and mental health

36:30: Acknowledging uncomfortable feelings to move through them

37:15: Creating a safe space to be yourself at work

39:15: Why empathy and inclusivity are business drivers

Episode Resources:

Learn more from Leena Yousefi and about YLaw here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leena-yousefi-7932b232/ and https://www.ylaw.ca/.

To uncover your natural gifts and elevate your Career or your Team, connect with me here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/chadaboud/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.chadaboud.com⁠⁠

If Lawyers have a monopoly on legal services, nothing changes.

Many talk about legal innovation. He lives it.

Whether it's Mitch Kowalski’s books about how Lawyers can avoid extinction or his international projects with governments and massive brands around the world...

he walks his talk.

In this episode, as usual Mitch pulls no punches as he shares how the legal industry needs to change to improve client services and lawyer well-being. He also shows us how other countries have already been doing this for decades.

If you’ve ever wondered why the legal industry is so slow to change and what we can do about it today, this episode is right down your alley.

In this interview you’ll take away:

02:25: Why Mitch left the BigLaw Partnership track

07:00: Being introspective and betting on yourself

10:15: The most meaningful part of being a small firm owner

14:30: What your friends say when you leave BigLaw

16:30: Should Lawyers be the only ones to own Law Firms?

25:30: How to get clients & business teams to love you

36:25: Advice for earlier Mitch: find your people

38:55: Defining your own career success

44:30: How can AI actually help Lawyers right now?

Episode Resources:

Learn more from Mitch Kowalski about the latest trends in legal industry innovation here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitchkowalski/ and https://kowalski.ca/.

To learn more from Mitch, sign up for the Future of Law Summit here: summit.goodlawyer.ca. It’s virtual and free so there are no barriers to get this year’s most entertaining 4 hours of CLE!

To uncover your natural gifts and elevate your Career or your Team, connect with me here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/chadaboud/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.chadaboud.com⁠⁠

“Keep coming up with your ideas — but keep them to yourself.”

This was the nail in the coffin for Brett’s BigLaw career.

As a lifelong entrepreneur, he’d heard “No” before.

As a kid, selling found golf balls on the fairways.

In college, selling house painting services.

But this was different.

This was his industry – the legal industry – telling him that they didn’t value his creativity, his agency, his innovation.

So he left.

Heading straight to grandma’s basement.

And within just 5 years, he built a company, Goodlawyer, that would be named 15th fastest growing company in Canada. With a roster of seasoned Lawyers coast-to-coast providing fractional legal support to incredible companies in a way that actually fits their goals and budget.

In this fascinating episode, Brett’s passion and humor are on full display as he shares his journey from walking away from BigLaw, to founding a small business, to becoming CEO of the 15th fastest growing company in Canada.

If you’ve ever thought about designing a career that better fits your life, or wished you had seasoned legal support in a way that fits your goals and budget, this one’s for you.

Because, thankfully for the legal industry, Brett will never keep his ideas to himself.

In this interview you’ll take away:

03:10: What’s your scariest BigLaw moment?

06:30: How to see your inner entrepreneur

13:00: A big change as opportunity (not failure)

20:30: Deeply caring about Lawyer careers

28:15: How Goodlawyer helps build community & new skills

33:35: Lawyers deserve a career that fits their lives

38:30: What Brett can't believe about where Goodlawyer is today

39:15: The education bridge for fractional legal careers

47:30: Advice for young Brett: "Keep truckin, don't settle"

53:40: Tips for choosing an atypical Lawyer path

57:00: My biggest impact over the next 5 years

1:01:10: Future of Law Summit on Nov 21: your brand, your community, your skills – sign up for free at

Episode Resources:

Learn more from Brett Colvin about how Goodlawyer helps Lawyers build careers that fit their lives & gives incredible companies access to seasoned Lawyers in a way that fits their goals and budget

Sign up for the Future of Law Summit here: summit.goodlawyer.ca. It’s virtual and free so there are no

To uncover your natural gifts and elevate your Career or your Team, connect with me here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/chadaboud/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.chadaboud.com⁠

She was working late on Christmas Eve. Feeling the pressure of getting a deal done while her kids were asking for her. A painful moment many Lawyers experience.

But for Amy Grubb, it was the final straw.

She didn’t know what was next but she knew it was something different.

And it was something big.

In the conversations that followed with her community, Amy described her goals and what she believed was her purpose. And it was that community she created that rallied around her as she built multiple businesses.

Now as an Account Executive at Affinity and Lawyerist, Amy helps Law Firm owners grow their businesses.

With reflectiveness and contentment, Amy shares her journey from leaving BigLaw, to building small businesses and becoming as a renowned advisor to Law Firms across North America.

And she shares how you can intentionally design your career too, if you build your community first.

In this interview you’ll take away:

04:20: How does community make Law Firms more successful?

07:45: Easy ways to quickly build your community right now

12:30: Does it matter if our actions aren’t purely altruistic?

14:00: How to be brave and design an atypical career path

18:25: The "I'm leaving the Firm” conversation

22:40: Taking a chance on yourself

28:49: For you, For me vs. Universal truths

31:30: What is the Future of Law for Amy?

35:20: What you need to know about designing an atypical career

37:55: Long lost friends asking each other the deep stuff

Episode Resources:

Learn more from Amy Grubb about how to bring out your entrepreneurial side and build your community here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amygrubb/  and https://www.affinityconsulting.com/

To uncover your natural gifts and elevate your Career or your Team, connect with me: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/chadaboud/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.chadaboud.com⁠⁠

Learn more about how Goodlawyer is helping Lawyers build careers that fit their lives, and giving incredible companies access to seasoned Lawyers in a way that fits their goals and budget here: www.goodlawyer.ca.

Sarah had the “perfect” General Counsel role. Exciting scale-up. Enjoying her team. Receiving positive feedback.

And then she walked away.

Leaving it all behind to build something that only she could.

Because she realized: she was the niche.

Learn how Sarah went from being a SaaS GC in Dublin to becoming a globally sought after Community Builder, B2B

In her passionate, creative and friendly style, Sarah reflects on how she leverages her past experiences and skills to fuel her entrepreneurial ventures and why, for her, doing so hasn’t been nearly as scary as others said it would be.

In this interview you’ll take away:

03:20: Initial 6 months: Sarah's growth, goals and fears

07:20: Making peace with pivoting

11:15: How to build confidence when you're forced to adapt

16:33: Why being a scale-up GC was a great fit

20:25: And why Sarah walked away from it

26:00: Celebrating greatness sends your signal into the world

32:30: You are your niche: offer-market fit, investing and being a VC

43:00: Fears that will actually be ok

48:45: Where Sarah will be in 2025

51:35: Advice for earlier Sarah, what to know about atypical careers, and reflections on 6 months as an entrepreneur

58:00: How to design a Career at the Future of Law, that suits you

Episode Resources:

Learn more from Sarah Irwin about how to bring out your entrepreneurial side and build your community here:

To uncover your natural gifts and elevate your Career or your Team, connect with me: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/chadaboud/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.chadaboud.com⁠⁠

How does someone go from a Guamanian jail, to a successful legal practice in St. Louis, to living in the wilderness 3 hours north of Toronto writing some of Legal’s most eye-catching LinkedIn posts for a living?

Tony Albrecht’s lawyer life has been anything but typical.

He’s walked away from the Partnership track.

He was a digital nomad years before it was a thing.

He’s worked, and seen the inside of a prison, in Guam.

And each time he bet on himself, he got closer to uncovering his unique gift:

Telling the stories of Lawyers and Law Firms to grow their brands.

In his always contemplative and probing style, Tony walks us through how he’s made massive career changes, build skills he never thought were relevant to his career, and launch a rapidly growing creative agency, CONTENDER, that turns Lawyer voices into powerful business development tools on LinkedIn.

In this interview you’ll take away:

3:55:   Why we don't pay attention to our greatest gifts

5:10:   How December 2021 changed Tony's mind about LinkedIn

8:20:   How to get the algo to show you interesting posts

12:53: LinkedIn relationships are like normal life

15:25: Why Tony left his career as St. Louis litigator

20:10: What is it you're going to do with your one and precious life?

22:30: Moving your career towards what you're drawn to

26:00: Reducing money stress during career transitions

29:45: The most meaningful part of Tony's career today

32:39: Activities that bring you good energy

35:35: What is the Future of Law for Tony?

43:40: 3 rapid fire career questions

50:30: Sharing your message as the hub of your growth

Episode Resources:

Learn more from Tony Albrecht about how to build your brand on LinkedIn here: www.linkedin.com/in/tony-albrecht/.

To uncover your natural gifts and elevate your Career or your Team, connect with me: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/chadaboud/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.chadaboud.com⁠⁠⁠

Lawyers continually fight against industry stigma.

Mental health pressures.

Wanting a more creative way to practice.

Spending time with family & on side businesses.

Yet the traditional legal career models struggle to sufficiently serve a large segment of lawyers and companies.

To launch Season 2, Pauline Chan, a fractional General Counsel, serial entrepreneur and Head of Lawyer Experience at Goodlawyer, takes us through her journey from walking away from BigLaw, building her own businesses and designing a legal career that fits her life’s goals.

In her ever thoughtful and passionate style, Pauline lives what it means to be a passionate advocate for lawyers. To offer them greater access to exciting career opportunities. And encourage them to bring out their diverse skills.

In this interview you’ll take away:

2:50: A shocking return to the Legal industry with Goodlawyer

6:20: Curiosity turned darkness into passion

8:10: Law in a way that works for you

14:52: Fighting off the doubt(er)s

18:30: The benefits of doing more than 1 thing

22:25: Changing mental health stigma in the law

26:45: Being the example you want to see

31:30: How to reassure yourself in scary moments

34:45: Quickly test if your interests are career options

37:15: The Future of Law looks like this

43:35: 3 rapid fire questions on designing your life & work

51:40: Your greatest asset is masquerading as a weakness

Episode Resources:

Learn more from Pauline Chan about how to design an intentional career and about fractional legal work with Goodlawyer here: www.linkedin.com/in/paulinepochan and www.goodlawyer.ca.

To uncover your natural gifts and elevate your Career or your Team, connect with me: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/chadaboud/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.chadaboud.com⁠