Welcome back to another episode of the How I Lawyer Podcast, where Professor Jonah Perlin interviews lawyers about what they do, why they do it, and how they do it well.

For today’s special episode (and the final episode of 2023), we bring to you How I Lawyer’s first-ever live-recorded episode featuring former guests of the podcast, Eli Albrecht and Jordana Confino, in a discussion about positive lawyering in the practice of law.

This episode was recorded LIVE at DLA Piper’s Offices in Washington D.C. with the support of sponsors Lateral Hub, LawPods, and the Legal Mentor Network.

In this episode, Jonah speaks with Eli Albrecht and Jordana Confino.

Eli is a partner at SMB Law Group LLP where he represents buyers and sellers of businesses and specializes in representing private equity groups. After graduating from Georgetown University Law Center, Eli worked as a mergers and acquisition Associate at DLA Piper and at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. In addition to his day job, Eli writes about his own path in the legal profession primarily on LinkedIn where he focuses on balancing life as a private equity lawyer, husband, and LawDad in a way that is “fully integrated.”

Jordana is a lawyer and expert on positive lawyering. She previously served as the Inaugural Dean of Professionalism at Fordham Law where she remains an adjunct professor. Jordana was voted Fordham Law Adjunct Professor of the Year in 2021 for her class on Positive Lawyering. In 2022, Jordana founded her own consulting and coaching business with the mission to advance the well-being of the legal profession. Prior to joining Fordham Law, Jordana served as the Assistant Director of Academic Counseling, Acting Clerkship Advisor, and a Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law, clerked for the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and Southern District of New York, and graduated from Yale Law.

In this episode, Eli and Jordana share valuable insights about the legal profession:

😊 Jordana discusses how googling “how to be happy” led to her discovery of positive psychology early in her legal career [4:36]

👩‍❤️‍👨 Eli discusses how a conversation with his wife recalibrated his career goals [12:15]

🧠 Jordana discusses how she redefined success by living according to her values rather than her fears [14:43]

🌟 Eli encourages listeners to follow their north star and to speak openly about life outside work [19:06]

🧩 Eli explains how “full integration” allows him to maintain continuity throughout his family, workplace, faith, and other vital parts of his life [26:31]

🌉 Jordana defends why boundaries are important and can create bridges to better relationships [29:57]

📅 Jordana explains how to identify your nonnegotiable needs and calendar them into your schedule [33:55]

💵 The panel debates the billable hour [36:52]

🤗 Jordana explains how to build a better relationship with yourself as a starting point to positive lawyering [54:26]

🌍 Eli implores listeners to trust that the world will support you and to enjoy the ride [55:43]

You can hear more from Eli by listening to HIL episode 87 and hear more from Jordana by listening to HIL episode 110.

This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys.

This live episode was sponsored by:

Lateral Hub⁠

⁠LawPods⁠

⁠The Legal Mentor Network

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#049: David J. Ribner - CFIUS and International Trade Compliance Lawyer

How I Lawyer Podcast with Jonah PerlinBy Jonah PerlinDec 28, 2021