In today's episode I speak with Jenni Katzman who is a government & policy lawyer with experience in all three branches of government, several political campaigns, and non-profit advocacy organizations. Currently, she is the General Counsel and Chief of Domestic Policy for Senator Ron Wyden (D-Or). Before working on Capitol Hill, Jenni worked as a Director of Policy Development and Programming at the American Constitution Society and before that in the Executive Branch at the White House, DOJ, and the Department of Education, and as a Voter Protection Counsel for the Obama for America Campaign. Prior to her career in policy, she worked in private practice at two different law firms and served as a law clerk to a federal judge. She is a graduate of Duke and Cornell Law. In our conversation we discuss her path to the law, her experience clerking after several years in private practice, the transition from litigation to policy work, the roles that lawyers play on Capitol Hill and in the Executive Branch, what its like to be a lawyer in a fast-paced presidential campaign, the power of not just saying no but also trying to come up with creative solutions to get to yes, why diversity is so important on Capitol Hill and throughout the government, what distinguishes policy work from other areas of legal practice, and the importance of speaking up as a junior 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

In today’s special episode of How I Lawyer, Panel Opinion I am excited to speak with two law firm partners on how to succeed as a junior associates at a law firm with Sean Marotta and Michelle Strowhiro.   Michelle is an employment partner and M&A transaction advisor in McDermott’s LA and Orange County Offices. She leads McDermott’s Transactions and Executive Contracts Employment Subgroup and co-leads McDermott’s COVID-19 Employment Task Force.  Michelle was recently named an a Trailblazer by American Lawyer and a Labor & Employment Star by Benchmark Litigation. She is also active in mentoring junior lawyers both formally and informally within her firm and on social media.   Sean Marotta is an Appellate Litigation Partner at Hogan Lovells DC office. Sean has worked on cases and appeals in many substantive areas of law but is particularly experienced in civil-procedure, automotive, energy, and administrative appeals. Sean has received a number of awards and recognitions for his work including as being selected as a DC Rising Star by the National Law Journal. Like Michelle, Sean is deeply dedicated to advancing the profession and mentoring junior lawyers. He is active or should I say prolific on social media where he regularly offers advice for junior lawyers.   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 this final episode of 2022, I decided to share a little bit about how I lawyer. Yes, after 96 episodes as your host, I thought it fitting to end year 2 of the podcast with a little bit more about what I do, why I do it, and how I do it well (or try to). As the host of the show I really like finding interesting guests and asking the questions. I am a bit weary about being the guest. But a few months ago my friends at the Personal Jurisdiction Podcast (Hallie Ritzu & Allison Freedman) asked if I would come on there incredible podcast and tell my story--and now I am sharing that interview here.  We discuss my path to the law; my time clerking, in private practice, and now teaching at Georgetown Law; what I've learned from How I Lawyer; and so much more. I am very grateful to Hallie and Allison for letting me share this interview on my feed and hope you'll subscribe to their show wherever you get your podcasts. I'll be back in January 2023 with new and exciting interviews. Happy New Year friends! Personal Jurisdiction is edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.com Our Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod. Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7614-pleasant-porridge License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

In today’s special episode recorded LIVE at ClioCon I spoke with Karine Sokpoh who practices immigration, family law, and intellectual property at 402 Legal in Omaha. She also teaches at her local university and helped found the first and only Black Chamber of Commerce in Nebraska. Originally from Togo, Karine recently won the first Reisman Award for Diversity & Inclusion for her legal work and community engagement. She is a graduate of the University Benin in Lome Togo, the University of Nebraska, and Creighton Law.  Her path from wanting to be a lawyer in Togo to becoming a lawyer in the US, how her personal story plays a role in her practice, the unique nature of her many different areas of practice, the importance of having teachers that look like students in our increasingly diverse profession, finding what you do and don’t want to do professionally, the importance of intentional networking especially for those without established networks, 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 special episode recorded LIVE at ClioCon I spoke with Kevin Buckley of the Torrey Pines Law Group. Kevin is an accomplished international patent attorney & executive. He founded Torrey Pines Law Group in 2013 to help his clients bring lifesaving, enduring, and commercially valuable technologies to market after previously working in Big Law. He recently earned the Clio Reisman Award for Best Growth Story for his work and the work of his law firm during the Covid 19 pandemic. Kevin is a graduate of US San Diego where he studied Biochemistry and the University of Pittsburg School of Law.   In our conversation we discuss the importance of finding what you are good at, what patent attorneys do (and how that has changed through his career), the importance of connecting business/law/science especially in today’s historical moment, and why they best skill to learn is how to constantly learn from the smart people around you.  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 Legal Technologist and Clio Founder & CEO Jack Newton. Although not a lawyer himself, Jack is a technologist and entrepreneur who has long been at the forefront of cloud-based legal technology who is recognized as one of the profession’s foremost experts on security, ethics, and privacy issues related to lawyers’ use of cloud computing.  He is also the author of the Client-Centered Law Firm, a bestselling book, dedicated to helping law firms thrive in an experience-driven era. He holds a BS and MS in Computer Science from the University of Alberta (Go Golden Bears and Pandas).  In the conversation we discuss the story of how he founded a legal technology company despite not being a lawyer, the importance of learning about the business of law, the reasons why lawyers tend to be slow to change and the value of being OK with rejecting the status quo, finding the latent legal markets of today and tomorrow, reframing clients as customers, 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

Hello & Welcome Back! In today’s episode I speak with John Grant. John worked in the technology industry for a decade before going to law school and then went on to practice in-house, in his own law firm, and as the executive director of the Commons Law Center in Portland Oregon which works to fill the access to civil justice gap for people who quality for legal aid or don't quality for free legal services but still have trouble affording legal services. Now John primarily works as a coach and consult for lawyers with his company Agile Professionals. He is a graduate of Tufts (Go Jumbos) and Lewis & Clark Law School.  In the conversation we discuss John’s path to law (including a story about how his great-grandfather basically founded the field of entertainment law), his work in the tech industry before going to law school (and how it helped him find success once in law school), and his work now counseling lawyers to work smarter not harder using process-oriented frameworks (and specifically Kanban boards).  This is the time of year where many lawyers take stock of their past work and recommit to processes and pathways to find greater success with less stress. This episode is a real brass tacks discussion of how to make that a reality.  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

Hello & Welcome Back! In today’s special episode recorded at ClioCon I spoke with Mark Palmer. He is the Chief Counsel at 2Civility, the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism where he works to facilitate the promotion of professionalism, civility, and integrity among lawyers and judges in Illinois. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Illinois College of Law. Prior to his work with the Commission, he was a trial attorney in Champaign and before law school was a police officer for the Champaign Police Department. He is a graduate of the University Illinois and the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law. In our conversation we discuss his path from police officer to attorney, his views on the importance of civility in the legal profession (and how to make those goals a reality), the need for active listening in the life of a lawyer, the increasing role of technology in legal practice, and the power of learning from more senior lawyers without a set agenda or specific expectations. 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

Hello & Welcome Back! In today’s special episode recorded LIVE at ClioCon I spoke with family lawyer Angela Lennon. Angela is a Partner at the Omaha Law Firm Koenig Dunne where she focuses her practice on collaborative divorce. Angela is active in legal and local business organization and has won a number of awards for her work. She recently won Clio’s Reisman Award for creating Untie Online, Nebraska’s affordable divorce service that uses to technology and step-by-step guidance, personalized legal documents, and support powered by the Koenig|Dunne legal team to reimagine what divorce support looks like. She is a graduate of Vassar College (Go Brewers) and Creighton School of Law (Go Bluejays).  In our conversation we discuss her path from receptionist at her law firm to partner, the online program she created to provide limited-scope divorce support, a day-in-the-life of a family lawyer, the importance of listening as a divorce lawyer, 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 this mini-episode of How I Lawyer recorded live at ClioCon in Nashville, I spoke with Neal Katyal who is a partner at Hogan Lovells and the former Solicitor General of the United States. Most importantly for my purposes, he also was my criminal law professor when I was a student at Georgetown Law. In our brief chat, we discussed the importance of speaking to your audience as a lawyer and his takes on what law schools can do better to train the next generation of lawyers.  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