In today’s episode I speak with Priya Coffey who is a Partner at Jackson Walker in Houston, Texas where she practices Real Estate law. Specifically, Priya assists clients with complex commercial real estate transactions, including the representation of buyers and sellers in the acquisition and disposition of raw land, office buildings and retail centers, and the representation of landlords and tenants in commercial office building leases and retail leases. Priya’s experience extends to advising her clients on land use matters, City of Houston ordinances and other governmental compliance related matters. She also represents both buyers and sellers in the acquisition and disposition of high-end residential property. Priya is active in a number of legal and community organizations including Covenant House, Executive Sleep Out Committee, Board of Directors of Recipe for Success, and the University of Chicago’s Houston Regional Council. She is also a member of the South Asian Bar Association of Houston, and The Junior League of Houston, Inc. and the Executive Women’s Partnership in Houston. Priya is a graduate of the University of Chicago (Go Maroons) and holds a Masters in Public Policy from the London School of Economics, and a JD from Texas Tech University School of Law (Go Red Raiders). In our conversation we discuss her decision to become a lawyer, how a clerkship changed her professional life even as a transactional lawyer, the unique parts (and not so unique parts) of real estate law, some of the suprising parts of her career, the super power of taking on opportunities to learn new things, where the practice of real estate law is going in the years to come, and more. This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter

In today’s episode I speak with Donald Sherman who is a government ethics and oversight lawyer who is currently the Senior Vice President & Chief Counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, CREW (where, full disclosure, he works with my wife). In addition to his non-profit litigation experience at CREW, Donald has worked in all three branches of government. He served for a number of years as Senior Counsel to Ranking Member Senator Claire McCaskill on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Before that he was Chief of Staff and Senior Counsel for Oversight and Investigations in the Office of General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). And before that he worked for Rep. Elijah Cummings, then-Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform including as Chief Oversight Counsel. He started his legal career as a law clerk Honorable Neil E. Kravitz of the District of Columbia Superior Court and worked in private practice at Crowell & Morning. Donald is a proud graduate of both Georgetown University and Georgetown Law (Go Hoyas). In our conversation we discuss his decision to become a lawyer in elementary school, how crashing a wedding helped him get his first job in government oversight, the nuts and bolts of being an oversight and ethics lawyer on Capitol Hill and in the non-profit space, how the Hill and advocacy organizations interact when it comes to government oversight work, developing the skills of factual development and investigations, what constitutes success when advocating for major political change, the ways to transition from the private to the public sector, the superpower of being an effective generalist, and the role that people/kindness/relationships play in the life and career of a lawyer. This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter

Kevin Elliker, Investigations & Appeals Lawyer, Former Federal Prosecutor, and Former Investigative Counsel to the January 6th House Select Committee, discusses pivoting from teaching to law, experiences as a federal prosecutor, and the importance of finding happiness in the legal profession.

In today’s episode I am excited to speak with Dan Cotter. Dan is currently an attorney at Howard & Howard in Chicago where he represents businesses at many different stages in corporate and transactional matters. He has a particular emphasis on privacy and cybersecurity law. But over the course of his 25-plus years as a lawyer, Dan has had a varied and in his words "eclectic" practice having practiced in different areas and different settings including but not limited to litigation, in-house counsel, outside general counsel, and working on behalf of both for profit and non-profit entities.  More than that, Dan has been active in the legal community including doing pro bono work and serving as a past president of the Chicago Bar (and a current Mediator for that group). He also hosts a podcast called Podium and Panel and he is a prolific writer, writing a regular column called Cotter’s Corner for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and a book titled the Chief Justices: The Seventeen Men of the Center Seat, Their Courts, and Their Times.  Dan is a graduate of the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law (Go Dragons) where he was a night student but still was an editor on the law review graduated number 1 in his class and Monmouth College where he played football and was a radio DJ among other accolades (Go Fighting Scots). He’s a longtime supporter of How I Lawyer and I am excited to get the chance to share his story. 🙏 Thanks to Episode Sponsors This episode is sponsored by LegalBoard, the computer keyboard designed by lawyers for lawyers. Listen to the episode for a 10% discount on the coolest (and most helpful) piece of legal computer hardware you can find. This episode is also sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter

In today’s episode I am excited to speak with Brian Farkas. Brian is an Associate at Arent Fox Schiff in New York City where he handles complex commercial disputes in federal and state courts as well as in arbitrations and mediation proceedings. Before joining that firm Brian served as a law clerk to Judge Robert W. Lehrburger of the US District Court of SDNY and worked for six years at a midsize litigation firm in New York. He is deeply committed to teaching and training the next generation of lawyers. I am not sure how he has time for it all but he serves as an adjunct professor at Cardozo Law where he teaches arbitration and dispute resolution having won the Best Adjunct Professor Award several times as well as teaching mediation and negotiation at CUNY and Brooklyn Law. He is also an active member of the New York City Bar Association, where he serves on the Board of Directors and chairs the City Bar’s New Lawyer Institute, which offers career development programming and mentoring for law students and recent graduates. He’s been named a Rising Star in Business Litigation for 8 years and He’s also active in the ABA and is a regular contributor to law reviews and legal trade publications. He is a graduate of Vassar where he currently serves on the Board of Trustees and Cardozo Law. In our conversation we discuss his path from college journalist and student bar leader to lawyer, the real value of what a legal education provides, dealing with imposter syndrome as a junior lawyer (getting comfortable with being uncomfortable), his decision to be a mid-career judicial law clerk, not ignoring the downside risk of not making a change when assessing a new opportunity, the differences and similarities between litigation, mediation, and arbitration practices, why the best lawyers know how to read a room, learning how to be a "middle voice," rethinking of networking as friendship building, and more. 🙏 Thanks to Episode Sponsors This episode is sponsored by LegalBoard, the computer keyboard designed by lawyers for lawyers. Listen to the episode for a 10% discount on the coolest (and most helpful) piece of legal computer hardware you can find. This episode is also sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter

In today’s episode I am excited to speak with John Strohmeyer. John is a Tax and Estate Planning Attorney in Houston, Texas. After working in several law firms, John started his own firm about five years ago where he helps clients through the maze of estate planning, tax, & probate law to help them leave No Unfinished Business® John is active in the tax and estate planning communities like the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, the International Tax Committee of the Tax Section of the Texas State Bar, and the ABA. He also is a regular speaker on these issues to individuals and lawyers alike.  But more than just a lawyer, John is a thought leader for lawyers who want to run effective and client-centered law practice. His wonderful podcast, Five Star Counsel, which has more than one hundred episodes ask a provocative question question: "What would a law firm built by the founders of Disney, Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, and Zappos look like.” In his podcast he draws on interviews and his own expertise in the law and almost three years as a customer service professional as the Night Manager at the Four Seasons in Austin, Texas before law school.  In our conversation we discuss his path to law as a college Zoology major and hotel manager, what is unique about a tax and estates practice, the lessons that lawyers should take from high-end experiences like the Four Seasons (and why they not be the lessons they think they should take), knowing and sharing your value as a lawyer when helping clients solve problems, the benefits of a fixed fee practice, techniques for marketing and sales other than having the lowest price product, why his dogs are on the staff page of his website, and more.   🙏 Thanks to Episode Sponsors This episode is sponsored by LegalBoard, the computer keyboard designed by lawyers for lawyers. Listen to the episode for a 10% discount on the coolest (and most helpful) piece of legal computer hardware you can find. This episode is also sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter

In today’s special Panel Opinion episode of How I Lawyer produced with The Appellate Project I am excited to welcome four appellate lawyers who share their paths to becoming appellate lawyers and the tools they have learned for success along the way.  I am excited to partner with the Appellate Project on this episode. TAP is a non-profit dedicated to diversifying the appellate bar and empowering law students of color to thrive in the appellate field. I previously spoke to TAP's Executive Director and Founder Juvaria Khan on Episode #10! The episode features: Cristina Najarro (Deputy State Public Defender at  the Office of the State Public Defender in Oakland, California)  Mahogane Reed (Appellate Attorney at the U. S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.) Juan Perla (Partner, Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP in New York, NY) Ian Courts (Assistant District Attorney-Appeals Unit in Philadelphia, PA) Learn more about The Appellate Project at http://www.theappellateproject.org.  This episode is also sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter

In today’s episode I am excited to speak with my friend Matt Schwartz. Matt is a transactional partner and law firm leader at the international law firm DLA Piper where he serves as Chair of the US Finance Practice and the Head of Venture & Growth Lending. He has been at DLA for more than 20 years since graduating from Harvard Law School (Go Crimson) and the George Washington University (Go Colonials). At DLA and in the broader legal community, Matt is deeply committed to mentorship. He is a co-founder of and leader in the national non-profit Legal Mentor Network where he has personally mentored dozens of junior lawyers and helped facilitate hundreds of mentor-mentee partnership. He is also active in charitable efforts in the San Diego community and is perhaps most known as a baseball coach and #lawdad.  In our conversation we discuss his path to transactional work, the lifecycle of a deal, the importance of learning what you want to do by getting experiences, mentoring pest practices, the network effects of being a mentor, removing the shame from making mistakes, and the upcoming DLA Piper/Legal Mentor Bootcamp (more information below). ***Want to learn more about transactional law practice? (It is free and available to anyone).*** DLA Piper & non-profit Legal Mentor Network are hosting a four-part introduction to fundamentals and best practices for new lawyers working in a transactional practice. Each session will be eligible for 90 minutes of CLE credit and the Legal Mentor Network will provide a certificate of completion for anyone who attends all four sessions. DLA Piper has underwritten the cost of the entire program which is free to any law students or young lawyers who would benefit from the content.  Session Dates Session 1: Friday, February 17 Session 2: Friday, March 3 Session 3: Friday, March 17 Session 4: Friday, March 31 You must attend all four sessions to receive the LMN certificate of completion. All session times 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm PT 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm CT 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm ET Learn more here.  🙏 Thanks to Episode Sponsors This episode is sponsored by LegalBoard, the computer keyboard designed by lawyers for lawyers. Listen to the episode for a 10% discount on the coolest (and most helpful) piece of legal computer hardware you can find. This episode is also sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter

In today's episode I speak with Freelance Attorney Michelle K. Camp. Michelle is an experienced litigator who has handled all aspects of litigation from pre-litigation to drafting pleadings and motions, conducting discovery, and assisting with trials and appeals in both state and federal court. She began her career and worked for nearly seven years at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP, where she focused on securities litigation and mass tort litigation. In her freelance work over the past 6 years since leaving BigLaw, she has assisted clients with a variety of business litigation, arbitration, appeals, and labor & employment projects on a freelance basis. Michelle is a proud first-gen graduate of Portland State and Pepperdine Law (from which she graduated summa cum laude). She is also a proud military spouse and mom to four young children. In our conversation we discuss Michelle's path to law school, finding success as a first-gen student in law school, getting a position in BigLaw, her decision to move to freelance work, the different kinds of freelance work lawyers can do (including working on substantive motions and legal writing), and the various personal and professional benefits she has found in the freelance path.  This episode is sponsored by LegalBoard, the computer keyboard designed by lawyers for lawyers. Listen to the episode for a 10% discount on the coolest (and most helpful) piece of legal computer hardware you can find. This episode is also sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. 👍 Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter

💯 Welcome to Episode #100 of the How I Lawyer Podcast! 💯 I started the podcast in January 2021 to help junior lawyers, law students, and the legal community learn from the stories of lawyers from across the profession about what they do, why they do it, and how they do it well. 100 episodes later the podcast has grown beyond my wildest dreams.  If you've enjoyed the show I hope you'll leave a review and rating and share the podcast with friends, colleagues, or on social media.  --- In today's episode I speak with Kristen Vander-Plas LaFreniere who founded her own #TeenyLaw Firm in her hometown of Lubbock, Texas where she works with her husband David LaFreniere and their PAWclerk Copper. Kristen practices in a number of different areas including: business counseling, civil litigation, probate, and civil appeals. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas and the Lubbock Area Bar Association and is admitted to practice in all Texas courts, the Supreme Court of the United States, the Federal Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, along with various federal district courts. Kristen is a leader in her community and has held various positions of leadership throughout the Lubbock area including teaching courses in business law to college students and coaching moot court teams. After Kristen completed a summer internship with then-Justice Don Willett at the Supreme Court of Texas (now Judge Willett on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit), Justice Willett asked her back to be his post-graduate law clerk and briefing attorney for the 2016-17 court term. She then practiced at a medium-sized law firm before founding her own firm. She is active on Twitter at www.twitter.com/KVPTexas. In our conversation we discuss Kristen's path to the law from home school to completing multiple majors and minors in college, the power of learning how to learn, her experiences at the Texas Supreme Court (including participating in conference), the role of moot court in her legal education, her decision to found her own "Teeny" law firm (and how others can do the same), the balance between picking areas of practice and being an expert, how being the daughter of a Pastor taught her to be a better at client service, how to network with less stress, the counterintuitive goal of making yourself unnecessary to your clients, balancing work and life as a law firm founder working from home, and so much more.  This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys. Want to Support the Podcast in 2 minutes or less? Leave a Review (this helps the algorithm connect me to new listeners) Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify Purchase How I Lawyer Merchandise Share on LinkedIn or Twitter