I can't BELIEVE we're 18 episodes in and at the season one finale of the podcast. It's been such a journey, and I'm so incredibly grateful for all of your support, and the time of my amazing guests.

I wanted to take a little time to reflect on some of the themes that have come up, and what has happened in the legal industry during the course of season one. I also wanted to take the opportunity to tell you why I'm closing up here for the first season, and to explain what I'm going to be focussing my efforts on for the next few months.

Thank you again for all of your support, and I hope to see you back here very soon.

If you want to stay up to date with me and my work supporting lawyer wellbeing, you can find me via my website, Instagram, or on LinkedIn.

Mary Bonsor was a property litigator in a top city firm before starting Flex Legal in August 2016. Flex is an online platform which connects pre-vetted lawyers and law students to law firms and general counsel for a flexible, on demand service. Flex has over 5,000 candidates on its platform and over 250 clients including magic circle firms, FTSE 250 companies and SMEs. In 2020 Mary was recognised as one of Management Today's 35 Women under 35. 

Mary is passionate about the future education of the profession and how tomorrow's lawyers will qualify.  She sees the SQE offering a huge opportunity to law students to get relevant work experience during their studies and is also very interested in how law firms can retain and attract the future generation.

We talked about:

• Being a new mum whilst running your own business
• Flex Legal and the rise of legal consultancy
• How platforms like Flex can help someone transition into a completely new area of law
• How to help lawyers have more autonomy and control over their workloads
• Starting a tech platform without any tech expertise
• The importance of trying to solve problems by yourself first
• Some of the lowest moments of starting a company
• The importance of looking after employee mental health
• How the pandemic has shaped Flex’s attitude to wellbeing
• Reforming how we train solicitors
• And don’t miss the moment Mary offered to mentor me (and I OBVIOUSLY said yes)!

If you’re keen to keep up with Mary and Flex legal you can find out everything you need via their website.

This week’s guest is William Dougherty, founder of new legal tech company, Capacity. Hailing from a small town in Scotland, William found his way (somewhat luckily some might say, given his approach to applications) to Dentons in London where he qualified and practised as an IP lawyer. He recently gave up his solicitor role to take Capacity to new heights and fulfil his vision of creating a more inclusive and sustainable culture and working environment in the legal industry.

A man who’s clearly done his research, William kept me on my toes for this episode and we covered a vast range of topics in the hour that we chatted! Some of the key ones are:

• From nursing home to London law firm, William’s journey to the City
• The importance of early entrepreneurship for future solo success
• The impact of poor work allocation in private practice
• Legal tech and the future of being a lawyer
• Autonomy as the silver bullet to many wellbeing issues
• Systemic and cultural issues preventing diverse individuals from progressing in their careers
• How lawyers being naturally risk averse prevents innovation and disruption of the industry
• Alternative KPIs that firms should be using as a measure of success
• Bonuses and high salaries - financial reward or an apology?
• Alternative incentives and reward structures
• The cause of long working hours and ways to manage them more effectively
• Desirable and undesirable leavers - why do lawyers leave?
• Meditation (including vipassana - listen to find out what that is!)

You can get in touch with William on LinkedIn or directly via email at william@capacityapp.io (very trendy).

The book William referred to is “The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety” by Alan Watts.

Don't forget to subscribe if you enjoyed the episode! New episodes released each Tuesday.

This week’s guest is William Dougherty, founder of new legal tech company, Capacity. Hailing from a small town in Scotland, William found his way (somewhat luckily some might say, given his approach to applications) to Dentons in London where he qualified and practised as an IP lawyer. He recently gave up his solicitor role to take Capacity to new heights and fulfil his vision of creating a more inclusive and sustainable culture and working environment in the legal industry.

A man who’s clearly done his research, William kept me on my toes for this episode and we covered a vast range of topics in the hour that we chatted! Some of the key ones are:

• From nursing home to London law firm, William’s journey to the City
• The importance of early entrepreneurship for future solo success
• The impact of poor work allocation in private practice
• Legal tech and the future of being a lawyer
• Autonomy as the silver bullet to many wellbeing issues
• Systemic and cultural issues preventing diverse individuals from progressing in their careers
• How lawyers being naturally risk averse prevents innovation and disruption of the industry
• Alternative KPIs that firms should be using as a measure of success
• Bonuses and high salaries - financial reward or an apology?
• Alternative incentives and reward structures
• The cause of long working hours and ways to manage them more effectively
• Desirable and undesirable leavers - why do lawyers leave?
• Meditation (including vipassana - listen to find out what that is!)

You can get in touch with William on LinkedIn or directly via email at william@capacityapp.io (very trendy).

The book William referred to is “The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety” by Alan Watts.

Don't forget to subscribe if you enjoyed the episode! New episodes released each Tuesday.

This week I’m joined by Elizabeth Rimmer, CEO of LawCare, the UK’s mental health charity for the legal community. Elizabeth began her career as a lawyer at Leigh Day, before transitioning to the VCSE sector. Years later, she found herself drawn back to the legal industry in a different capacity - one which lets her combine her knowledge of the law with her passion for mental health and wellbeing. For Elizabeth, wellbeing means (primarily) daily dog walks and time with her parents, but she’s advocating for a broad and flexible definition of wellbeing throughout the legal industry.

This conversation could have continued into multiple episodes, and there may well have to be a Part II sometime! But in this episode, we discussed:

• Elizabeth’s route into law and back again
• How the legal industry has changed from the 90s to the present day
• The impact of the pandemic on lawyer mental health and wellbeing
• How firms can support their lawyers to have better mental health
• Management training
• The impact of the billable hour and billable targets on lawyers
• Better ways of evaluating lawyer performance
• The importance of making (and being allowed to make) mistakes
• Skills-based training at law school
• (And dogs)

If you want to find out more about Elizabeth and stay up to date with her thoughts on the industry, you can find her on LinkedIn.

You can find out everything you need to know about LawCare and how to get in touch on the LawCare website. Please, if you’re struggling, do give them a call.

The book Elizabeth is currently reading is The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman.

This week I’m joined by Elizabeth Rimmer, CEO of LawCare, the UK’s mental health charity for the legal community. Elizabeth began her career as a lawyer at Leigh Day, before transitioning to the VCSE sector. Years later, she found herself drawn back to the legal industry in a different capacity - one which lets her combine her knowledge of the law with her passion for mental health and wellbeing. For Elizabeth, wellbeing means (primarily) daily dog walks and time with her parents, but she’s advocating for a broad and flexible definition of wellbeing throughout the legal industry.

This conversation could have continued into multiple episodes, and there may well have to be a Part II sometime! But in this episode, we discussed:

• Elizabeth’s route into law and back again
• How the legal industry has changed from the 90s to the present day
• The impact of the pandemic on lawyer mental health and wellbeing
• How firms can support their lawyers to have better mental health
• Management training
• The impact of the billable hour and billable targets on lawyers
• Better ways of evaluating lawyer performance
• The importance of making (and being allowed to make) mistakes
• Skills-based training at law school
• (And dogs)

If you want to find out more about Elizabeth and stay up to date with her thoughts on the industry, you can find her on LinkedIn.

You can find out everything you need to know about LawCare and how to get in touch on the LawCare website. Please, if you’re struggling, do give them a call.

The book Elizabeth is currently reading is The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman.

Dan Kayne is General Counsel of the Routes department at Network Rail, and the founder of the O Shaped Lawyer movement. Juggling effectively multiple full-time jobs (including fatherhood), Dan is a tour de force when it comes to driving change in the legal industry. A man who believes that “it’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice”, Dan joins me for a chilled and friendly chat, peppered with moments of his natural, dry humour, which will leave you feeling positive about the future of the legal industry, guaranteed.

In this very human conversation with Dan, he and I discuss:

• The difference between private practice and in-house law;
• The O Shaped Lawyer movement;
• Human-centric skills-based legal education;
• Glorification of “busyness” in the legal industry;
• How to solve for wellbeing in the law;
• The importance of personal values; and
• Empowering lawyers to look after themselves.

You can find Dan on LinkedIn, and learn more about the O Shaped Lawyer on their website, or you can join the O Shaped Lawyer LinkedIn group.

The book Dan is currently reading is Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, by David Epstein.

Dan Kayne is General Counsel of the Routes department at Network Rail, and the founder of the O Shaped Lawyer movement. Juggling effectively multiple full-time jobs (including fatherhood), Dan is a tour de force when it comes to driving change in the legal industry. A man who believes that “it’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice”, Dan joins me for a chilled and friendly chat, peppered with moments of his natural, dry humour, which will leave you feeling positive about the future of the legal industry, guaranteed.

In this very human conversation with Dan, he and I discuss:

• The difference between private practice and in-house law;
• The O Shaped Lawyer movement;
• Human-centric skills-based legal education;
• Glorification of “busyness” in the legal industry;
• How to solve for wellbeing in the law;
• The importance of personal values; and
• Empowering lawyers to look after themselves.

You can find Dan on LinkedIn, and learn more about the O Shaped Lawyer on their website, or you can join the O Shaped Lawyer LinkedIn group.

The book Dan is currently reading is Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, by David Epstein.

Raj Panasar is a lawyer who has recently left private practice from his previous position as a Corporate Finance partner at Hogan Lovells. Born and raised in Lancashire, Raj felt under immense pressure from his parents to pursue a ‘high-flying’ career, despite being at real socio-economic disadvantage and coming from, in his own words, deep deprivation. Nonetheless, he made it into private practice, training at Linklaters, and then making partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton before moving to Hogan Lovells. Raj has now stepped away from partnership to pursue his own legal tech venture which he’s keeping under wraps (for now)!

In a conversation that could’ve continued into multiple podcast episodes, some of the key things Raj and I discuss are:

• Raj’s journey into law from a socio-economically disadvantaged background;
• Arrogance v confidence and imposter syndrome;
• Raj’s own experience of partnership, and his recognition of his unfair expectations of juniors earlier in his career;
• What led him to changing his attitude towards people management;
• Machismo in the culture of the legal industry;
• Work-life balance; and
• Management training and how to get managers to actually change their behaviour.

You can find Raj on LinkedIn where you can keep up to date with his exciting new venture!

The book that Raj mentioned is ‘The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts’ by Daniel Susskind and Richard Susskind

Raj Panasar is a lawyer who has recently left private practice from his previous position as a Corporate Finance partner at Hogan Lovells. Born and raised in Lancashire, Raj felt under immense pressure from his parents to pursue a ‘high-flying’ career, despite being at real socio-economic disadvantage and coming from, in his own words, deep deprivation. Nonetheless, he made it into private practice, training at Linklaters, and then making partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton before moving to Hogan Lovells. Raj has now stepped away from partnership to pursue his own legal tech venture which he’s keeping under wraps (for now)!

In a conversation that could’ve continued into multiple podcast episodes, some of the key things Raj and I discuss are:

• Raj’s journey into law from a socio-economically disadvantaged background;
• Arrogance v confidence and imposter syndrome;
• Raj’s own experience of partnership, and his recognition of his unfair expectations of juniors earlier in his career;
• What led him to changing his attitude towards people management;
• Machismo in the culture of the legal industry;
• Work-life balance; and
• Management training and how to get managers to actually change their behaviour.

You can find Raj on LinkedIn where you can keep up to date with his exciting new venture!

The book that Raj mentioned is ‘The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts’ by Daniel Susskind and Richard Susskind

This episode’s guest is Chrissie Wolfe, recently ex-private practice personal injury lawyer from Irwin Mitchell now legal consultant, and founder of Law and Broader (or LAB). For the past 8 years, Chrissie has juggled a full-time private practice career alongside a busy social media schedule and various projects related to LAB, something she set up to help other aspiring lawyers access the competitive profession. Having recently relocated to Dubai, the location (and perspective) shift allowed her to re-evaluate her priorities and make the leap out of private practice into pursuing her own interests full-time.

This is a raw and honest discussion, and Chrissie talks very openly about her experience in private practice and trying to sustain her wellbeing whilst juggling a full-time job and busy personal project and brand. Some of the key topics we covered include:

• Accessing the competitive legal profession
• Burnout
• Billable-hours culture
• Alternative legal careers outside of private practice
• Different ways to add value as a lawyer
• The importance of happiness
• Working abroad

If you’re keen to keep up with Chrissie’s next steps, you can follow her on Instagram, her YouTube channel, on LinkedIn, Twitter, or TikTok (@thetiktoklawyer)

Resources we referred to:

Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert T. Kiyosaki

Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill

The Diary of a CEO podcast, by Steven Bartlett

This episode’s guest is Chrissie Wolfe, recently ex-private practice personal injury lawyer from Irwin Mitchell now legal consultant, and founder of Law and Broader (or LAB). For the past 8 years, Chrissie has juggled a full-time private practice career alongside a busy social media schedule and various projects related to LAB, something she set up to help other aspiring lawyers access the competitive profession. Having recently relocated to Dubai, the location (and perspective) shift allowed her to re-evaluate her priorities and make the leap out of private practice into pursuing her own interests full-time.

This is a raw and honest discussion, and Chrissie talks very openly about her experience in private practice and trying to sustain her wellbeing whilst juggling a full-time job and busy personal project and brand. Some of the key topics we covered include:

• Accessing the competitive legal profession
• Burnout
• Billable-hours culture
• Alternative legal careers outside of private practice
• Different ways to add value as a lawyer
• The importance of happiness
• Working abroad

If you’re keen to keep up with Chrissie’s next steps, you can follow her on Instagram, her YouTube channel, on LinkedIn, Twitter, or TikTok (@thetiktoklawyer)

Resources we referred to:

Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert T. Kiyosaki

Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill

The Diary of a CEO podcast, by Steven Bartlett

Firstly, I'm sorry this episode is a little bit late this week. Well, actually, I'm not sorry at all - I'm on holiday and having a lovely time so I decided to release it later. But I've found some time to do it so here you go! Please also excuse the audio quality change towards the end, Zoom crashed and failed to recognise my microphone - it's just a bit of a week for this one!

On the podcast this week is wonder-woman herself, Lori Mihalich-Levin, JD. Lori believes in inspiring and empowering working parents.  She is the founder and CEO of Mindful Return, author of Back to Work After Baby: How to Plan and Navigate a Mindful Return from Maternity Leave, and co-host of the Parents at Work Podcast.  She is mama to two wonderful red-headed boys (ages 8 and 10) and is a health care lawyer in private practice.  Her thought leadership has been featured in publications including Forbes, Fortune, The Washington Post, New York Times Parenting, Thrive Global, and The Huffington Post.

In our discussion about all things working parenthood, we cover:

• How to return to work mindfully after having a baby
• Setting up your own business whilst simultaneously being a lawyer
• The importance of community
• Why an inter-organisational approach is the best one
• How to deal with the guilt of leaving your children to go back to work
• Supporting dads through working parenthood
• How to be an ambitious career woman and a mother

To find out more about Lori and Mindful Return, check out their website.

In Episode #3 I'm chatting to Sophie Shaw, a restructuring and insolvency lawyer at a silver circle firm who also runs the @lawwithsophie Instagram page and blog.

Sophie started her legal career in legal marketing at a magic circle firm before securing a training contract three years later at her current firm. Sophie started her Instagram page and blog at the beginning of 2021 to help people who are struggling to gain access to the legal profession. She shares the wealth of knowledge she accumulated during her three years of applications and rejections to demystify the application process and encourage people never to give up.

During this episode, Sophie and I discuss our shared experience of life as a junior lawyer, and what makes a law firm somewhere we want to work. Along the way, we discuss:

• Struggling to secure a training contract and starting training a little later than most;
• The benefit of alternative work experience prior to becoming a lawyer;
• Qualifying during the pandemic;
• The pros and cons of remote working;
• What makes a firm an attractive place to work;
• How we each monitor and maintain our wellbeing;
• Balancing a busy social media platform with a busy work-life.

She’s one of the most eloquent speakers I’ve come across - this is not one to miss!

You can follow Sophie on Instagram @lawwithsophie, and go check out her website.

In Episode #3 I'm chatting to Sophie Shaw, a restructuring and insolvency lawyer at a silver circle firm who also runs the @lawwithsophie Instagram page and blog.

Sophie started her legal career in legal marketing at a magic circle firm before securing a training contract three years later at her current firm. Sophie started her Instagram page and blog at the beginning of 2021 to help people who are struggling to gain access to the legal profession. She shares the wealth of knowledge she accumulated during her three years of applications and rejections to demystify the application process and encourage people never to give up.

During this episode, Sophie and I discuss our shared experience of life as a junior lawyer, and what makes a law firm somewhere we want to work. Along the way, we discuss:

• Struggling to secure a training contract and starting training a little later than most;
• The benefit of alternative work experience prior to becoming a lawyer;
• Qualifying during the pandemic;
• The pros and cons of remote working;
• What makes a firm an attractive place to work;
• How we each monitor and maintain our wellbeing;
• Balancing a busy social media platform with a busy work-life.

She’s one of the most eloquent speakers I’ve come across - this is not one to miss!

You can follow Sophie on Instagram @lawwithsophie, and go check out her website.

Welcome to Episode #2: the first of the Law Life Balance podcast interview episodes, with Dominique Ashby. Dominique is a former lawyer turned change specialist and the founder of neuro@work, where she uses her expertise in neuroscience (having studied an MA at Cambridge University) to help organisations (including law firms) increase operational agility and resilience in a cost-effective, sustainable way. Her mission is to take the headache out of change for organisations and realise the full value-add for D&I of putting humanity at the heart of the workplace.

In this episode, Dominique and I will be discussing (amongst many other things!):

• The key pressure points in the legal industry
• The value of purpose-driven people and environments
• How to create a culture of change and how our brains deal with change physiologically
• Blockers and facilitators of change
• Key leadership skills and traits
• Psychological safety in the workplace

If you want to find out more about Dominique’s incredible work, you can send her a message on LinkedIn or email her at: bright_ideas@neuroatwork.com (though don’t be surprised by the automated response you will receive - more details in the episode)!

In this episode, we discussed the following books:

• The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor 
• The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris

Welcome to Episode #2: the first of the Law Life Balance podcast interview episodes, with Dominique Ashby. Dominique is a former lawyer turned change specialist and the founder of neuro@work, where she uses her expertise in neuroscience (having studied an MA at Cambridge University) to help organisations (including law firms) increase operational agility and resilience in a cost-effective, sustainable way. Her mission is to take the headache out of change for organisations and realise the full value-add for D&I of putting humanity at the heart of the workplace.

In this episode, Dominique and I will be discussing (amongst many other things!):

• The key pressure points in the legal industry 
• The value of purpose-driven people and environments 
• How to create a culture of change and how our brains deal with change physiologically 
• Blockers and facilitators of change 
• Key leadership skills and traits 
• Psychological safety in the workplace

If you want to find out more about Dominique’s incredible work, you can send her a message on LinkedIn or email her at: bright_ideas@neuroatwork.com (though don’t be surprised by the automated response you will receive - more details in the episode)!

In this episode, we discussed the following books:

• The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor 
• The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris

Hello everybody and WELCOME to the very first episode of the Law Life Balance podcast! I am so excited to share this podcast with you. It has been a while in the making and is a real passion project of mine, so I sincerely hope you enjoy it and find it valuable.

In the first episode, I wanted to share with you a little about my own personal story, my journey into law, and what ultimately led me to starting Law Life Balance as a business. I've shared some parts of this story before, but this is the first time I am publicly sharing other elements. I hope that it provides more colour around why helping others, lawyers in particular, to proactively look after their mental health is something about which I am so deeply passionate.

I really hope you enjoy this episode. 

Caitlin x

It's here! The Law Life Balance podcast is finally live, with so many super exciting episodes coming your way. So press like/save and get notified each time a new episode is released - you're not going to want to miss out on these conversations!

Meet Charlotte Smith, aka the professional Executive Coach for Limitless Lawyers. After an impressive 7 year career at a top boutique law firm in the UK, a prestigious 30 Under 30 Award, and an offer of partnership, Charlotte upped sticks and moved to California with her husband and pursue an alternative dream: to help other lawyers ignite their self belief and reach their, well, limitless potential! Charlotte now works with lawyers and silicon valley tech professionals to help them become limitless leaders.

Some of the many topics we covered include:

• The differences and commonalities between lawyers around the world
• How lawyers think - the helpful and the not-so-helpful
• Boutique or Big Law firm?
• Finding your ‘zone of genius’
• How to start your personal transformative journey
• Procrastination, perfectionism, and decision paralysis
• What makes a great leader
• The importance of self-awareness
• The 80:20 rule - when good enough is good enough
• Why people leave and what firms can learn from it

If you want to learn more about Charlotte, or even work with her (which I highly recommend), you can find her on LinkedIn or via her website.

Meet Nikki Alderson, a former barrister with a 19 year career at the Criminal Bar and now a highly successful coach for women and keynote speaker. After reaching a career crossroads whilst representing two men on death row in Jamaica (trust me it’s a good episode), Nikki decided to pursue some coaching to help her figure out her next steps. That led, ultimately, to her becoming a coach herself, and she now works to help retain women in the legal profession.

Nikki is also an experienced public speaker and has spoken at a whole host of national Conferences and events, such as Women in the Law UK and Criminal Law Friends Society Conferences, for a variety of legal organisations, such as Women in Criminal Law, Women Lawyers and Mothers, Midlands Circuit Women's Forum, Leeds Law Society & North Eastern Circuit.

She is also the author of the brilliant book, “Raising The Bar”, where you can read more about her story and test out some of the coaching exercises she uses with her clients. Useful for anyone currently at a bit of a career-crossroads!

In one of my favourite conversations to date (I know, I always say this - and I genuinely mean it every time!), Nikki and I talked about:

• Nikki’s life-changing career-crossroads moment whilst representing two men on death row in Jamaica
• Her work with female professionals, helping them to reach their full potential in their careers and be retained in the profession
• The purpose of coaching and what people can expect from it
• How to say no without actually saying no (Hint: read chapter 8 of ‘Essentialism’)
• Flexible working and remote working
• Parenthood and law
• Digital distraction
• How to be a busy lawyer and still have a social life

If you’re keen to keep up with Nikki you can find her on LinkedIn or check out her website.

This week we have a very exciting guest, and a good friend of mine, Oliver Haddock. Olly is a litigator at Radcliffes Le Brasseur. He is also the Founder and Chair of the London Young Professionals Network, and the Chair of the London Young Lawyers Group. In celebration of his huge dedication to young lawyers, he has been shortlisted for the Law Society Junior Lawyers of the Year award at the upcoming Excellence in Law Awards (for which we wish him lots of luck)!

Obviously this episode contains loads of great information about law and young professionals, but my favourite bit was definitely the rapid fire questions at the end. Olly shares so much about his personal journey here, and I’d highly advise you listen to the end!

Some of the key topics we cover in this episode are:

• Networking - why it's important and how to do it
• How the pandemic has affected young professionals
• Can you ever really know what you’re signing up for?
• Where does the pressure come from for lawyers?
• Salary wars: is money the solution?
• Why are we hearing about more mental health issues in professional services now?
• Potential solutions to reduce stress and burnout and improve wellbeing
• Projections for the future of the post-pandemic legal industry
• Dyslexia and learning difficulties - how to succeed if you’re struggling

If you’re keen to keep up with Olly and his amazing work for young professionals, you can do so by following the London Young Lawyers Group and London Young Professionals Network on Instagram.

This week I had the pleasure of speaking to solicitor and founder of her very own law firm, Jodie Hill. Jodie Hill originally trained as a barrister before cross-qualifying as a solicitor. In 2018 she became the founder and Managing Partner of multi-award winning Thrive Law. Jodie has specialised in employment law throughout her career and has a keen understanding of this complex legal sector, particularly D&I issues, together with all HR related issues. She also campaigns tirelessly for mental health, becoming a Law Care Champion in 2019 and in 2020 launching 'This is Me Yorkshire', a story-sharing movement to smash the stigma of mental ill-health in the workplace.

I loved this chat with Jodie, especially how open she is about her own mental health and how that has shaped the person she is today. Some of the key things we cover in this episode are:

• Cross-qualification
• PTSD, anxiety and ADHD
• Setting up your own law firm
• Running a law firm with wellbeing at its core
• How to make flexible working work
• Measuring lawyer performance without billable targets
• How to encourage teamwork and collaboration
• The importance of a people-first approach and great management
• What juniors want from a workplace

If you’re keen to keep up with Jodie you can do so on Instagram and Twitter, or head to the Thrive Law website.

This episode’s guest is Charlène Gisele Bourliout. Charlène is a former top London lawyer who transformed her career from corporate business centric living to health centric living and now specialises in mind-body health optimisation and corporate executive health coaching. Her online coaching service combines cutting-edge science and technologies with ancestral techniques which make her Health Coaching Program incredibly impactful.

Her clients include CEOs, executives and partners from some of the world's top law firms, FinTech companies and wellness brands from the UK, US and across Europe. She supports them with nutrition, meditation, biohacking, breathwork and corporate wellness programmes so that they can have it all - a healthy personal life and work life. 

Charlène is now a certified Primal Health Coach, a certified NLP and Life Coach, MindValley certified Business Coach, 500 YTT Yin Yoga, Meditation teacher and Breathwork facilitator, and an established Keynote speaker within the health optimisation and Biohacking community. Charlène’s Coaching programme has been featured in the likes of The Guardian, Stylist, Metro, Evening Standard, Lawyer Monthly, Legal Futures, Legal Women and more. 

Recording this episode was like having the greatest kind of chat with a close friend, despite the fact that Charlène and I connected not long ago on LinkedIn! We shared personal truths and our top life learnings, covering some key things like:

• Life at a global corporate law firm - a cautionary tale
• What other lawyers can learn from her story & mistakes
• Her quest across the world in search of self-discovery and wellness
• The wellness-education gap
• How she helps lawyers and high performing executives make the changes they need to thrive at work
• Habit optimisation - how to form new, healthier habits
• The importance of recovery 
• The caffeine-insomnia feedback loop
• Creative release for the brain
• The impact of poor wellbeing on relationships
• How to optimise your relationship for love and success
• The key to great communication

If you’re keen to keep up with Charlène you can do so via her website, or find her on LinkedIn (like I did!).

This week’s episode is Nick Bloy, experienced wellbeing strategist, coach, international speaker, trainer, and founder of WELLBEING Republic Limited. Nick began his career as a solicitor before realising he was more of a “people person” and finding his way into HR. Years of hard work, and his own burnout story, later, Nick decided to found his own company to ​​help people harness their optimal mental state for peak performance and wellbeing.

I was really excited for this chat with Nick, and to learn from him about how he is working to solve some of law’s biggest problems. Some of the key topics we cover in this episode are:

• Nick’s journey from law to HR to wellbeing coaching and consultancy
• Burnout in the legal industry - how to avoid and recover from it
• What to do if you never “have enough time” (hint - it isn’t time that’s the problem)
• Anxiety and the fight-or-flight response
• The impact of poor wellbeing on work and relationships
• Important factors in good mental wellbeing
• Optimism for the future of the legal industry

You can keep up to date with Nick’s work by finding him on LinkedIn or checking out his website.

Lucy Cole is a formidable incoming trainee of Clifford Chance, and proud holder of a 1st Class Honours Degree in Law from the University of Exeter. Lucy is passionate about diversity and inclusion, and supports aspiring lawyers through her platform @LucyDoesLaw and through her work with GROW Mentoring. She was Co-President of her university's law society and has even delivered a speech on young women's empowerment at the UN Headquarters in New York as a representative to an NGO.

I really wanted to speak to Lucy about her experience of pursuing the journey to becoming a lawyer during the pandemic, and get some insight into how she’s feeling about her upcoming training contract. This episode will be incredibly useful for any students out thinking about becoming a lawyer, or soon-to-be trainees looking for some stand-out tips on setting yourself up for success from the very start! Some of things we discussed in this episode include:

• Being a law student during the pandemic
• Online learning v in-person and the mindset shift required to make that work
• The impact of online learning on social connection & friendships
• Maintaining wellbeing as a student
• Demystifying the process of becoming a lawyer, especially for those from disadvantaged backgrounds or who have no family or friends in the profession
• Nerves and concerns about becoming a trainee solicitor & expectations of the role
• Her Instagram account and the work she is doing to help other aspiring lawyers

Keep up with Lucy’s journey on Instagram @lucydoeslaw or on LinkedIn.

The book Lucy is currently reading is '84 Charing Cross Road' by Helene Hanff.