How I Lawyer Podcast with Jonah Perlin

In this episode I speak with Liz Glazer who is a former lawyer and tenured law professor who is now a full-time, professional stand-up comedian and actress. Liz is graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Chicago Law School. After law school, she worked in the real estate department at Fried Frank in New York City before joining the faculty and receiving tenure at Hofstra University Law School. At Hofstra, her scholarship focused on issues facing the LGBTQ community. Her work is published in the Northwestern Law Review and the Georgetown Law Journal among others. But in 2015, Liz left her position at Hofstra to pursue a full-time career in stand-up comedy where she recently won the 2020 Boston Comedy Festival. She performs all around the country in-person and now via Zoom. You can learn more about at her at dealizglazer.com or on Twitter at @ElizabethGlazer. In our conversation we discuss success, rejection, and serendipity; how her student note allowed her to follow her dream to become a law professor; and then how a combination of a magical first stand up act, an academic disappointment, and a once-in-a-career financial opportunity led her to find her true professional calling and more importantly true joy as a comedian.  Sign up for alerts about future episodes at howilawyer.com or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts (pod.link/howilawyer).

In this episode I speak with Pia Owens. Pia has worked as a technology lawyer at a big law firm, in state government, and now for a technology company based in Massachusetts where she is responsible for commercial agreements, software licensing, cybersecurity, and data privacy. Pia is a graduate of Brown University and Harvard Law. Before attending law school in her late 20s, Pia was a software engineer.  In our conversation, we discuss how Pia handles new and complex cybersecurity regulatory regimes, how she drafts contracts, the differences between practicing as a technology layer in an in-house setting as outside counsel and as a government attorney. We also discuss some of the professional jumps that she took to find a career that was fulfilling both personally and professionally.  Sign up for alerts about future episodes at howilawyer.com or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts (pod.link/howilawyer).

In this episode I speak with Ken Basin. Ken is a seasoned Hollywood lawyer who is currently the Executive Vice President and Head of Business Affairs at Paramount Television Studios. He began his legal career at the law firm Greenberg Glusker where he practiced both litigation and transactional law as the Associate Chair of the Entertainment Department. After leaving the firm he became a business affairs executive at Amazon, then at Sony, and now at Paramount Television Studios. In addition to his practical experience in the field, Ken is the author of the book The Business of Television. He also has served as an adjunct professor or lecturer at Harvard, UCLA, and Southwestern Law Schools. In our conversation we talk about how to break into entertainment law, the dual business-legal role of a business affairs executive, the importance of learning "the business" to the success of any lawyer, negotiating from a position that everyone can win, and how to shift your mindset as a lawyer from "no" to "no but."   Sign up for alerts about future episodes at howilawyer.com or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts (pod.link/howilawyer).

In this episode I speak with Tiffany Wright. Tiffany is the Co-Director of the Howard University Law School's Human and Civil Right's Clinic. Tiffany is a graduate of the University of Maryland and the Georgetown University Law Center where she completed her law degree at night while also serving as Editor-in-Chief of the Georgetown Law Journal's Annual Review of Criminal Procedure and working full time as a law clerk and paralegal at the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland. Before her position at Howard, Tiffany worked as an associate at two prominent DC law firms: WilmerHale and Orrick, Herrington, and Sutcliffe LLP (where she remains a Managing Associate).  Tiffany started her legal career as a law clerk to three federal judges in Washington, D.C.: Judge Royce Lamberth (DDC), Judge David Tatel (DC Circuit), and Justice Sonia Sotomayor (U.S. Supreme Court).  In our conversation, we discussed her remarkable path to becoming a lawyer that began with a family tragedy, took a detour with some helpful advice from a lawyer who came to her aid as a child, and continues today with her role leading the charge to protect the rights of those who need that protection the most. We also discussed how Tiffany was able to complete law school at night with a full-time job and a young son at home, the many skills she learned as a law clerk including how to write opinions in complex and technical areas, the role and strategy behind amicus briefs including those drafted by her clinic, the power of representation and diversity in our profession, and how to best integrate the policy behind the law, into written legal advocacy.  Sign up for alerts about future episodes at howilawyer.com or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts (pod.link/howilawyer).

In this episode I speak with Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser about his career in public service. Attorney General Weiser is a graduate of Swarthmore College and NYU Law School. After graduation he clerked for Judge Ebel on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Colorado and then on the United States Supreme Court for Justice White and Justice Ginsburg. After completing his three clerkships he worked at the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division for two years before returning to Colorado and entering academia at the University of Colorado Law School where he worked for ten years teaching and directing the Silicon Flatirons Center. After that, he returned to DC to work as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust at the Department of Justice under President Obama and then as a Senior Advisor at the National Economic Council before returning to the University of Colorado where he taught for ten more years including five five as dean. In May 2017 he successfully ran for Attorney General of the State of Colorado.  In our conversation we discuss his path from law clerk to government attorney to academic and then ultimately state attorney general and the skills along the way that led him to success at each step: a desire to serve, a commitment to empathy, a focus on the task at hand, and a helpful dose of willingness to take risks and see where serendipity took him.  Sign up for alerts about future episodes at howilawyer.com or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts (pod.link/howilawyer).

In this episode I speak with Lieutenant Joshua Fiveson, Senior Appellate Counsel in the Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps and former law clerk on the Texas State Supreme Court and the military's highest court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. In our conversation we discuss what it is like to be a military lawyer and the path to that career, what he learned from his clerkships (and how he thinks about applying for clerkships and how to succeed once there), and the importance of working hard as a new lawyer while also not forgetting that there is more to life than professional success.  Sign up for alerts about future episodes at howilawyer.com or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts (pod.link/howilawyer).

In this episode I speak with Juvaria Khan, the founder and director of the Appellate Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering law students of color to thrive in the appellate field. In our conversation we discuss what it is like to found and run a non-profit, her path to becoming a non-profit founder including stints at Big Law firms, a district court clerkship, and several years as an impact litigator at Muslim Advocates. We also discuss the goals of the Appellate Project and the importance and potential impact of better representation in the field of appellate advocacy.  Sign up for alerts about future episodes at howilawyer.com or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts (pod.link/howilawyer).

In this episode I speak with Andrew Trask, a Partner at Williams & Connolly LLP in Washington D.C. where he practices patent litigation. Andrew has played practically every professional role in the patent process. He started his career as a scientist/chemist where he was the co-inventor on a number of patents. He then went on to work as a non-lawyer Patent Agent at a large law firm in New York City while he completed law school at night. After graduation he clerked on the Federal Circuit (the federal court of appeals responsible for hearing patent appeals) and then after a few years at Williams & Connolly as a patent litigator he moved in-house to work at Google. He returned to the firm several years ago where he was just elected to the partnership this year. In our conversation, we discuss his path from scientist to lawyer, what it was like to simultaneously work as a big law patent agent and complete law school at night, the unique nature of practicing before the federal circuit, the differences of working in-house and at a private law firm, and some tips and tricks to succeed as a patent litigator.  Sign up for future episodes at howilawyer.com or wherever you get your podcasts (pod.link/howilawyer).

In this episode I speak with Khalida Sims, an Assistant Federal Defender in the Northern District of Ohio in Cleveland. Before her current position she worked as a public defender in Cuyahoga County, Ohio for seven years.  In our conversation, we discuss her path to becoming a public defender, the roles she plays both inside and outside the courtroom, the importance of building rapport with clients (especially those who are currently incarcerated), the centrality of representing the person and not the conduct, and how a trip to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina changed her professional life. Sign up for future episode updates at howilawyer.com or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts (pod.link/howilawyer).

In this episode I speak with Zarena Sita who is an Assistant State's Attorney in Baltimore County, Maryland.  In our conversation, we discuss her path to becoming a prosecutor, how she reviews case files, makes plea offers, and prepares her opening statements, the role of on-the-job training, some of her most memorable moments in trial, and the importance of diversity in prosecutor's offices.