Today I’m talking with Amy Tu, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Tyson Foods in Springdale, Arkansas. As you will hear, Amy has great responsibility as she oversees the legal department, ethics and compliance, corporate communications, government investigations, and internal audit. Amy is also the President of Tyson Ventures, a venture capital fund investing in companies developing breakthrough technologies. Amy attended Wellesley College where she studied economics. After graduation, she spent a couple years on Wall Street where she cut her teeth in the corporate world. She moved back to her native Arkansas with the hope that she would work on President Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign. Amy then attended law school at the University of Arkansas. 

Towards the end of her law school career, she applied for a torts job at Walmart. But instead of interviewing for that job, she got a call from Walmart’s General Counsel who was intrigued by her Wall Street experience and asked her what she really wanted to do, to which she answered “international law.” Amy spent a few years at Walmart but attributes many of her career and legal lessons to her time at Boeing where she spent 16 years making a name for herself, building up her own practice, and going through experiences that would prepare her for her current role at Tyson. My takeaway from Amy’s story is that you must ask for what you want and do everything you can to make your goals a reality. That’s exactly what Amy did when she moved abroad while working for Boeing but before they had any attorneys outside the United States. Amy was diligent to create a place for herself in their London office. This effort took many months, a lot of relationship development, and unwavering drive. It’s one of Amy’s proudest accomplishments but just one example of what it took to get to where she is.

Today I’m talking with Kate Dugan, Associate General Counsel at Energizer Holdings specializing in commercial law, marketing, and intellectual property. Kate started her legal career at Shook, Hardy & Bacon in Kansas City, Missouri where she learned what it meant to be a litigator and got meaningful pro bono experience. From there, she moved to Chicago where she would spend the next 7 years at Greenberg Traurig. During that time, Kate developed valuable mentor relationships and got the type of experiences that would prepare her for her current role in-house. She’s been with Energizer Holdings for over 6 years now. During our discussion, Kate emphasized the importance of planning in order to become the type of lawyer you really want to be. She shared what she learned about herself is some of the more challenging points in her career and how assured she was that she had been trained and prepared for those moments. Kate was so fun to talk to, I hope you enjoy getting to know her as much as I did.

Today I’m talking with two lady lawyers - U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Texas, Alia Moses, and Nicole Westbrook, her former law clerk and litigation shareholder at Jones & Keller in Denver, Colorado. During our conversation, Judge Moses and Nicole emphasized the importance of preparation, advocacy and hard work - all things both of them fully embrace. Judge Moses was raised in a small Texas town, has been on the bench since 2002, and feels like the law was her calling. She takes great pride in how her courtroom is run and the lawyers that her former clerks have become. Nicole, who spent several years with Judge Moses, attributes many of her skills to the judge’s mentorship and guidance. Warding off the pressure to go with the flashiest firm, Nicole moved to a law firm that was the right fit for her. She knew she wanted good, substantive experience and to hit the ground running with her practice. That’s precisely what she got. I was inspired by both of these women’s dedication to the law, standard for professionalism, and deep appreciation for women in our field. I think you will be too.

Today I’m talking to Megan Belcher, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Scoular in Omaha, Nebraska. Raised in the midwest, Megan began her legal career at Husch Blackwell in Kansas City where she cut her teeth and honed her legal skills. She made the jump to in-house counsel when she joined ConAgra Foods in 2014. She would spend the next 9 years with the company, specializing in employment and compliance and learning to lead her business clients. Megan is now at Scoular, where she has been General Counsel for the last 3 years. What I took away from my discussion with Megan was the importance of career growth--Megan has continued to evolve and is driven to be a better leader and communicator every single day. She also walks the walk when it comes to lifting up other women. As you’ll hear, Megan was generous enough to introduce me, a young but ambitious lawyer, to her community of fellow general counsels. This woman has great thoughts and ideas -- I hope you enjoy listening to them as much as I did.

Today I’m talking with Heather Hansen, a trial lawyer, coach, author, and podcast host. As an award-winning, 20-year trial lawyer, Heather discusses how courtroom skills can translate to everyday life and how we can all be better about presenting to our “inner jury.” This approach to winning life’s trials without losing yourself is the basis for Heather’s book and podcast, the Elegant Warrior. As a young female attorney, I was comforted by Heather’s authentic approach to practicing law as she emphasized the importance of being who you really are. She is one of the most ambitious, and elegant, women I have ever met and it was a delight to speak with her. I hope you enjoy this episode.

Today I share brief, but meaningful, conversations with 3 women from across the country--all with very different jobs. First, I spoke with a friend and listener of the podcast, Maryann Zaki. Maryann is a litigation associate at Morgan Lewis in Houston and a mom of two young girls. She spoke about the importance of voicing your needs, wants, and concerns in your career. I next spoke with Kimberly Diego, a solo criminal defense lawyer in Denver, Colorado. Kim talked about how to relate and empathize with your clients, which has furthered her efforts to be a trusted advisor. Lastly, I spoke with Nikita Tuckett, Lead Counsel for Product at Facebook. Nikita and I exchanged messages to cover certain talking points, which I will walk you through. As you will hear, Nikita shares some of the best advice she has been given. I hope you enjoy this new approach and if you do, please let me know!

Today I’m talking to Celeste Bruce, litigation partner at Rifkin, Weiner, and Livingston in Maryland and Lisa Borsook, a real estate partner at WeirFoulds in Toronto, Canada. Both women emphasized the importance of being an effective communicator, explained how clients and mentors have acted as sponsors and endorsed their skills, and discussed how they’ve been able to share mentoring advice they’ve received over the years with the young associates they are now helping develop.

Today I’m resharing an interview I did in the fall of 2018 with Brittany DeGan, who is the General Counsel of rewardStyle in Dallas, Texas. I wanted to share this interview again because many of you are new listeners and probably haven’t heard Brittany’s story yet. A few things come to mind when I think of my time with Brittany. The first is how nervous I was! This was only my second time interviewing someone and I was still just figuring things out. Frankly, I’m still figuring things out. But more than that, Brittany's story is a prime example of what it means to seek out new and exciting challenges. And I thought it would be especially fitting to share her journey as we have all been stuck in one shared circumstance the last five months -- the continuing challenge of the Coronavirus. In one way or another, it’s affected our personal and professional lives. So, I thought Brittany’s journey could act as a reminder of how we all are capable of shaking our careers up for the better. After spending 9 years with a tech company in the D.C. area, Brittany moved across the country to join rewardStyle and become a one-woman legal department. She has been with the company for almost three years now but when we spoke she had been there for less than a year. Because Brittany is one of my favorite lawyers I’ve ever had on, I know you’ll enjoy this discussion.

Today I’m talking with Lisa Baker Morgan, attorney turned chef and author. After leaving her litigation practice to focus on her daughters, Lisa found a new, more fulfilling way to live life. In her book, “Paris, Part Time,” Lisa shares how at the age of 38, and newly divorced, she unexpectedly found herself staring down death in a Monaco hospital, nine time zones away from her two young daughters in Los Angeles. After facing mortality and surviving, her life took on a sense of urgency to experience and accomplish all of the things she had ever wanted for herself and her daughters. Top of her list: a life-long desire to live in Paris. The seemingly indulgent and even "crazy" aspiration was part of a journey that set her on the path of recovery of health and of spirit. During the interview, Lisa shared her adventurous evolution of self-creation and determination to overcome obstacles. Her story is one of strength, resilience, and courage. Relatable in sentiment, heart-felt, and humorous, her book bounds with the optimism of infinite possibility and gratitude for life itself. In Paris, Part Time and online, Lisa shares recipes and loads of photographs from her travels. I can’t wait for you to hear this story.

Today I’m talking with my friend and colleague, Katie Tipper-McWhorter, a litigation associate at Greenberg Traurig’s Houston office. Katie attended SMU for undergrad and the University of Houston for law school. She’s been with GT for a little over two years and as you’ll hear, the reason I wanted to sit down with her is that she has quickly developed a reputation as a talented, hard-working, and passionate advocate. Katie also has been incredibly supportive of me, particularly with the podcast. So we spoke about how to effectively support other women in your firm. We also talked about what her motivations are and how she continues to set and achieve her goals. I’m a huge fan of this lawyer and I’m thrilled to share her insight with you.