The Jabot – Details, episodes & analysis

Summary 

In this episode of the Jabot podcast, host Kathryn Rubino chats with Sandra Cohen, co-managing partner at Cohen & Buckmann. Sandra shares her journey from HR to law, specializing in executive compensation and employee benefits. Discover the challenges and rewards of running a boutique law firm and gain insights into the niche legal field of ERISA. It's a must-listen for those curious about dynamic law careers and the evolving landscape of boutique legal practices!.

Episode Highlights

00:34 - Why Sandra Cohen pursued law.

02:55 - Transition from Big Law to personal practice.

05:07 - The elusive work of corporate lawyers.

06:34 - Complexities of executive compensation.

08:39 - Navigating tax and ERISA specializations.

10:59 - Founding a boutique law firm.

13:09 - Teaming up with small/boutique firms.

16:19 - The importance of smart hiring.

18:58 - Networking as making friends, not just connections.

22:14 - Promoting a law firm's unique strengths.

Episode Resources

• Sandra W. Cohen — Cohen & Buckmann, P.C. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandracohenesq/

Keywords

• Jabot podcast  

• Kathryn Rubino  

• Sandra Cohen  

• Above the Law  

• Cohen & Buckman  

• legal industry  

• law school  

• human resources  

• organizational psychology  

• big law  

• Wall Street firm  

• co-managing partner  

• executive compensation  

• employee benefits  

• corporate law  

• transactional attorney  

• ERISA  

• M&A transactions  

• tax lawyers  

• litigators  

• boutique law firm  

• businesswoman  

• mentoring  

• networking  

• elite boutique trend  

• legal talent  

• mentorship  

• specialized practices  

• law firm ecosystem

In this episode, host Kathryn Rubino chats with Farid Yaghoubtil, founding partner of DTLA Law Group. Discover Farid's journey from fleeing Iran to empowering the underrepresented through law. His passion for justice, client-focused approach, and the challenges of balancing ideals with firm management make it a must-listen for aspiring lawyers and entrepreneurs. Tune in to catch Farid's inspiring stories and insightful advice on staying true to your mission.

Episode Highlights

• Decision to pursue law due to childhood injustice.

• Balancing ideals and legal system realities.

• Motivation behind starting a law firm.

• Challenges of running a legal business.

• Importance of organization and hiring in business success.

• Leading with empathy in law practice.

• Avoiding burnout through gratitude and meaningful connections.

• Inspiring story: Helping a child in a lead exposure case.

• The value of listening to clients.

• A personal approach over transactional lawyering.

• Building client relationships for sustained growth.

Episode Sponsored By 

• https://www.lexisnexis.com/lexisplus

Links and Resources

• https://downtownlalaw.com/attorney-profiles/farid-yaghoubtil/ 

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Tune into The Jabot Podcast for a must-listen episode with Anna Kirkland, a professor at the University of Michigan. Discover how her new book reveals the complexities and failures of discrimination law in healthcare. Unpack how civil rights shape healthcare access, and learn about the impact of algorithmic bias. Essential for those keen on healthcare policies and rights protections. Don't miss it!

Highlights

• Anna's academic journey: from law school to academia

• The intersection of civil rights and healthcare in Kirkland's book

• Historical context: Transgender rights and public opinion

• Complexities of implementing nondiscrimination in healthcare

• Supreme Court involvement in gender-affirming care for youth

• Medicare as a tool of civil rights enforcement in history

• The role of rank-and-file employees in healthcare discrimination

• Patient experience: legal vs. customer service approach

• Challenges of addressing algorithmic discrimination in healthcare

• Key issues in healthcare discrimination today

Episode Sponsored By 

• https://www.lexisnexis.com/lexisplus

Links and Resources

• https://www.ucpress.edu/books/health-care-civil-rights/paper 

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In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Katharine von Ter Stegge, a circuit court judge for the Multnomah County in the Oregon Judicial Department, about the best lessons on being a judge. Katharine talks about how the law has always interested her and how her career changed her view on what law really is. She also shares the skills she's learned throughout her career that helped her in being a judge, as well as her own advice to somebody who wants to be one. Additionally, Katharine narrates the highs and lows of her career and what her takeaways from these situations are.

Episode Resources

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/katharine-von-ter-stegge-b58b83a9 
  
  
  Episode Highlights
• What made Katharine von Ter Stegge decide to go to law school
• How the law has always interested Katharine
• How her career has changed her view on what the law really is
• What skills she has learned throughout her career that helped her in being a judge
• Switching from being an advocate to being the adjudicator:
• What the unexpected challenges were
• Advice to somebody who wants to be a judge
• What the career highs and lows she experienced and what are her takeaways from these processes are
  
  
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In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Anne Cortina Perry of Jenner & Block, and how she balances her work at the firm, her personal life, developing her practice area, and even writing her book of business. Anne shares her transition from going to law school to her path to partnership, and her own advice to people who want to take the same path. She also runs down the different red flags in a toxic work environment and how the development of the culture risk and sensitive investigations practice can help a firm.

Episode Resources

• https://jenner.com/people/AnneCortinaPerry
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-cortina-perry-b1904a15 

Episode Highlights

• Why Anne decided to go to law school
• What her path to partnership is like
• Advice to people to fit in or do well at a law firm
• How her work at Jenner appeals to her
• The development of the culture risk and sensitive investigations practice and what are the legal risks it is designed to do
• What the red flags are in a toxic work environment
• How she maintains the balance between her work at Jenners, her personal life, developing her practice area, her billable hours, and her book of business
• How the pandemic impacted the big law
• What were your experiences like before people cared about flexibility and still staying in that partnership?
• The highs and lows: The best of the best and the worst of the worst parts of her career

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In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Samantha Barbas, a University at Buffalo School of Law professor and Director of the Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy, about the future of the first amendment. Samantha talks about who Morris Ernst is and how he got recognition in the field. She also discusses how she was able to go through all the materials and documents left by Morris Ernst to share his work and life to other people. Additionally, Samantha shares about the contents in the first amendment and the issues that people should be paying attention to in this modern time.

Episode Resources

• https://www.lexisnexis.com/lexisplus
• https://www.law.buffalo.edu/faculty/facultyDirectory/barbasSamantha.html
• https://samanthabarbas.com/ 
  
  
  Episode Highlights
• Why Samantha Barbas decided to go to law school in the first place
• The reason behind her decision to be a law school professor
• How she places Morris Ernst in terms of the history of the first amendment and the legal history in general
• What are the things that stuck out to Samantha about Morris Ernst as a person
• How she went through all the 600 boxes of materials and documents left by Morris Ernst
• The sunset of Morris Ernst's career
• Is there a flashpoint under the first amendment jurisprudence?
• The contents in the first amendment and the issues that we're currently seeing in the first amendment that people should pay attention to

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In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Donna Edbril, a Certified Leadership Coach, about how she helps female lawyers find the balance between their personal lives and working in a law firm. Donna also shares her transition from starting out in law school, working in different companies to being a career coach. She also runs down the different advice she can give to people who are finding it difficult to set boundaries and the proven methods for them to take control of their career paths.

Episode Resources

• https://www.donnaedbril.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/dedbril 
  
  
  Episode Highlights
• What is behind Donna's decision to enter law school
• How she get from starting out in law school to being a certified leadership coach
• Why lawyers come for a career coaching
• The differences between working in house and career coaching
• How COVID amplified the eternal battle for a work life balance
• What the other methods are that people can use to take control of their career path
• Advice to people who are finding it difficult to set boundaries
• What are the big problems that are plaguing
• What questions do they need to be asking so that they know that this next move works for them

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In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Hannah Brenner Johnson and Renee Knake Jefferson about their book focusing on the research on the women who appeared on the presidential shortlist back in history. Hannah and Renee not only share the stories of the women who represent the gender on the court, but also how the nomination impacted the lives and careers of those who did not make the transaction. They also discuss the biggest takeaways they learned from these women and the process they underwent to share the story to the world.

Episode Resources

• Why Hannah and Renee decided to go to law school
• Finding their way into the legal space: How the path happened to them, considering they are not from a family of lawyers
• How the idea of delving into the women's names who are not in the tip of everyone's tongue or the front of everyone's memory came from and why does it matter
• The process of determining who appeared on the presidential shortlist back in history
• Who Florence Allen is
• Why is the representation of women on the court so important
• Life after the short list: For the women who didn't make the transition, how did it impact their career
• The big takeaways they learned from these women
  
  
  Episode Highlights
• Gender, Power, Law & Leadership
• https://reneeknake.com/
• https://www.law.uh.edu/faculty/main.asp?PID=5141
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-brenner-johnson-7b3b6637
• https://www.cwsl.edu/faculty-staff-and-campus-directories/faculty-and-staff-directory/h/hannah-brenner 

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In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Jodi Schwimmer, partner at Reed Smith and global co-lead of the Financial Industry Group, about how she balances firm leadership responsibilities with her practice. Jodi shares how the Financial Industry Group has changed because of the pandemic, and some firm priorities for this year. She also discusses some of the biggest successes and failures of her career.

Episode Resources

• https://www.lexisnexis.com/lexisplus
• https://www.reedsmith.com/en/professionals/s/schwimmer-jodi-e
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodi-abramowitz-schwimmer-108b40b3 
  
  
  Episode Highlights
• What made Jodi Schwimmer decide to go to law school
• How she wound up to where she is now
• How Jodi made it on her own and developed relationships with her clients
• The responsibilities that her practice entails
• How she manages everything, including getting the right people
• Changes COVID-19 brought to her practice area and managing the team as a whole
• Advice from her experiences from her own career

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• Subscribe with Apple Podcasts
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In this episode, Kathryn speaks with Tamra Moore, partner at King & Spalding, about the twists and turns of her career that led her to her role at K&S. Tamra shares what latering during a pandemic was like, and how she decided on a firm that worked for her. She also discusses the differences between Biglaw, in-house, and government service. Tamra additionally talks about what a day in the life of a Government Matters attorney is like.

Episode Highlights

• Why she decided to go to law school
• An incredible intimidating industry
• Where is the best place to be a lawyer
• What is being a healthcare lawyer
• There are many different paths to take when you're in healthcare
• One of the biggest challenges
• The process of joining a new firm
• Tips for people that are starting their career
• Working In-house

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To get the next episode subscribe with your favorite podcast player.

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