The Lawyer's Escape Pod

In today's episode, I talk about Human Design, hustle & flow, and why it's ok to be more of a sprinter than a marathoner. Lawyer’s Escape Plan Quiz: http://bit.ly/lawyersescaperoutequiz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megansmileyesq/ Human Design Chart: https://www.jovianarchive.com/get_your_chart

Kat Johnston spent over a decade between BigLaw litigation and being in-house at a Silicon Valley company. The intensity of working in those environments and the stress took their toll. So, Kat started to prioritize taking better care of herself. Ultimately, as her focus and priorities shifted, Kat decided to leave practice and has taken the past 2 years off to give herself time to reset, explore,...

We all want to be able to sit in a room, research our career options, and come up with a plan we're 100% confident in before taking action.   But here's the thing: you can't wait for total confidence and clarity to take action because it's the action taking that grows your confidence and clarity.   Lawyer’s Escape Plan Quiz: http://bit.ly/lawyersescaperoutequiz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com...

Vanessa Kuljis is the Founder of BloomRise LLC and a GALLUP Certified Strengths Coach. She works with lawyers and other professionals to discover individual talents, own their unique value proposition, and move toward setting and achieving authentic goals. Vanessa was previously the Director of Professional Development and Leadership Initiatives at the University of Miami Law School and, before th...

Being a lawyer can make you feel very one-dimensional. Finding the time and space to explore your interests will both make you a happier person in the moment, and help you figure out that elusive right next step in your career. Lawyer’s Escape Plan Quiz: http://bit.ly/lawyersescaperoutequiz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megansmileyesq/     

Vicki Huebner is the Director of Online Legal Programs and an Adjunct Professor at Santa Clara University School of law. She is also the founder of Upskilled Canines, a dog training business. Vicki spent a number of years in litigation, from a clerkship, to a big firm, to a smaller firm. She realized that practice did not light her up the way she saw it do for some people she worked with. On somew...

Working in your zone of excellence can be the enemy of finding true fulfillment at work. I know it can be very hard to even think of what else you'd do besides being a lawyer. Working to uncover your Zone of Genius is one step in that process.   Lawyer’s Escape Plan Quiz: http://bit.ly/lawyersescaperoutequiz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megansmileyesq/    

Elena Deutsch is the founder and CEO of WILL (Women Interested in Leaving Law). With a background in executive and leadership coaching, Elena guides women through the process of discovering what they want, leveraging their strengths, and researching inspiring new possibilities.  In today’s episode, we discuss: Many of Elena’s clients want to do work that’s more meaningful to them Try saying “I do...

Jay Harrington is the Co-Founder and Chief Strategist at Harrington Communications. Jay went from a big law bankruptcy practice to a portfolio career that spans from marketing & PR to training & coaching to book author. Jay highlights two things I think are so important. First, you can design your life. You can pick the work that supports the life you want to live, rather than live the lifestyle d...

A gratitude practice will not only make you feel happier on a day-to-day basis, but it will help transform you into the kind of person who sees possibilities, rather than limitations.   Lawyers’s Escape Call: http://bit.ly/escapecall   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megansmileyesq

Geoffrey Stein is a litigator turned portrait artist. Geoffrey initially went into the law because it was something reasonably stable to do with a liberal arts degree. Although he wasn’t passionate about it, he found himself at the top of his class and going down the standard firm route. He practiced in a few different arenas, while trying to incorporate more and more of his long-standing love for...

In today's episode I talk about identifying your unique strengths through the Clifton StrengthsFinder test, and why this will be more useful in helping you identify next steps than just trying to repackage your skills.   Lawyers’s Escape Call: http://bit.ly/escapecall   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megansmileyesq

Alli Elmunzer is the Attorney & Founder of Influencer Legal, a virtual law firm helping entrepreneurs navigate the legal side of online business. Alli started her career in commercial real estate. But after becoming quickly disillusioned, she left to be a wedding photographer. Alli was a photographer for 6 years. During that time, she also helped other creative business owners with legal issues on...

In this episode, I talk about how big tech companies know that well-designed spaces can reduce stress, improve cognitive function, and enhance mood, creativity, and productivity. They go to great lengths to incorporate this knowledge into their office space. I also give a few tips on how you can leverage this information to get some of these same benefits, even when you work in a boring gray box.

Stacey Wang is the Director of Product Marketing at Ironclad, Inc. Stacey went from Harvard Law to being a BigLaw litigator, along the traditional path. But a few years in, she started to feel unfulfilled and started assessing what, specifically, wasn’t working for her. She realized that the practice of law was stifling her creativity. She also had an epiphany that you only live once, so she bette...

In today's episode I talk about the importance of broadening your circle of influence. If you're always surrounded by lawyers sticking to the traditional path, it's going to continue to make it hard to see different perspectives and opportunities. So, spend time with people who expand your world, not limit it.   Leaving Law Made Fun Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/leavinglawmadefun...

Amy Impellizzeri is a former big law corporate litigator who leveraged a sabbatical opportunity to do freelance writing for a  start-up publisher. She then permanently left practice to lean into her interest in writing and is now, as she says, a writer who used to be a lawyer rather than a lawyer who writes. She’s published 5 fiction novels and one non-fiction book, “Lawyer Interrupted”. In 2022,...

In today's episode I talk about 3 reasons why you should prioritize play in your life:  Calms the mind Sparks creativity Connects you to what you enjoy doing I also talk about the 4 main types of play: Physical Ritual Imaginative Discovery Illegal Design Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/illegaldesign Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megansmileyinteriors/  

Vanessa Perlman is a corporate attorney and has mixed freelance legal work with running her own travel business. She gives us a great example of how building a career isn’t an all-or-nothing endeavor. You can mix and match. You can go back and forth. You can do what makes most sense for each season of your life. As lawyers, we often put so much pressure on making a change, and Vanessa shows us tha...

Kim Nicol is a lawyer turned mindfulness and leadership coach. Kim tells us about how she explored her natural interests and that took her into a new field. It was scary, but also enlightening to realize that people actually make money outside of the legal and corporate world. Kim has created a portfolio career for herself. Among other things, she specifically works with lawyers on wellness and mi...

In today's episode, I give you 5 tips on designing your home office: Quality Chair Lighting Declutter & Organize Plants & Nature Personalize Illegal Design Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/illegaldesign

Sarah Cottrell is my podcasting soul sister. She is a former big law litigation associate who, after 10 years of practice in various forms and paying off her law school loans, moved into the work she’d been wanting to do for years. She launched the Former Lawyer Podcast in August 2019 (within a week of this podcast’s launch!) and now also runs the Former Lawyer Collaborative. In today’s episode we...

In the Illegal Design mini-episodes, I will go deeper on how we get unstuck and actually design a purposeful and fulfilling life.  Join the Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/illegaldesign

Annette Choti left a 20 year career at the Department of Labor to start her own legal marketing firm. Annette tells us how she came to make a shift, the moment of serendipity that led her to her new career. She also tells us about all the rewards and challenges of running your own business. Annette worked for Department of Labor for 20 years The stable lifestyle of the job was worth the trade-offs...

Today’s episode is a little different. I don’t have a guest. Instead, I’m filling you in on what has been going on in my life and career. I get into the whole process, what I’m doing now, and what I see on the horizon. I also talk about my thoughts on building a purposeful life and my new free Facebook Group designed to help us do that together. In the episode I talk about: Getting stuck in my sec...