Bouncing Back

From political aspirations and working with Senator Hillary Clinton, to navigating the intricacies of the finance and sports worlds, Fitz Reed, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Hunterbrook, recounts her dynamic career trajectory and the resilience required to thrive in places where there are few professionals with her intersecting identities. Her candid conversation reveals the importance of community, persistence, and self-belief for anyone looking to make their mark in the legal profession.

The Great Recession hit graduating law school students hard even if they already had an offer on the table. The firm that Dan Huynh was set to start with ended up deferring his (and many others) start to March 2010—six months later than expected. In this episode of Bouncing Back, Dan chats with Rebecca Glatzer about how he found odd jobs to fill the gap and how he then refocused his original practice plans to work his way into the practice of law.

For Aida Wondwessen Babalola, the death of her cousin in 2014 rocked her world. She, unfortunately, experienced three more consecutive deaths of friends and family over the next year and a half. These terrible losses forced her to take stock of her life and reconsider her career. In this episode of Bouncing Back, Aida recounts this time in her life with Rebecca Glatzer. Together, they discuss the reality of loss and how to bounce back from it.

Craig Stone, Senior Counsel, Intellectual Property & Data Protection at Phillips 66 Company, decided to explore an in-house move at the suggestion of a client, but on his fourth day in his new corporate role, he found out the company was being split-up. He used this unexpected challenge as an opportunity to learn everything he could about the business and propel himself forward in his career. Listen as Craig and host Rebecca Glatzer chat about setbacks and the importance of mentors and others to help you navigate these unexpected moments.

Lateraling to a new firm usually presents opportunities, but sometimes those opportunities come with challenges. Shanye O’Reilly lateralled in the hopes of a better practice but ended up working with a very difficult partner. In this episode of Bouncing Back, he talks to Rebecca Glatzer about how that experience shaped him and eventually led him to a secondment opportunity, which led him to a fulfilling in-house role.

Tanya Taylor made the tough decision to move her family to a new state for a great opportunity. Unfortunately, after she had only been there a short time, she learned the company was being acquired and she would be working herself out of a job. In this episode of Bouncing Back, she talks to Rebecca Glatzer about how she processed this sudden news and managed to bounce back from this setback.

Throughout Josh Smith’s career—even from the moment he selected a college—his path has been filled with decision points. In this episode of Bouncing Back, he talks to Rebecca Glatzer about those crossroads and how he had to push past his comfort zone and take a leap of faith multiple times to get to where he is today.

No one can prepare well for one setback in their career, much less two, but James Han directed his energy into becoming a lawyer, which has ultimately paid off in a fulfilling position at Whole Foods. In this episode of Bouncing Back, James talks to Rebecca Glatzer about getting laid off during the Great Recession, finding a profession he was passionate about in sports broadcasting, and then contracting a rate autoimmune disease that forever changed his life again and led him to the law.

Despite her father’s success as a litigator, Roshal Marshall quickly found that litigation was not for her. When unsure of what to do next, she turned to her mentor who helped launch her in-house career. In this episode of Bouncing Back, Roshal shares with Rebecca Glatzer why she went to law school and how the power of networking helped her build a career despite an inauspicious start.

Colin Wright is no stranger to setbacks. He was first laid off from his in-house legal role not long after his company spun off from its parent company; more recently he experienced another setback during companywide layoffs. In this episode of Bouncing Back, Colin talks to Rebecca Glatzer about navigating a job loss and how taking little steps to reconnect with old colleagues, work with recruiters, and meet new people can open career doors.

Mike Sosso’s brother lost his long-time struggle with addiction and mental health last year. This life-changing experience led Mike to take a long hard look at how he and his bp colleagues address mental health. In this episode of Bouncing Back, Mike talks to Rebecca Glatzer about how his brother’s battle changed his perception of mental health and how he chooses to find balance in his life.

Shaun Sethna used to see work as a means to an end. His move in-house, however, changed his perspective. In this episode of Bouncing Back, he talks to Rebecca Glatzer about his career journey and explains how he went from feeling like work was simply about making money to finding joy.

As the first member of the 2SLGBT+ community and only the third woman ever confirmed to the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court, Justice Shawna Baker met her share of bumps in the road to earning her seat on the bench. She shares her story in this episode of Bouncing Back with Rebecca Glatzer, discussing ending discrimination against Cherokee Freedman descendants and her decision to live her life as an openly 2SLGBT+woman.

As one of the few openly LGBTQ, Black female judges on the bench, Judge Shannon Frison believes in setting the standard rather than living by others’ expectations. In this episode of Bouncing Back, she talks to Rebecca Glatzer about her career and the bold decisions she has made to be her authentic self in her personal AND professional life.

Ailis Burpee was five years out of law school and practicing as a litigator when she decided she wanted to move in-house. The uphill challenge to retool came with its fair share of rejection. In this episode of Bouncing Back, Ailis talks to Rebecca Glatzer about getting past the rejection and pushing past her comfort zone.

Nona Lee headed down the law firm litigator path like many lawyers do—until the creation of the WNBA showed Nona that sports was where her heart was calling her. In this episode of Bouncing Back, Nona shares with Rebecca Glatzer what gave her the drive and motivation to change her legal career path and even venture beyond legal into D&I work.

Alexia Korberg never imagined they would be a big law firm lawyer. However, Paul Weiss has given them a platform to tackle cases that impact society—just what they always intended to do. Alexia shares with Rebecca Glatzer stories of their resilience working on matters that directly impact them as a trans, queer, nonbinary person and as the first openly trans equity partner at an AmLaw firm.

Falling asleep at the wheel, David Dixon woke up to a nightmare that forever changed him and his path. David recounts that night where he crashed into another car—killing the 21-year-old passenger—and the aftermath, telling Rebecca Glatzer how this event and the forgiveness he received from the passenger’s mother forever changed his life and gave him purpose.

For Ling-Ling Nie law school never felt like the right fit, but not knowing what was, she saw her degree through and then went looking for what was. After some self-reflection and some career exploration, she discovered her passion for compliance. Listen in as Ling-Ling shares with Rebecca Glatzer how figuring out what you don’t want in life is as valuable as exploring what you do like.

After her divorce, Justice Leah Ward Sears realized that you can’t fix everything in life and that the best you can do is control the controllables. She shares with Rebecca Glatzer how she once saw her divorce as a profound failure and then adjusted her life view to find satisfaction again.