You Are A Lawyer: Take Risks and Change Careers in Law

After working in entrepreneurial finance and Big Law for more than 20 years, Becky Morrison asked herself what would make her truly happy. Becky worked as a litigator, before moving into a management role where she oversaw attorneys, litigation support staff and non-attorneys professionals. This role reminded Becky that she really enjoyed managing people.

During a time of transition, Becky worked with a career coach to narrow down her interests. Her experiences with this coach motivated Becky to become an executive coach. Becky is adamant that coaching is not being a therapist, but analyzing in a similar way that a lawyer would review facts.

The skills that Becky honed in law school, such as analyzing case law, researching and issue spotting, were a wonderful foundation for working as an executive coach. In this role, Becky works with legal and non-legal professionals to bring ideas to action, bring focus to a participants life, and address work-life integration issues. Becky teaches her coaching participants that life is about more than simply chasing the next thing.

Currently earning an LLM in taxation, Becky finds that being a law school graduate allows her to be confident in creating Grantley Coaching and becoming an entrepreneur because legal background offers her familiarity with business formation activities.

Becky Morrison is licensed in Virginia and Washington D.C. Follow Becky Morrison on Instagram @the.butterfly.society, connect with Becky Morrison on LinkedIn, and visit her website, grantleycoaching.com to request a consultation.

You Are A Lawyer is hosted by Kyla Denanyoh. Follow the podcast:

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Jay Coleman initially attended law school to become a prosecutor. However after law school, Jay moved to Maryland to work with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, Jay's interest in policy caused him to seek a career in advocacy and he moved back to his home state.

While deciding whether to take the bar exam again, Jay started a business, ColeScript Editing Services. Through ColeScript, Jay utilizes his love of grammar to edit resumes, papers, write biographies, and offer tutoring services.

Jay decided to take the bar exam one final time with the condition that he would not work and would give his time and energy to preparing for the exam. While waiting for the exam results, Jay applied for a job as a youth advocate in Covington, Kentucky.

The advocacy job was a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) preferred job. In this role, Jay works for the interests of children through a manifestation determination hearing. Jay ensures that schools abide by the individualized education plans (IEP) for students. With an IEP in place, a school cannot expel students without cause. While living and working in Kentucky, Jay learned that he passed the Tennessee bar exam.

NOTE: As of the release of this episode, Jay Coleman is a staff attorney with the Center for Arkansas Legal Services in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Jay represents clients requesting guardianship of family members, predominantly issues with children. Jay also petitions the court to seal criminal cases, handles landlord/tenant issues, and represents clients who have been denied access to public benefits.

Jay Coleman is licensed in the state of Tennessee and Arkansas. You may follow Jay Coleman on Instagram @fridayre_esq and follow his editing service company @ColeScript. Contact Jay Coleman at [email protected] to request editing services.

You Are A Lawyer is hosted by Kyla Denanyoh. Follow the podcast:

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/YouAreA_Lawyer

Website: https://www.youarealawyer.com

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A native of Poland, Anna Radke moved to the States to become a fashion expert and take her knowledge back to Poland. Anna graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.) with a major in Fashion Merchandising Management and Anna's interest in becoming an attorney was piqued by a F.I.T. professor.

Anna used law school to practice English and perfect her writing, while taking courses in fashion law and fashion legal drafting. Anna also earned a Master of Laws (LLM) from Cornell and completed coursework in topics like technology transactions, internet law, and intellectual property law. Anna credits law school for teaching her organization and developing her personality.

Anna Radke is a managing associate at Brand Counsel, previously called the Fashion Law Group. Brand Counsel is a law firm that handles legal issues concerning art, media, sports, and tech industries, as well as corporate and personal brands. Her career began as an intern with the Fashion Law Group. As a managing associate, Anna reviews bylaws and corporate governance issues, files trademarks, protects trademarks and handles business immigration issues for creatives.

Anna Radke is licensed in New York. You may follow Anna on Instagram @aniaradke.

You Are A Lawyer is hosted by Kyla Denanyoh. Follow the podcast:

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/YouAreA_Lawyer

Website: https://www.youarealawyer.com

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Erin Potempa-Wall is passionate about understanding the other side of an argument and situation. This passion led Erin to advocating for children, against evictions and was creating a vegan and cruelty free beauty brand.

With an educational background in philosophy, Erin practiced law as a prosecutor and opened a law firm with a classmate. All of this prepared Erin for the challenge of creating The Beachwaver Co. and B. Bungalow companies, which Erin cofounded with her two sisters. The Beachwaver Co. has a line of styling tools and hair care products which has become an entire platform. B. Bungalow is a lifestyle brand with fragrances and clothing for adults and children.

Erin is involved in many aspects of both companies; everything from logistics and marketing to brand strategies and patents. While law school gave Erin an understanding of contracts and negotiations, Erin says that law school taught her how to find her own voice.

Erin Potempa-Wall is licensed in Illinois. You may follow Erin on Instagram @erinpotempawall and follow The Beachwaver Co. @thebeachwaver. You can find Beachwaver products on beachwaver.com, Ulta, and Sephora.

You Are A Lawyer is hosted by Kyla Denanyoh. Follow the podcast:

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/YouAreA_Lawyer

Website: https://www.youarealawyer.com

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Ruth Jeremiah was originally interested in public interest law. However, her career trajectory did not progress as she planned and Ruth found herself working in document review for six years. Although Ruth did not enjoy every aspect of document review (and later e-discovery work), these experiences taught Ruth patience.

Growing up, Ruth enjoyed watching "Law & Order" and at the age of eleven, Ruth knew that she wanted to be a lawyer. Although Ruth was interested in advocacy, legal aid, and immigration matters, Ruth had to fight to find a career that she would enjoy in Dallas.

Currently, Ruth is a legal analyst with Thomson Reuters. In this role, Ruth reviews sales and use tax laws, manages data for twelve of the 50 states, and works with accountants and other lawyers. Law school taught Ruth to think analytically, although Ruth notes that she could have learned advocacy without attending law school.

Ruth Jeremiah is a licensed attorney in the state of Texas. You may connect with Ruth on LinkedIn.

You Are A Lawyer is hosted by Kyla Denanyoh. Follow the podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/youarealawyer/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/YouAreA_Lawyer

Website: https://www.youarealawyer.com

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Andrea Sager moves at her own pace. The day after graduating from college, Andrea became an Army officer and was married. After thrift shopping with her husband, Andrea turned this relatively small act into a thriving Poshmark store then her own clothing website, and ultimately, a physical retail store. In law school, between studying, giving keynote speeches at Poshmark conferences, and living as a new mother and wife, Andrea would fly to California to buy wholesale merchandise for her clothing store.

After passing the bar exam and participating in the minutiae of being a new associate, Andrea decided to leave Big Law and use her experience to support small business owners. Andrea sold her retail store, moved to Houston, Texas, and opened the Andrea Sager Law Firm in 2018.

Through her virtual law firm, Andrea offers legal subscriptions to business owners; a service that provides all-access representation to her clients. In the last two years, Andrea has become the go-to attorney for entrepreneurs, protecting everything from their brand names to their courses and blog posts.

In 2020, Andrea created the Legalprenuer podcast. On this podcast, Andrea speaks with small business owners about the legal issues they have faced and Andrea shares legal necessities for small business owners.

Andrea is a licensed attorney in the state of Kentucky.

You may follow Andrea Sager on Instagram @andreasagerlaw and visit her website andreasager.com to learn more about her legal subscriptions and podcast.

You Are A Lawyer is hosted by Kyla Denanyoh. Follow the podcast:

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/YouAreA_Lawyer

Website: https://www.youarealawyer.com

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Fearful of breaking her word to her mentee, Neena Speer created 'Step 1-2-3: Mentor for Life Initiative' to ensure that she could continue mentoring with the same child. Neena is a strong advocate of maintaining mentorship relationships because continuity is integral in a child's life and Neena did not want to break her word. Neena welcomes listeners to start their own branch of the Step 1-2-3 program in their community.

Neena's childhood inspired her to attend law school because she distinctly remembers disparities in busing different students in her neighborhood to various school districts. As a law student, Neena began journaling about her experiences. This led Neena to write the book, "Dear Future Lawyer: An Intimate Survival Guide for the Minority Female Student." In this book, Neena explains the various people that one will meet in law school, the explicit biases that a student may encounter, and each chapter ends with a prompt for the reader to journal. Neena focuses on her perspective being a Black and Indian student while enrolled in a predominantly white institution (PWI).

Neena is a licensed attorney in Alabama and manages her own law firm where she specializes in trademarks, copyrights, business formation, contracts, criminal law, family and general law.

You may follow Neena Speer on Instagram @neena_rani, her brand @dearfuturelawyer, her new venture @trademarkthursdays that brings attention to specialized and simplified trademark tips based on her experiences as an intellectual property lawyer. You may also follow her law firm @nrspeerlawfirmllc and her mentorship organization @step123mentor.

You Are A Lawyer is hosted by Kyla Denanyoh. Follow the podcast:

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/YouAreA_Lawyer

Website: https://www.youarealawyer.com

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Deshani Senewiratne does not believe in linear learning for students or linear decision making. Working as a federal judicial clerk, Deshani is observing the practice of law and helping other students gain access to graduate and law school through her company, GradAcheive. With GradAcheive, members receive individualized course plans, study schedules and mentor relationships are offered between students and professionals, lawyers and judges.

Born in Sri Lanka, Deshani discusses how being curious in life has led her to live in Chicago, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, and Irvine, California. Her employment experiences range from working in "think tanks," spending two years with Teach for America, advocating for special education students, and attending graduate school for Public Policy and Education.

Deshani Senewiratne is a member of the California bar association.

You may follow GradAcheive on Instagram @GradAcheive, contact her at GradAcheive @gmail .com, and visit gradacheive.com to learn more about tutoring for graduate and law school admissions.

Follow the You Are A Lawyer podcast on Twitter @YouAreA_Lawyer, Instagram @youarealawyer and on LinkedIn. Follow the podcast host, Kyla Denanyoh, on Instagram @kjd796.

Yladrea Drummond has found her legal education to be a great asset in the political arena. Yladrea was the Deputy National Training Director for the 2020 Tom Steyer Presidential Campaign, where she trained campaign staff to organize and activate communities. Currently working with DigiDems, Yladrea focuses on finding innovative ways to include technology in political campaigns, as the current pandemic means that we must look beyond phone banking and physically knocking on doors to reach with voters.

Yladrea is the founder of Capital Strategies, an organization that focuses on financial compliance with political campaigns and nonprofit organizations and minorities in other underserved communities.

Yladrea is the author of "Through These Eyes: Surrendering the Ties of my Soul," a memoir which will be released in September 2020. In the book, Yladrea discusses multiple topics, including law school and her experiences after school. Yladrea sat for the Texas bar exam.

You may follow Yladrea Drummond on Instagram @iam.yladrea_d and order her book at yladreadrummond.com. Pre-orders are still available.

You Are A Lawyer is hosted by Kyla Denanyoh. Follow the podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/youarealawyer/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/YouAreA_Lawyer

Website: https://www.youarealawyer.com

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Yale Spector is a solo practitioner and operator of the L.A.W. Truck. Yale spent a number of years working in civil litigation with medical malpractice and negligence claims, where he observed and learned how to open his own practice. After being a solo practitioner for nine years, Yale decided to make law accessible to various people in Baltimore and Washington D.C. by creating a mobile law office.

Created with the intention of meeting people in their communities, the L.A.W. Truck literally provides "Legal Assistance on Wheels." Yale makes himself and the truck available at local events, state fairs, farmers markets, retirement communities, and other venues to answer questions from visitors who do not need an appointment. The L.A.W. Truck allows Yale to differentiate himself from other lawyers.

Yale is a member of the Maryland state bar, District of Columbia bar association, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

You may follow Yale Spector on Instagram @thel.a.w.truck and visit thelawtruck.com to learn more about the L.A.W. Truck.

You Are A Lawyer is hosted by Kyla Denanyoh. Follow the podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/youarealawyer/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/YouAreA_Lawyer

Website: https://www.youarealawyer.com

Join the FREE mailing list and get behind-the-scenes content from Kyla.

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