The Limitless Lawyer

From Lawyer to Matchmaker

Jasbina Ahluwalia, founder of Intersections Matchmaking, shares her story here.

Cool Job for lawyers who still have love for it.

Every once in a while, I run across a legal job that excites me - not usually because it is a law job but it is working at a cool company.

"The ideal candidate has top flight credentials, loves the law (ouch!), and is dedicated to the cause."

If this describes you, read on.

Corporate Counsel - YELP

New Lawyer Survey Results - Just In! (Anonymous JD)

Anonymous JD

1. Why did you go to law school?

Wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my career after college, didn't feel ready to go into the "real world", thought I was interested in a legal career after taking a law survey class, thought I'd like law school because I liked reading and writing and my undergrad degree was in a technical field so I was looking for a change.

2. When did you first think about leaving the practice of law or decide to quit law school?

About halfway through my first year of law school was the first time. Decided I had too many loans to quit and needed to see it through. Have been thinking about leaving the profession ever since. Have now been practicing 8.5 years and finally making solid plans to exit.

3. What thought, experience or event first inspired your current career choice?

I am planning to exit to pursue a culinary career. I grew up cooking and baking with my mom, then did a lot of cooking/baking/bartending/entertaining in college and really enjoyed it. I first thought about going to culinary school when I was a few months into my first lawyering job, but the timing wasn't right. During my 6th year of practice, after I switched to a different law job, I finally did go to culinary school, at night while working full-time during the day. I loved being in the kitchen. I feel like my passion for it keeps growing.

4. What was the very first action you took when you decided to switch careers?

Went to culinary school. Then paid off my undergrad/law school/culinary school loans and started saving money while I fleshed out business ideas.

5. What resources (people, books, money) assisted you most during your transition?

People: My husband who is very supportive of my finding and cultivating my passion in life;, certain members of my family who know I'm unhappy being a lawyer and know I have other talents; my cooking and nutrition professors in culinary school; my law school friends and best girlfriends who appreciate my passion for food and being a whole person; and my career coach. Books: Escape from Corporate America by Pamela Skillings, One Person/Multiple Careers by Marci Alboher, The Alchemist. Money: Used the money from my law firm job to pay off my school loans and to build up a "support" fund.

6. How did you handle fear and/or uncertainty during your transition?

Talked to supportive family and friends; talked with a career counselor; read books that triggered reminders of why I want to do this.

7. What skills from law school or your legal career have proven most useful in your new career?

Client relations; analytical writing and precise document formatting; socializing in law school; travel during legal career.

8. What advice would you give to someone trying to make the leap from law into your field?

Get some training; talk to people who do what you do; explore your passions and ask yourself whether you like something enough to think about it a lot and work really hard at it. Don't be afraid to try - you can always go back to the law if you miss it or if you want the paycheck back.

9. Any final words of wisdom? How has living your passion impacted your life?

Thinking about making the switch and doing the work to put the process in motion has been really thrilling and I am very excited to make the break and do something that I feel like I am meant to do.

Lawyer turned Shoe Company President

Matthew Miller, President of CLAE shoe company shares his wisdom below. With a combination of interest and luck, he followed an opportunity that has proven quite satisfying to him. It seems as if, for him and others, being a lawyer is just the platform on which to build an exciting career. For the pdf, click here.

MATTHEW MILLER, President, CLAE shoe company

1. Why did you go to law school?
I liked the idea of a constantly evolving profession.

2. When did you first think about leaving the practice of law or decide to quit law school?
I had a dream that I wouldn't be a lawyer for the rest of my life. Two weeks later a client offered me an in-house position as COO/general counsel.

3. What thought, experience or event first inspired your current career choice?
I've always loved shoes and as a lawyer, I had several shoe companies as clients. I learned about the business from the legal perspective and thought I could do it too.

4. What was the very first action you took when you decided to switch careers?
Accepted an in-house position that still involved the law but started my transition towards a non-legal career.

5. What resources (people, books, money) assisted you most during your transition?
Luck?

6. How did you handle fear and/or uncertainty during your transition?
Denial of what the change would mean.

7. What skills from law school or your legal career have proven most useful in your new career?
Law school has given me so many skills – an analytical approach to problem solving, an understanding of cost benefit analysis, an understanding of contract law – that I use every day in business it is impossible to list them all. I have no regrets at all about going to law school.

8. What advice would you give to someone trying to make the leap from law into your field?
Do something that you love and understand.

9. Any final words of wisdom? How has living your passion impacted your life?
I loved being a lawyer, but I also love not being a lawyer. But I have found that if you seek out something that you find entertaining and that you feel passionate about you won’t mind the hard work that is required.

Terry Carter: Update

Quick update on Terry Carter, owner of Travertine Spa. We featured him before here.

Travertine Spa owner looks to make bigger makr in body-care market, LA Times, July 21, 2008 by Ronald D. White

Terry emphasized in our first encounter that he didn't hate the law but simply believed that he wanted to do more. He reinforces that theme in this article as well. "Carter said his training gave him the legal skills to write his own business contracts and the foreign language and people skills to pick the brains of spa experts and lab technicians in formulating his products."

It's a man's world...so what?

The legal field is still predominantly male. According to findings by Catalyst, in 2007, women made up 32.6% of all lawyers. And, of the nation's 200 largest law firms, women represent almost 16% of equity partners and only 8% of managing partners. For women of color, they represent only 1.7% of all partners.

So I thought that this post from Inc.com entitled, "How to Get Heard in a Meeting Full of Men," would provide some insight for young women graduating from college or law school who need to find a way to be heard in a male dominated profession, office or world.

However, I would never, in a million years, implore any of the methods outlined in the article. BUT, and this is the real subject of this post, I realize myself to be a different kind of gal. Here's why:

 

1. I've always been surrounded by mostly men in family and friendship situations.

2. I've never had a problem being heard.

3. I never take on the mannerisms of men in order to be heard.

4. I always wait until there is absolute silence and then I make my point, confidently and succinctly. Men are amazed by this and usually go on to ask for more.

5. I also have been told that I intimidate some men because of my silence. I never raise my voice. I won't yell to be heard or tap into the testosterone that I know lies within me to engage.

 

But I hear professional women struggle with this all the time. I'd like to know from other women what works for you and why or why not. Share the knowledge so young women will not sit in meetings raising their hands, asking for permission to speak. The thought of that makes me gag.

Entrepreneurial law students? Go figure?

The New York Post reports that New York University Law Students have been engaged in the capitalist endeavor of swapping cash and starbucks gift cards, among other things, for seats in coveted classes.

Students argue that this is how a free market should operate. Dean Liam Murphy is trying to put a stop to it.

Any thoughts? Should students be allowed to swap courses or pay cash for coveted slots?

The #1 factor to happiness is...

WORK! Sonja Lyubomirsky, author of The How of Happiness, along with Ed Diener and Laura King, conducted a meta-analysis (a "study of studies") of 225 studies of well-being. She admits being surprised by the results.

This study revealed that work, more so than any other variable, including relationships, was both a cause and consequence of being happy.  Here are some excerpts:

"The evidence, for example, demonstrates that people who have jobs
distinguished by autonomy, meaning and variety - and who show superior
performance, creativity, and productivity - are significantly happier
than those who don't."

"Why does our work make us happy? Because it provides us a sense
of identity, structure to our days, and important and meaningful life
goals to pursue. Perhaps even more important, it furnishes us with
close colleagues, friends and even marriage partners."

"The more successful we are at our jobs, the higher income we make,
and the better work environment we have, the happier we will be.
This increased happiness will foster greater success, more money, and
an improved work environment, which will further enhance happiness,
and so on and so on and so on."

Read the article here:

Now back to work...

If you've enjoyed this article, please pass it on to your friends via email or your favorite social networking site. But, most importantly, tell the transitioning and former lawyers in your life to take a few minutes to share their wisdom via this survey.

Kathleen Bradley: Lawyer turned Executive Coach

Career transition is difficult. It takes a combination of introspection, perseverance, skills development and networking - all while working a full-time job, of course. Kathleen Bradley, Director of Professional Development at The Executive Lawyer LLC faced and overcame these challenges during 18 years of law practice.

She indicates that, within the first 3 years, she began thinking about leaving the practice of law. But didn't fulfill this dream until 18 years later. Her first step, like Marci Alboher, was to hire a coach. That is when she decided that coaching others was what she wanted to do.

Kathleen's next step was to attend a leadership coaching program. After graduating, she had difficulty breaking into coaching and returned to school again, obtaining a Masters in Leadership from Georgetown University. Fortunately, she says, she "...had a substantial stash of money from my career." But her tenacity and love for coaching provided her with the daily inspiration to stay the course. She also recommends The Pathfinder by Nick Lore, one of her first coaches.

A final thought from Kathleen on what it feels like to live your passion every day:
"I feel like my work today is like playing in the sandbox with friends. I felt like my work as a lawyer was pushing a boulder up a hill every day."

You can read the entirety of Kathleen's survey answers here.

If you've enjoyed this article, please pass it on to your friends via email or your favorite social networking site. But, most importantly, tell the transitioning and former lawyers in your life to take a few minutes to share their wisdom via this survey.

Kimberly Fowler: Lawyer turned CEO (YAS Fitness)

Overcoming obstacles - confronting fear - using set-backs to fuel success define Kimberly Fowler.

She was injured in a car accident her second year of law school. Yoga helped her recover. The following year, Kimberly was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor. Again, she relied on yoga to overcome the doctors' grim diagnoses. Then later, a near-fatal rock-climbing accident forced her to ask herself the million dollar question, "What do you want to do with your life."

Kimberly still encourages those who ask her advice about going to law school, to go! She says that there were many times when building her business that she was thankful to be a lawyer. Her best advice comes from her own example, which is to "JUST JUMP!" She says, "[T]here will never be the right time...you just have to do it [and] know that you will figure it out on the way down."

Kimberly is one of the many lawyers with whom I've exchanged e-mails that stands by their prior legal training. The unifying characteristic seems to be that, for some, the law may not be engaging, in and of itself. But, for those you have a greater passion and vision for their lives and the work that they do, there's no question that their legal training is part of the foundation that has helped bring their vision to life.

To find out more about Kimberly, check out her renowned YOGA for Athletes DVD; and her detailed answers.

If you've enjoyed this article, please pass it on to your friends via email or your favorite social networking site. But, most importantly, tell the transitioning and former lawyers in your life to take a few minutes to share their wisdom via this survey.