

Personal Jurisdiction
Hallie Ritzu, Allison Freedman
When you look up “Personal Jurisdiction” in Black’s Law Dictionary, it directs you to the entry for “Jurisdiction.” We won’t do that to you. We’re here because there’s not enough good information available for law students and new attorneys to make informed choices about their careers.
Join co-hosts Allison Freedman and Hallie Ritzu as we talk to a variety of people within the first 10ish years of practice to hear about their journeys to fulfilling careers and the advice they have for getting there. From government to start-ups; politics to academia; in-house to legal aid—we’ll get the scoop on what it’s really like to work in different areas of the law, so you can chart your own course for success.
Join co-hosts Allison Freedman and Hallie Ritzu as we talk to a variety of people within the first 10ish years of practice to hear about their journeys to fulfilling careers and the advice they have for getting there. From government to start-ups; politics to academia; in-house to legal aid—we’ll get the scoop on what it’s really like to work in different areas of the law, so you can chart your own course for success.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 26, 2022 • 1h 1min
Let's Get Personal with Ally Coll, President and Co-Founder of The Purple Campaign
Ally Coll is the President and Co-Founder of the Purple Campaign, a non-profit organization whose mission is to address workplace harassment. She is an attorney and a nationally recognized expert on gender equality in the workplace and the #MeToo movement. Prior to founding the Purple Campaign, Ally was a litigator in private practice in Washington D.C. where she also spent time on Capitol Hill as an aide in both the U.S. House and Senate. During the 2016 election she joined Hillary Clinton’s legal team in headquarters as the Deputy Director of Voter Protection.Ally is also an Adjunct Professor at George Mason University, where she teaches civil rights law. She is a 2007 graduate of Tulane University and a 2016 graduate of Harvard Law School. Learn more about the mission of the Purple Campaign.Check out Ally's testimony in support of the Judiciary Accountability Act.Connect with Ally on LinkedIn. Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.comOn Twitter @PersonalJxPodAnd on Instagram @PersonalJxPodcastPersonal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast. Our logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor.Personal Jurisdiction is edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.comOur Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod.Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7614-pleasant-porridgeLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Get new episodes by email by subscribing to our Substack! Thank you to our sponsor, Themis Bar Review! Listen to this episode for a special code to get the lowest price of the year on the February and July 2026 Themis Bar Review Course.Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.comFind us on LinkedIn on our new page and subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletterFind us on Twitter @PersonalJxPodWe couldn't do this alone! So...Personal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast. We use Riverside.FM to record our episodes. Our episodes are edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.comOur new logo/branding was designed by Ellie Mejia, a graphic designer and illustrator located in Chicago, Illinois. Check out Ellie's work here. Our previous logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor.Our Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Show Less

Apr 19, 2022 • 1h 7min
Let's Get Personal with Juan Perla, Appellate and International Disputes Attorney
Juan Perla is a partner at Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP in New York City. His practice focuses on appellate work and international dispute resolution. He is a graduate of Andrews University (BA, 2003), University of Southern California (MPA, 2006), and the University of California Berkeley School of Law (JD, 2012). He served as a law clerk for the Honorable C. Darnell Jones II on the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Honorable Luis Felipe Restrepo on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Learn more about the United States v. Vaello-Madero case pending before the Supreme Court.Connect with Juan on LinkedIn. Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.comOn Twitter @PersonalJxPodAnd on Instagram @PersonalJxPodcastPersonal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast. Our logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor.Personal Jurisdiction is edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.comOur Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod.Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7614-pleasant-porridgeLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Get new episodes by email by subscribing to our Substack! Thank you to our sponsor, Themis Bar Review! Listen to this episode for a special code to get the lowest price of the year on the February and July 2026 Themis Bar Review Course.Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.comFind us on LinkedIn on our new page and subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletterFind us on Twitter @PersonalJxPodWe couldn't do this alone! So...Personal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast. We use Riverside.FM to record our episodes. Our episodes are edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.comOur new logo/branding was designed by Ellie Mejia, a graphic designer and illustrator located in Chicago, Illinois. Check out Ellie's work here. Our previous logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor.Our Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Show Less

Apr 12, 2022 • 1h 3min
Let's Get Personal with David Dormon, General Counsel at Downtown Music Holdings
David Dormon is General Counsel at Downtown Music Holdings. He is based in Los Angeles. Prior to his time at Downtown Music, he was an associate at the law firms of Reed Smith (2021 - 2022), Vedder Price (2016 - 2018), and Katten (2014 - 2016). David is a graduate of Tufts University and the University of Chicago Law School. Connect with David on LinkedIn. Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.comOn Twitter @PersonalJxPodAnd on Instagram @PersonalJxPodcastPersonal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast. Our logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor.Personal Jurisdiction is edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.comOur Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod.Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7614-pleasant-porridgeLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Get new episodes by email by subscribing to our Substack! Thank you to our sponsor, Themis Bar Review! Listen to this episode for a special code to get the lowest price of the year on the February and July 2026 Themis Bar Review Course.Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.comFind us on LinkedIn on our new page and subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletterFind us on Twitter @PersonalJxPodWe couldn't do this alone! So...Personal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast. We use Riverside.FM to record our episodes. Our episodes are edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.comOur new logo/branding was designed by Ellie Mejia, a graphic designer and illustrator located in Chicago, Illinois. Check out Ellie's work here. Our previous logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor.Our Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Show Less

Apr 5, 2022 • 44min
Let's Get Personal with Lindsay Dubin, Staff Attorney at Defenders of Wildlife
Lindsay Dubin is a Staff Attorney at Defenders of Wildlife in Washington, D.C. Prior to her job in D.C., she worked at the Environmental Law & Policy Center in Chicago, IL. She is a 2007 graduate of Cornell University and a 2014 graduate of Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. Connect with Lindsay on LinkedIn.Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.comOn Twitter @PersonalJxPodAnd on Instagram @PersonalJxPodcastPersonal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast. Our logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor.Personal Jurisdiction is edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.comOur Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod.Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7614-pleasant-porridgeLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Get new episodes by email by subscribing to our Substack! Thank you to our sponsor, Themis Bar Review! Listen to this episode for a special code to get the lowest price of the year on the February and July 2026 Themis Bar Review Course.Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.comFind us on LinkedIn on our new page and subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletterFind us on Twitter @PersonalJxPodWe couldn't do this alone! So...Personal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast. We use Riverside.FM to record our episodes. Our episodes are edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.comOur new logo/branding was designed by Ellie Mejia, a graphic designer and illustrator located in Chicago, Illinois. Check out Ellie's work here. Our previous logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor.Our Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Show Less

Mar 29, 2022 • 47min
Let's Get Personal with Emily Thomas, Senior Counsel at Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Emily Thomas is Senior Counsel at Hyatt Hotels Corporation in Chicago. Prior to her role at Hyatt, Emily was an associate in the real estate group at Katten in Chicago. Emily is a 2008 graduate of American University and a 2014 graduate of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. Connect with Emily on LinkedIn. Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.comOn Twitter @PersonalJxPodAnd on Instagram @PersonalJxPodcastPersonal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast. Our logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor.Personal Jurisdiction is edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.comOur Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod.Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7614-pleasant-porridgeLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Get new episodes by email by subscribing to our Substack! Thank you to our sponsor, Themis Bar Review! Listen to this episode for a special code to get the lowest price of the year on the February and July 2026 Themis Bar Review Course.Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.comFind us on LinkedIn on our new page and subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletterFind us on Twitter @PersonalJxPodWe couldn't do this alone! So...Personal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast. We use Riverside.FM to record our episodes. Our episodes are edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.comOur new logo/branding was designed by Ellie Mejia, a graphic designer and illustrator located in Chicago, Illinois. Check out Ellie's work here. Our previous logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor.Our Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Show Less

Mar 22, 2022 • 55min
Let's Get Personal with Suhas Subramanyam, Delegate (HD-87), Virginia House of Delegates
Suhas Subramanyam is a Delegate of the Virginia House of Delegates. He represents District 87 which comprises Loudon County and Prince William County. He has served Virginia since 2020. Suhas has also acted as counsel for a number of startups.Prior to serving Virginia, he was a Policy Advisor & Special Assistant for Technology for the White House during the Obama Administration. He is a 2008 graduate of Tulane University and a 2013 graduate of Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. Connect with Suhas on LinkedIn.Connect with Suhas on Twitter.Connect with Suhas on Facebook. Visit Suhas for Virginia.Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.comOn Twitter @PersonalJxPodAnd on Instagram @PersonalJxPodcastPersonal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast. Our logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor.Personal Jurisdiction is edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.comOur Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod.Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7614-pleasant-porridgeLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Get new episodes by email by subscribing to our Substack! Thank you to our sponsor, Themis Bar Review! Listen to this episode for a special code to get the lowest price of the year on the February and July 2026 Themis Bar Review Course.Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.comFind us on LinkedIn on our new page and subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletterFind us on Twitter @PersonalJxPodWe couldn't do this alone! So...Personal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast. We use Riverside.FM to record our episodes. Our episodes are edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.comOur new logo/branding was designed by Ellie Mejia, a graphic designer and illustrator located in Chicago, Illinois. Check out Ellie's work here. Our previous logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor.Our Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Show Less

Mar 15, 2022 • 47min
Let's Get Personal with Jonathan Jacobson, Trial Attorney, Public Integrity Section at U.S. Department of Justice
Jonathan Jacobson is a Trial Attorney in the Public Integrity Section at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.Jonathan is a graduate of the University of Illinois (2008) and Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law (2014). Learn more about the Honors Program at the Department of Justice here. Connect with Jonathan on LinkedIn.Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.comOn Twitter @PersonalJxPodAnd on Instagram @PersonalJxPodcastPersonal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast. Our logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor.Our Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod.Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7614-pleasant-porridgeLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Get new episodes by email by subscribing to our Substack! Thank you to our sponsor, Themis Bar Review! Listen to this episode for a special code to get the lowest price of the year on the February and July 2026 Themis Bar Review Course.Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.comFind us on LinkedIn on our new page and subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletterFind us on Twitter @PersonalJxPodWe couldn't do this alone! So...Personal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast. We use Riverside.FM to record our episodes. Our episodes are edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.comOur new logo/branding was designed by Ellie Mejia, a graphic designer and illustrator located in Chicago, Illinois. Check out Ellie's work here. Our previous logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor.Our Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Show Less

Mar 8, 2022 • 57min
Let's Get Personal with Chloe Rossen, Senior Counsel at Longroad Energy
Chloe is Senior Counsel at Longroad Energy. You can find out more about the work Longroad does here. Chloe Rossen is a graduate of Tufts University (2008) and Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law (2014). Connect with Chloe on LinkedIn. Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.comOn Twitter @PersonalJxPodAnd on Instagram @PersonalJxPodcastPersonal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast. Our logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor.Personal Jurisdiction is edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.comOur Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod.Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7614-pleasant-porridgeLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Get new episodes by email by subscribing to our Substack! Thank you to our sponsor, Themis Bar Review! Listen to this episode for a special code to get the lowest price of the year on the February and July 2026 Themis Bar Review Course.Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.comFind us on LinkedIn on our new page and subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletterFind us on Twitter @PersonalJxPodWe couldn't do this alone! So...Personal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast. We use Riverside.FM to record our episodes. Our episodes are edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.comOur new logo/branding was designed by Ellie Mejia, a graphic designer and illustrator located in Chicago, Illinois. Check out Ellie's work here. Our previous logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor.Our Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Show Less

Mar 1, 2022 • 53min
Let's Get Personal with Leah Litman, Professor of Law at University of Michigan Law School
Leah Litman is a Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School. She teaches and writes on constitutional law, federal courts, and federal sentencing. Her research examines unidentified and implicit values that are used to structure the legal system, the federal courts, and the legal profession. Leah’s scholarship has appeared in several top law reviews. Her work also appears in popular media, including The New York Times and Slate. Leah is also the co-host of Strict Scrutiny, a popular podcast about the United States Supreme Court and the legal culture that surrounds it. Strict Scrutiny has a different voice–one that celebrates the contributions and opinions of women and people of color. She is the co-creator of Women Also Know Law, a tool to promote the work of women and non-binary academics. Leah also maintains an active pro bono practice. For example, she was part of the litigation team in Garcia v. United States, one of the successful challenges to the rescission of the DACA program, for which the team was recognized as California Lawyers of the Year. Prior to her position at Michigan Law School, Leah clerked on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and on the United States Supreme Court. Following her clerkships, she worked at WilmerHale in D.C. She was a Climenko Fellow and Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School, and an Assistant Professor at the University of California, Irvine, School of Law. Leah has won several awards for her teaching--in 2021 Michigan Law students awarded her the L.Hart Wright Teaching Award, and in 2019 she won the Professor of the Year Award while at the UC Irvine School of Law. Leah is a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School.Follow Leah on Twitter @LeahLitman and @StrictScrutiny_and @WomenKnowLawListen to the Strict Scrutiny Podcast here and learn more about Strict Scrutiny here. Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.comOn Twitter @PersonalJxPodAnd on Instagram @PersonalJxPodcastPersonal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast. Our logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor.Personal Jurisdiction is edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.comOur Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod.Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7614-pleasant-porridgeLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Get new episodes by email by subscribing to our Substack! Thank you to our sponsor, Themis Bar Review! Listen to this episode for a special code to get the lowest price of the year on the February and July 2026 Themis Bar Review Course.Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.comFind us on LinkedIn on our new page and subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletterFind us on Twitter @PersonalJxPodWe couldn't do this alone! So...Personal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast. We use Riverside.FM to record our episodes. Our episodes are edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.comOur new logo/branding was designed by Ellie Mejia, a graphic designer and illustrator located in Chicago, Illinois. Check out Ellie's work here. Our previous logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor.Our Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Show Less

Feb 22, 2022 • 1h 7min
Let's Get Personal with Donya Khadem, Judicial Law Clerk
Donya Khadem is a judicial law clerk on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Previously, she was a judicial law clerk on the District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Madison (2015) and the University of Michigan Law School (2019).Connect with Donya on LinkedIn. Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.comOn Twitter @PersonalJxPod And on Instagram @PersonalJxPodcastPersonal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast. Our logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor.Personal Jurisdiction is edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.comOur Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod.Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7614-pleasant-porridgeLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Get new episodes by email by subscribing to our Substack! Thank you to our sponsor, Themis Bar Review! Listen to this episode for a special code to get the lowest price of the year on the February and July 2026 Themis Bar Review Course.Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.comFind us on LinkedIn on our new page and subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletterFind us on Twitter @PersonalJxPodWe couldn't do this alone! So...Personal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast. We use Riverside.FM to record our episodes. Our episodes are edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.comOur new logo/branding was designed by Ellie Mejia, a graphic designer and illustrator located in Chicago, Illinois. Check out Ellie's work here. Our previous logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor.Our Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Show Less


