Justice Susan M. Carney of the Alaska Supreme Court sits down with host MC Sungaila to discuss her road to Alaska, and to the bench. A post-law school clerkship with Alaska Supreme Court Justice Justice Jay Rabinowitz brought Justice Carney to Alaska, where she stayed, working as a public defender and for the Alaska Office of Public Advocacy before joining the court for which she clerked. Justice Carney shares how her athletic experience impacted her career, and the role that mentors and supporters played in her journey to the bench.

Alison R. Nelson is the Director of DEI Strategies & Inclusion for Ford Motor Company. She fearlessly advocates for DEI in law and in corporate America. Listen to her journey and what she had to experience going into law as a woman of color. The opportunities just weren't the same. Black lawyers had to create their own law firms while white lawyers had the old boy network or legacy work. Times are definitely changing for the better and law firms are starting to see the importance of DEI. Join MC Sungaila as she talks to Alison R. Nelson about why representation matters and why people shouldn't stop fighting for diversity. Also, learn more about the Ford Law Career Academy and how Alison is fighting for a broader approach to law school. Listen to her story today!

Melody Stewart was elected in November 2018 to a full term as the 161st Justice, and the first African-American woman, to serve on the Ohio Supreme Court. Justice Melody Stewart had a different path which led her to the Supreme Court. She believes that in electing judges, there shouldn't be any political affiliations with it because the more we politicize it, the weaker the judiciary is. Furthermore, Justice Stewart urges young people to explore their paths, get on the bench and get other work experience. Learn the profound reason she implores these young ones to explore by tuning in to this episode now.

Kathleen E. O'Leary is the Presiding Justice of the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division Three, and the former Presiding Justice of the Orange County Superior Court-- and the first woman to hold both positions. Justice O’Leary has also served on the Judicial Council, the policymaking body of the California courts. Prior to joining the bench, she served as a public defender and worked in private practice. With host M.C. Sungaila she shares her path to the bench, the importance of access to justice, as well as brief-writing and oral argument tips.

Justice G. Helen Whitener of the Washington Supreme Court is a trailblazer: the first Black woman to serve on the Washington Supreme Court, the fourth immigrant-born Justice, and the first Black LGBT judge in the State of Washington. But even though she is the first, she doesn’t want to be the last. So she focuses on teaching and mentoring others to pursue a legal career and apply to the bench. With host M.C. Sungaila, she discusses the importance of mentoring to her own legal career and treating everyone with respect and humanity.

Legal design is the application of human-centered design to law, making legal systems and services more accessible, usable, and satisfying. Today, we are joined by fantastic legal design leaders Tessa Manuello, Astrid Kohlmeier, and Sarah Ouis.

Tessa Manuello is the Founder and CEO of Legal Creatives, an online educational platform empowering legal professionals from 50+ countries to think more creatively about the law, build better brands, and win new customers. Astrid Kohlmeier is a lawyer and internationally recognized pioneer in legal design. For more than 15 years, she has combined law and design in senior positions in the insurance, litigation finance and service design industries. Sarah Ouis is an experienced legal design consultant and visual legal design coach. She is also a successful legal content creator coach, reaching millions of views on social media and followed by some of the most highly regarded legal industry leaders.

Tune in as they share the importance of legal design and the possibility of having a legal design career that those in law school might have in the future. They also share how they got into legal design and how their training impacted their work and interest in the space. Finally, they reveal a key takeaway many should consider in making their practice more creative.

Illinois Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis joins host MC Sungaila to talk about the impact of the pandemic on the judicial system and the use of technology and the need to enhance access to the court system. She also explains how to write effective appellate briefs and present oral argument that is helpful to the justices in deciding cases.

Justice Elizabeth T. Clement, the new Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, sits down with host MC Sungaila to discuss her wide-ranging legal career, from family law to Chief Legal Counsel in the state's Executive Branch and her current role as an elected member of the state's highest court and leader of the state's court system as Chief Justice.

Justice Elissa F. Cadish, a member of the first-ever female majority on the Nevada Supreme Court, shares her path to the bench, including a federal judicial clerkship that brought her to the state, private practice, appointment to the state trial court bench, and a nomination to the federal district court bench.

A live Women's History Month podcast panel with the Product Liability Advisory Council Women's Forum held at Hyundai Motor America Headquarters, featuring Orange County Superior Court Presiding Judge Maria Hernandez, Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley, Jennifer Keller of Keller Anderle, General Counsel of Origence Erin Wilson, and Trellis Legal Research co-founder Nicole Clark.

Heidi Zuckerman, a globally recognized leader in contemporary art, is the CEO and Director of OCMA/The Orange County Museum of Art, the creator and host of the podcast Conversations About Art, and the author of numerous books, including the Conversations with Artists book series.

Heidi sits down with host M.C. Sungaila to discuss her career path and share tips that will help women lawyers thrive in their careers as well. She also shares leadership lessons and shares thoughts on team building and creating a community. 

Orange County, California Superior Court Judge Adrianne Marshack joins host MC Sungaila to discuss her career trajectory from teaching to BigLaw to the bench, and explain how she handles her current assignment in family law by expanding her legal expertise and making sure that those going through turbulent family law proceedings are treated with dignity and respect. She also explains the importance of being flexible, listening to your intuition, and getting advice from trustworthy mentors in navigating your career.

Caryn Schenewerk works at the cutting edge of space law and policy -- from the highest levels of the federal government to the early days of SpaceX and now as an adjunct law professor, co-author of a leading space law handbook, and the leader of Relativity Space’s regulatory efforts and policy engagement with all branches and levels of government. In this episode, she sits down with MC Sungaila to share the lessons she learned from her evolving career, and the developing opportunities in the space industry. This episode is the second episode to feature women leaders in space law, and the first one featuring a guest who bridges academia and space law practice.

Theresa Harris, the Program Director of the AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program, sits down with host M.C. Sungaila to discuss her organization's role in connecting scientists with human rights concerns, and her career path from more traditional human rights law leadership to her current role, where she manages projects that include a volunteer referral service that provides technical support for human rights organizations, activities that promote greater understanding of the human right to science, and a new project on artificial intelligence and human rights. This is an inspiring episode for lawyers who want to explore the many ways they can make a difference with their law degree.

Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Holly Kirby sits down with host MC Sungaila to share her path to the bench, including, prior to the state supreme court, becoming the first woman in Tennessee history to serve on the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

Former Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Anne M. Burke sits down with M.C. Sungaila for a wide-ranging discussion on her path to the bench, her role as a founder of the Special Olympics, and the importance of teaching critical thinking and civics education to the future of the judicial system. She also shares tips on brief writing and presenting a powerful oral argument, and why cursive writing is a practical skill every lawyer should possess.

Michigan Supreme Court Justice Megan Cavanagh sits down with host M.C. Sungaila to discuss her career as an appellate lawyer and now as a Supreme Court justice of her home state, Michigan.

Justice Elena J. Duarte is an Associate Justice on the California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, in Sacramento. She shares her journey from the U.S. Attorney's office to two separate trial court appointments in Los Angeles and Sacramento, and then to the Court of Appeal. She also provides tips on oral arguments, brief writing, and applying to the bench.

In this bonus episode host MC Sungaila is joined for a crossover show with the co-hosts of the Texas Appellate Law Podcast, D. Todd Smith and Jody Sanders. They discuss the Portia Project’s recent milestone of the 100th episode, share insights from their appellate judge guests and round up some great tips on launching a successful legal podcast of your own. Don’t miss out on this special episode. Tune in!

Many people experience a creative career transition after practicing law. This is exactly what happened to Amy Impellizzeri, a lawyer who became an author. Joining MC Sungaila, she shares how one sabbatical leave from law practice motivated her to embrace her passion for writing, proving once and for all that lawyers are individuals with rich imagination. Amy explains how her fellow lawyers can also unleash their creative side and cope with other people's opinions after making such a huge career jump. She also explains how she keeps a deep love for the law while being a writer, as well as what she does to keep her creative mind in constant growth.