The Jabot

In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Tamra Moore, partner at King & Spalding, about the twists and turns of her career that led her to her role at K&S. Tamra shares what latering during a pandemic was like, and how she decided on a firm that worked for her. She also discusses the differences between Biglaw, in-house, and government service. Tamra additionally talks about what a day in the life of...

In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Renauld Clarke, Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Brown Rudnick, about the biggest diversity challenges in Biglaw. Renauld discusses the most relevant benchmarks for diversity in the legal profession, and why he launched the Racial Justice initiative. He also shares how he is approaching recruitment and retention given the intensity of the lateral ma...

In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Jodi Warren, a partner at Capell Barnett Matalon & Schoenfeld, about a day in the life of a Real Estate, Corporate and Commercial Transactions, and Religious and Charitable Organizations attorney. Jodi shares her biggest career successes and failures, and what she learned from them. She talks about what virtual lawyering has looked like for her during the pande...

In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Leslie Garfield Tenzer, a professor at Pace University School of Law. Professor Tenzer discusses how she decided to get into legal academia and the twists and turns of her career that have led her to this point. She tells Kathryn why she decided to write the Legal Emoji Dictionary, and speaks about how emojis have been used in legal cases. She shares which emoj...

In this episode of The Jabot Kathryn chats with Elizabeth Williamson, author of Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth. They chat about the ins and outs of the defamation cases filed by families of the victims of the tragic Sandy Hook mass shooting against the infamous Infowars host Alex Jones. What was billed as an epic First Amendment showdown fizzled to a default judgment with...

In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Stephanie Wachman, CEO and founder of Symetree, about the evolution of her career and the founding of Symetree. They discuss pressing issues in the industry, such as balancing a law career and "real life," dealing with the stress of career challenges, and strategies for business development. Stephanie also speaks about how she helps women lawyers grow their pra...

In this episode, Kathryn speaks with family law attorney Aliza Shatzman, who recently submitted a Statement for the Record for the House Judiciary Committee hearing about harassment in the judiciary. Aliza discusses her Statement, what happened with the judge, why the system that currently exists is insufficient, and what should be done to change it. Episode Resources Statement for the Record of A...

In this episode, Kathryn speaks with author and professor Gilda Daniels, about the process of writing her book, Uncounted. Gilda speaks about the current voter suppression efforts and the throughline from Jim Crow era efforts to what we are seeing today. Gilda discusses whether there is any hope that the Supreme Court will protect voting rights, and what Congress can do to protect such rights.   E...

In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Sahar Aziz, author, and Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School. Sahar shares how she first became interested in her book, The Racial Muslim. She details some historical examples of how the book's hypothesis is supported and discusses how far back the ideas go. Sahar also talks about the dichotomy between belief in the First Amendment and how that squares away i...

In The Jabot's 100th episode, Kathryn is joined by Jennifer Schramm, a partner at King & Spalding. They discuss Jennifer's career highs and lows, and how she balances her professional life with other interests. Jennifer also speaks about what it was like to make partners during a pandemic, and how to make the best of your career during tumultuous times. Episode Resources https://www.linkedin.com/i...

In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Michelle Quinn, partner at Gallet Dreyer & Berkey, about the twists and turns of her career that led her to her current role, and how she decided on her practice area. They also discuss how her practice has been impacted by COVID. Michelle talks about some career highs and lows and what she learned from them, and also shares her favorite war story from her prac...

Kathryn speaks with Mansi Shah, author of "The Taste of Ginger" and Senior Vice President of Legal at Warner Bros., about how she balances her writing and legal careers, and what the process of writing is like for her. Mansi discusses the biggest challenges she faces when writing a novel, and why she decided to root her book in the immigrant experience. She also talks about how she decided what to...

In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Ting Ting Cheng, Director of the ERA Project, and Kati Hornung, Director of VoteEqualityUS, about the current status of the ERA and why the amendment is so vital in 2022. Ting Ting and Kati discuss their varying perspectives and skill sets when tackling the ERA, and what they say to people that think gender equality is a passé issue or something that's already...

In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Heather Weigler, Assistant Attorney General at the Oregon Department of Justice, about escaping big law and making the world a better place. Heather tried to eliminate the existential dread and unhappiness from work that affected her life and well-being. Gender imbalance in the legal realm further motivated her to volunteer to help women gain their place in the...

In this episode, Kathryn talks to Peter Lynch, Cozen O'Connor's Office Managing Partner, on why he went to law school and how he chose his practice area. Peter discusses why he values D&I programs at business and bar association levels. He shares why he founded DisabilityRightsNow along with the organization's objectives. The legal profession has fallen behind in the hiring of people with disabili...

Kathryn sits with Emer Simic, partner with Neal Gerber Eisenberg Intellectual Property Practice Group, to discuss her reason for shifting from the field of science to law. Emer shares why she chose IP as her specialization and what a typical day in her office entails. She also outlines some of the diversity challenges she sees in IP and the legal sector in general. And she elaborates some of the s...

In this episode, Kathryn speaks with professor and author Ruth Colker about her path to legal academia and how she came up with the concept for her new book. Ruth discusses why conservatives have been able to win the rhetorical battle on so many issues using insults, and how progressives can flip the script. She also talks about how the insult playbook has played out in relation to #MeToo cases, a...

In this episode, Kathryn speaks with entrepreneur Gabriela Isturiz about the ups and downs of working in the legal tech space. They discuss what led to the founding of Gabriela's Fund XX, and why it is so important to harness the power of women investors and entrepreneurs. Gabriela also shares the advice she has for folks getting involved in the legal tech space. Episode Resources https://thefund....

In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Elizabeth Todd, an attorney with the law offices of James Scott Farrin, about the twists and turns her career has taken to get her to where she is today. Elizabeth shares what a typical day looks like for her, and discusses how COVID has impacted the personal injury and nursing home negligence space. She also shares her biggest battles as a result of COVID and...

The transition to parenthood is not easy if you belong in the legal industry. How to survive working as a parent? Kathryn speaks with Lori Mihalich-Levin, a health care lawyer in private practice at her firm. She is the founder of The Mindful Return, a platform that helps parents in planning a radiant, empowered, and smooth return from leave. Lori shares her reason for entering law school and the...

Kathryn speaks with Yvonne Cort, partner at Capell, Barnett, Matalon & Schoenfeld, about how her law school career goals matched up with her actual career. Yvonne discusses how she settled on her practice area and the process of making a lateral move during a pandemic. She also speaks about the benefits of small firms, and what it's like being the only woman partner at her firm. Yvonne also shares...

Kathryn speaks with Judge LaDoris Hazzard Cordell about how she made her way onto the bench and the decision behind writing her recent book. They also discuss some of the biggest responsibilities and challenges Judge Cordell has faced during her time on the bench, and she shares some of the hardest cases she has presided over. Judge Cordell also details how her experience as a Black queer woman ha...

In this episode, Kathryn speaks with journalist and author Joshua Prager about why he chose Roe as the subject of his most recent book, and what is so compelling about Norma McCorvey's story. They also discuss what we know now about the deal Justice Souter struck to save Roe in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Josh also explains why he thinks it is important to excavate the history of the cases that e...

In this episode, Kathryn and Terrie Campbell, the Chief Executive Officer at Esquire Deposition Solutions, discuss how the pandemic has impacted the legal tech space and the biggest lessons of the past two years. Terrie shares why she believes it's so challenging to embrace change, and what it means to find your personal North Star. Terrie also talks about whether it's possible to actually achieve...

Kathryn speaks with Meghana Shah, partner at Eversheds Sutherland, about why her practice area was appealing and what an average day looks like for her. They discuss how the pandemic impacted Meghana's practice and what she thinks is on the horizon for the cannabis industry. Meghana shares her tips for others hoping to become a Biglaw partner and some of the highs and lows of her career. Kathryn a...