My guest this week is Anne-Marie Rabago, the founder and principal of Modern Juris, which provides tools, training, and support to help lawyers build financially sustainable businesses designed to serve the latent legal market. Anne-Marie started her legal career at Pricewaterhousecoopers, then launched a solo tax law practice before transitioning into law school and non-profit legal incubator programming.

I wanted to have Anne-Marie on because I, admittedly, wasn’t familiar with legal incubators when she first mentioned it to me and I thought it was a great resource to share with all of you.

In this episode, we discuss:

- Anne-Marie’s personal journey from traditional practice to a solo tax law practice to mentoring & coaching

- Legal incubators and how they might help you

- Strategies to start and scale solo law firms

- The potential in the untapped legal market

- The rewards and hurdles of unconventional legal practice

- The power of intentional decision-making for your career trajectory

- Navigating career changes so you don’t let yourself get stuck

Connect with Megan!

2024 Focus Session: https://megansmiley.com/2024-focus-session

Sign-Up for the Newsletter: https://dogged-painter-2837.ck.page/f4e1721839

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Connect with Anne-Marie!

Website: https://www.modernjuris.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annemarierabago/

My guest today is Kate Bridal, a former lawyer turned legal tech marketer turned co-host of The Legal Burnouts podcast.

We explore her professional journey, from drama school to working with primates (yes, seriously - she got to sign with chimps), to law and beyond.

Kate shares with us how she's navigated the pressures of the legal profession, her adventures in legal tech marketing, and the ongoing career transition she’s navigating.

It’s an open and honest conversation that highlights that the road is rarely linear, and getting comfortable with change and uncertainty is the name of the game.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Kate's unorthodox leap from primate studies to law.
• Kate’s path through various legal jobs, compassion fatigue, and burnout.
• Challenging the norms and status quo of the legal industry.
• The crisis of identity that can come with career evolution.
• The tension between personal ambition and family and financial realities.
• Kate's success in landing and acclimatizing to a legal tech marketing role through humor and honesty.
• Tips on networking and seeking career advice, even if reaching out feels out of your comfort zone.
• Learning to trust your gut over outside opinions.
• Kate's current thoughts around starting her own business and doing contracting work.
• The importance of taking conscious breaks and finding hobbies that reinvigorate you.
• The liberating yet anxiety-ridden process of forging a path without a clear career roadmap.
• Insider baseball discussion of keeping up with our podcasts

Connect with Megan!

Sign-Up for the Newsletter: https://dogged-painter-2837.ck.page/f4e1721839

Schedule a Catalyst Call: https://megansmiley.com/schedule-a-call

Website: https://www.megansmiley.com/

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Connect with Kate!

Legal Burnouts Website: https://www.thelegalburnouts.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-bridal/

Our guest today is Sejal Thakkar, a former employment law attorney, a 2X TEDx speaker, and the Founder and Chief Civility Officer at TrainXtra, a woman/minority- owned training consulting firm, where she helps leaders create positive, safe, and respectful workplaces through customized training and coaching.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Sejal realizing that litigation was a bad fit; she wanted to build workplace culture, not clean up messes
• Following your interests to build skills and open doors
• Leveraging your legal background in a business
• Leaning into a growth mindset to move through imposter syndrome
• Balancing purpose-driven work, family and finances
• Navigating a non-linear path from employment to entrepreneurship
• Relying on your resourcefulness and self-trust rather than avoiding all risks
• The importance of networking and planting seeds for your long-term career growth

Connect with Megan!

Sign-Up for the Newsletter: https://dogged-painter-2837.ck.page/f4e1721839

Schedule a Catalyst Call: https://megansmiley.com/schedule-a-call

Website: https://www.megansmiley.com/

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Connect with Sejal!

Website: http://www.trainxtra.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sejalthakkar/