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The Former Lawyer Podcast

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Dr. Jan Newman: From Biglaw Associate to Clinical Psychologist

Apr 20, 2020

In Episode 037 of The Former Lawyer Podcast, I’m sharing my conversation with Dr. Jan Newman. Jan is a licensed clinical psychologist and executive coach who works with multi-passionate high achievers who want to level up their lives. She is a published author and researcher and a frequent speaker on topics related to emotional intelligence, interpersonal effectiveness, and psychological flexibility.  In her former life, she was an intellectual property attorney in Biglaw.

In this conversation, Jan shares about:

  • Going to law school because people told her she was good at persuading people;
  • Hearing her family talk about law being a prestigious profession, and telling her that she would make a good lawyer (although her mom vehemently denies that this happened!);
  • Why she thinks the legal profession can’t live up to its hype;
  • Deciding she was going to leave the law before she actually left (and what that means);
  • Realizing her first day of law school that it was a mistake;
  • The moment that she realized law was not for her (and also that everyone she worked with had lost their minds);
  • Why, after she decided she was going to leave the law, she lateraled from her regional law firm to biglaw;
  • Approaching her decision to leave law like a series of experiments;
  • Realizing she was getting hooked by the money in biglaw (and what she did about it);
  • Applying to psychology PhD programs twice before she actually left biglaw;
  • How she uses her background as a lawyer in her psychology practice now;
  • The three books she recommends all lawyers read;
  • Why unhappy lawyers often believe they can think their way out of their problems (and why they’re wrong);
  • and much more! 

Show Notes: