The Portia Project

What exactly are no crime wrongful convictions? In this episode, Jessica S. Henry shares thought-provoking insights from her new book, Smoke but No Fire: Convicting the Innocent of Crimes that Never Happened. Jessica is a professor, legal commentator, social justice advocate, and blogger. Her award-winning book highlights a prevailing yet underlooked issue in the legal justice system that impacts...

Yolanda V. Torres of the Orange County Superior Court shares her journey from being the first in her family to graduate from college to serving on the bench. With host MC Sungaila, she shares how her diverse experience as both a law professor and family law attorney, and as a past president of the Orange County Hispanic Bar Association serves her well as a judge. Listen in to hear her inspiring jo...

U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Margaret McKeown, the first woman partner at Perkins Coie and a White House Fellow, shares her career journey from lawyer to judge, and provides insights into the crafting of a judicial opinion and good legal writing. With host MC Sungaila, she also discusses her book Citizen Justice: The Environmental Legacy of William O. Douglas―Public Advocate and Conse...

Noella A. Sudbury is the Founder and CEO of Rasa Public Benefit Corporation, a new legal tech company on a mission to make the process of clearing a record simple and affordable for everyone. In this episode, she talks with MC Sungaila about her career journey—from attending law school, going to the public defender's office, working in Utah's leading appellate law boutique, transitioning to Goldma...

Dean Nancy Staudt , The Frank and Marcia Carlucci Dean of the Pardee RAND Graduate School and Vice President of Innovation at the RAND Corporation , discusses her career journey from law to public policy. Dean Staudt, a nationally recognized scholar in tax, tax policy, and empirical legal studies, discusses her path from a judicial clerkship to her roles as law professor, law school dean, and now...

Andrea Sheridan Ordin -- the first female United States Attorney for the Central District of California—and only the third female U.S. Attorney in American history— discusses her path to this and other leadership positions in government. Among other roles, Ms. Ordin has also served as Los Angeles County Counsel, Chief Assistant Attorney General of California, and on the Los Angeles Police Commissi...

Pathbreaking Hawaii Supreme Court Justice Sabrina Shizue McKenna sits down with host M.C. Sungaila to discuss how perseverance, confidence in your skills, humility, and persistence can help you achieve new heights. Listen in as Justice McKenna discusses her journey from Japan to Hawaii, playing college athletics and getting a scholarship as a result of Title IX, and joining the bench after a disti...

Judge Julia Smith Gibbons of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit shares how the relationships she formed throughout her career paved the way for her to become the first woman trial judge of a court of record in Tennessee, followed by distinguished service on both the U.S. District Court and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. She is the recipient of the Devitt Award, the highest honor...

Recently retired Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor shares how she became the first woman to lead the state judiciary and her contribution to the judicial system. Maureen O'Connor is the tenth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio, a Cleveland-Marshall School of Law graduate, and a member of the Cleveland-Marshall Hall of Fame. She became the longest-serving statewide elected w...

Erin Smith and Jennafer Wagner both attended law school to advocate for change. Jennafer is now the Director of Programs at Family Violence Appellate Project (FVAP), where Erin is the co-founder and Executive Director. FVAP is dedicated to helping domestic violence survivors and their children appeal trial court decisions in their cases, and thereby shaping the law in a favorable way for othe...

Marcie Getelman , Deputy General Counsel of Lennar Corporation , shares her career journey, the myriad roles held by in-house counsel, and how she supports the careers of the female outside counsel with whom she works.

Host MC Sungaila sits down with retired Colorado Court of Appeals Judge Karen M. Ashby to discuss her trailblazing career as the first Black woman to be appointed to that court. Judge Ashby shares valuable insights from her experiences as a public defender, trial court judge, and appellate judge. She describes how her path has paved the way for others, and how judges' diverse experiences contribut...

Paloma Ahmadi, Associate General Counsel, Employment, at Brex, talks about her journey from in-house, to law firm practice, and back in-house. Paloma is a phenomenal client advisor, with an interesting mix of career experiences, who provides great insight into navigating a legal career.

Host MC Sungaila talks about trials, mentors, and training the next generation with leading litigator Caryn Geraghty Jorgensen . Tune in for more great insights from women in the law.

Judge Jacqueline Nguyen talks with host M.C. Sungaila about her experience as a refugee during the Vietnam War and her journey to becoming a judge, from private law practice to serving as a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Central District of California. Before her confirmation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Judge Nguyen was also the first Asian American woman t...

Host MC Sungaila discusses the importance of empathy and human understanding in the law with Iowa trial lawyer Kim Hardeman , a Partner at Lederer Weston Craig PLC . She traces her career and explains why the human touch is important in law and the myriad of ways women are assets on any legal team. Want to know more about women's progress in the field of law? Then this episode is for you.

Host MC Sungaila trades insights with Barbara J. Dawson , a litigation partner and the incoming Chair of Snell & Wilmer , about recognizing leadership opportunities, authenticity, how to become highly engaged with and navigate your law firm, and the importance of having a sense of community.

Erin Levine is the founder of Hello Divorce , an online divorce platform that provides software to complete legal forms and connects users to lawyers (if they want legal advice). Erin leveraged her legal experience running her own law firm focused on family law and her own experience as a litigant in the legal system to create Hello Divorce's user-centric platform. Erin's company is at the interse...

For the first time, the podcast features a trailblazing guest who, despite having had a major impact on law and policy globally, does not have a law degree. Join your host MC Sungaila as she dives deep into a conversation with Deborah R. Hensler , Ph. D. , the Judge John W. Ford Professor of Dispute Resolution at Stanford Law School, and former inaugural chair of the RAND Institute for Civil Justi...

Erin Wilson , General Counsel of CU Direct , joins MC Sungaila to discuss the interpretive role played by general counsel, the importance of facilitating communication between various stakeholders in the business, and how her prior work in aerospace, advertising, and even the music business inform her work today. Learn what it takes to work as part of an in-house legal team, and a C-suite lea...

Entrepreneurship isn't a word you often associate with lawyers, but Erin F. Giglia , the co-founder and owner of the Montage Legal Group , is a standout entrepreneur. She and her business partner, Laurie Rowen, founded the company to give law firms and legal departments access to a platform of independent contractor freelance attorneys. Erin shares insights about her journey from lawyer to en...

Ann Kappler , Executive Vice President and General Counsel at Prudential Financial, sits down with host MC Sungaila to discuss her career journey from a law clerk at the U.S. Supreme Court to BigLaw and a key member of the executive leadership team at a Fortune 100 company. 

Chase T. Rogers , former Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, sits down with host M.C. Sungaila to share her journey to the bench and beyond. She also discusses the importance of building a team with diverse experiences and provides appellate advocacy tips. This episode is powered by Posh.

The Joseph Project connects human trafficking survivors with attorneys who represent them pro bono to help them with various legal issues arising from their trafficking experience. M.C. Sungaila sits down with Amanda Paletz , the project’s Legal Director, who describes the Project's holistic approach to helping survivors get back on their feet. The project’s legal team works hard to build a networ...

Today’s guest uses what she learned as a student-athlete to build an inclusive team at her law firm.  Amy M. Stewart  is the founding partner of  Stewart Law Group , the only minority and women-owned law firm based in the Dallas Fort Worth area representing companies in business, employment, and personal injury disputes. Prior to going to law school, Amy was an NCAA Division I colle...