As the managing member of Levine Family Law Group and the CEO of Hello Divorce, Erin Levine is the prototype of the kind of lawyerpreneur that this podcast has always sought to highlight. She is also using her platform and entrepreneurship to help provide access to justice to those in need. Levine is a founding member of the recently-launched Justice Technology Association, where my co-host today, Maya Markovich, is the executive director. During the interview, Levine talks about experiencing burnout with her business and law practice, and coming out on the other side of it. A part of the burnout...
Several weeks ago, I was listening to an episode of Freakonomics Radio about specialization, and particularly about the long snappers in professional and collegiate football. Pennsylvania lawyer and NFL agent for long snappers Kevin Gold was interviewed as a part of that episode, and I knew that I had to have him as a guest on Lawyerpreneur. On Episode 57 of Lawyerpreneur, Kevin Gold and I continue the recent trend on this show of discussing niche markets by talking about how he became an NFL agent for long snappers and how he has developed that alongside his law practice. We...
In Episode 56 of Lawyerpreneur, M.C. Sungaila and I interview Todd Smith and Jody Sanders of the Texas Appellate Law Podcast. We talk about the launch of their podcast, the Connector (to borrow Malcolm Gladwell’s term) who brought them together, and the perseverance required to record and publish more than 100 episodes over the last two years. As much as I enjoy the What (What are you doing?) and How (How did it start and how it is going now?) of these interviews, the Why is far more meaningful to me. Todd Smith and Jody Sanders discuss why they started...
If you’re a lawyer and a parent (or not yet a parent, but hope to be some day), there is someone advocating for you. And that’s nice to hear because sometimes, it feels like working parents are on an island. Lori Mihalich-Levin has written the book on returning to work after parental leave (literally — Back to Work after Baby). Her company Mindful Return consults with other businesses for developing and implementing their parental rights strategies. Among these topics, we also talk with Lori about turning her writing and speaking platform focused on on topics of work-life integration, the transition...
I struggle with comparisonitis, which is something that can steal your joy. I am a person who, for better or worse, places much of my identity in my accomplishments. I am ambitious and internally motivated because (when I’m not keeping myself in check) I derive much of my self-worth from my accomplishments. So when I see others accomplishing more or receiving more recognition, there is a deep-seeded part of me that suggests that they have more value than I do or are more worthy of love or adoration because of what they have done. This in turn leads to internal...
When I think of Maya Markovich, I can’t help but think of the song from Hamilton, “The World Turned Upside Down,” because she’s exactly the kind of person with the vision and audacity necessary to effect those kinds of changes. In Episode 54 of Lawyerpreneur, we talk with Maya Markovich about doing really hard things, how behavioral economics can apply to lawyers and law practice, and how lawyers can effectively use change management within their firms. We also discuss the non-linear trajectory of Maya’s career and the roles she has taken on. The episode is co-hosted by M.C. Sungaila, who...
“I didn’t let the fear take over.” That’s what my seven-year-old said to us on Saturday.He had baseball tryouts and experiences a good bit of social anxiety. Over the last few years, he has let that inhibition keep him from doing things that he might otherwise enjoy. But more often, we’ve pushed him into uncomfortable situations knowing he’d enjoy himself once he overcame those initial barriers.On Saturday morning, we braced ourselves for a tough morning, but he never said anything about being nervous or anxious. He had his tryouts, and everything went well. On the way to the car, we...
Let’s talk about (not Bruno — we don’t talk about Bruno) the fear of rejection. I’ll get this out of the way — rejection hurts and there’s no one signing up to get in that line. BUT if you don’t put yourself in a position to be rejected from time to time, you’re probably not pushing yourself forward. We can look at this in the context of my podcast, Lawyerpreneur. One of the things that kept me away from the podcast for a while is the prospect of reaching out to people who would tell me no. Guess what? That...
Joel Oster is our guest in Episode 53 of Lawyerpreneur. Joel Oster practices constitutional law and runs Comedian of Law, a CLE company that uses humor to liven up its materials. He also hosts a podcast called Debriefing the Law. He is also the author of UnDue Process: Exposing the Good, the Bad, and the Funny of the Law. Among other things, we talk about how he gave himself a bridge between his law practice and his other projects to chase his creative pursuits. Using Humor and Storytelling in Law with Joel Oster You can listen here or on your...
For going on two years, Michael Young has been my go-to example of the benefits of using unconventional marketing methods to establish your brand and build trust equity with others in your profession. Because of that, his appearance on Lawyerpreneur is long overdue. Michael Young is a regular contributor on LinkedIn discussing insurance coverage and bad faith topics. Since December 2019, he’s hosted Michael’s Insurance Podcast, talking about topics like business interruption coverage, well before a pandemic caused thousands of people to be suddenly interested in it. And more recently, he has been an early adopter and avid use of...
Being a lawyer doesn’t mean doing business as usual.
