Alexander Almazan almost walked away from practicing law entirely. After bouncing between three firms in five years, the first-generation Cuban-American attorney was exhausted by the billable hour grind and ready to accept a money management position at Credit Suisse in Connecticut. The only thing that stopped him: raising his young family far from Miami meant depriving his children of something his immigrant parents had sacrificed everything to give him. In this episode of Lawyers Who Learn, host David Schnurman sits down with Almazan to explore how he transformed his frustration with traditional law firm models into a thriving 29-person Florida based law firm now leading the charge on AI integration. His father's journey, arriving in Virginia at age 13 through Operation Peter Pan, separated from family for five years as communism seized Cuba, instilled a work ethic that wouldn't let him settle for pushing paper at firms where success meant hitting arbitrary billing targets. His approach to adoption is refreshingly practical: hire an assistant first, then an office manager, and build systems that free lawyers to practice actual law. He's candid about the billable hour's inevitable death, admitting he's scared but believes fear signals necessary change. The conversation reveals concrete strategies for small firms navigating this transformation, from using AI to turn dense articles into podcasts to training attorneys through short videos rather than hour-long sessions, proving that the right tools can make average attorneys good and good attorneys great.

JJ Powell answered his Eton College scholarship exam at 12, earned degrees from Oxford and Harvard, passed multiple US bar exams, and just completed his doctorate on AI and M&A, all while building a 150-lawyer global firm, producing Tony Award-winning Broadway shows, and maintaining homes in three countries. Yet his most transformative month came not in a courtroom or theater, but in rehab, where burnout forced him to reconsider what success actually means. In this episode of Lawyers Who Learn, host David Schnurman explores how JJ’s radically reimagined legal practice through Powell Continental Group. Instead of traditional offices, his firm operates through nearly 100 exclusive members clubs worldwide, transforming every client meeting into a networking opportunity. Clients become members with access to the firm's clubs and a secure digital vault containing every legal document they've ever signed, accessible at 3 AM when needed. Powell’s journey reveals the power of following unconventional instincts. His client events break the corporate mold, like hosting medieval-themed gatherings in the Mexican jungle that attract major luxury brands. Meanwhile, pro bono work fighting corporate injustice keeps the practice grounded. Now he's launching the legal industry's first members-only retreat in Sicily, in the actual villa where The Godfather was filmed, where clients can vacation while attending lectures and building connections. The conversation turns candid as he discusses struggles with OCD at Oxford that extended his undergraduate degree by a year, and how recent time in rehab became unexpectedly productive both personally and professionally. His advice: don't fight the AI revolution, hire passionate young lawyers hungry to learn, and create your own traditions rather than following society's repetitive annual rituals. High achievement and personal challenges coexist—the key is knowing when to raise your hand and ask for help.

Jon Krop made a decision that would terrify most lawyers: he quit his tech job at 30 and spent seven months in silent meditation at a teacher's center in Arizona. Living in a yurt, no phone, no talking, no reading—just meditation and twice-weekly check-ins with his teacher. What he discovered didn't just transform his relationship with ADHD and anxiety; it set him on an unexpected path toward helping legal professionals cultivate wellbeing. In this episode of Lawyers Who Learn, host David Schnurman explores Jon's journey from Harvard Law student managing ADHD through medication and meditation to becoming CEO of Flourish Legal Wellbeing. Jon candidly discusses how his seven-month retreat rewired his brain so significantly that his medication stopped working the same way—and why he recently got a prescription again anyway, challenging simplistic narratives about wellness cures. When Jon returned from retreat, he went back to working at a law firm while teaching his first mindfulness workshop that same weekend. He spent a year and a half doing both before his wellbeing work grew enough to become full-time. Today, Flourish has evolved from Jon's solo practice into a team of lawyer-turned-experts delivering everything from nutrition counseling to financial wellness across major law firms, with 75% of programming delivered virtually. The conversation reveals Jon's ongoing practice of two months of silent retreat annually, his thoughts on why silence brings immediate relief rather than torture, and how humor becomes essential when discussing serious mental health topics. For legal professionals drowning in stress or curious about meditation beyond the hype, Jon offers a refreshingly honest perspective on what contemplative practice actually demands—and delivers.

As Director of Client Intelligence at Sidley Austin, Rachel Shields Williams transforms messy relationship data into strategic intelligence, tracking how former general counsels become clients, then expert witnesses, then something else entirely.  In this episode of Lawyers Who Learn, host David Schnurman explores how Rachel evolved from a marketing coordinator to President-Elect of the Legal Marketing Association. Her path began with a family business running golf courses and led through ten years in marketing before discovering her calling at the intersection of data, storytelling, and change management. Rachel reveals why law firms desperately need storytellers and change agents as AI transforms the industry. Her role tracking Fortune 100 clients goes beyond traditional CRM, mapping former general counsels, competing law firms, and relationship evolution across systems to build 360-degree intelligence dashboards. She explains why lawyers should embrace firm technology, and why holding emotional space for change matters more than racing toward efficiency. From her year-long executive program in change management to her Lego-building meditation practice, Rachel demonstrates how humanist skills become professional advantages in an increasingly technical world.

Julie Remer spent years as a practicing attorney secretly struggling with ADHD she didn't know she had. Then her five-year-old daughter's diagnosis sparked a revelation: those challenges she'd been white-knuckling through her entire legal career were actually neurological differences shared by 25% of law students today. In this episode of Lawyers Who Learn, host David Schnurman explores Julie's evolution from an attorney hiding her struggles to founder of Amicus Coaching, where she helps neurodivergent lawyers transform perceived weaknesses into strategic advantages. Julie reveals the perfect storm that brings lawyers to her door: billing struggles, communication breakdowns, and executive function challenges that intensify as attorneys advance from associate to partner. She shares her airport medication mishap, losing her scarf, boarding pass, and Starbucks in one chaotic trip, which perfectly illustrates life without treatment. The conversation tackles critical questions: When is ADHD medication necessary versus optional? How do you distinguish between modern distraction and genuine neurodivergence? Why do high-achieving lawyers hit walls after years of successful coping? Julie offers practical frameworks including the power of morning routines over reactive email checking, why billing struggles signal deeper issues, and how understanding dopamine processing explains impulse control challenges. She demonstrates how neurodivergent traits like hyper-focus and creative thinking become superpowers in the right legal practice areas.

Amy Goodson could memorize entire speeches as a child and loved performing on stage—skills that seemed destined for communication work. She was also a dancer and loved exercise as a teen. This love for exercise led to an interest in nutrition, personally and professionally. From a communications degree to a double masters in exercise and sports nutrition, Amy’s 20-year career path has been all about marrying the two together to provide science-backed, practical information to the public. In this episode of Lawyers Who Learn, host David Schnurman speaks with Amy, a registered dietitian who now runs three distinct businesses while traveling six trips in a single month. Amy works with major law firms like Haynes and Boone, where she discovered something surprising: highly successful attorneys often approach nutrition the same way they tackle everything else—by overthinking it. Her solution cuts through the noise with ruthlessly practical strategies that busy professionals can actually implement. Amy's framework centers on a counterintuitive truth: consistent small habits outperform dramatic overhauls every time. She calls it the "compound effect"—the same principle that builds successful legal careers builds sustainable wellness. Rather than advocating extreme protocols like intermittent fasting for active professionals, Amy focuses on stabilizing blood sugar through strategic carbohydrate-protein pairings that maintain focus during marathon court sessions. From her 4:30 AM workout routine to her creature-of-habit approach to meals, Amy embodies the discipline she teaches. Her media training—refined through fifteen separate trainings—translates complex nutritional science into sound bites that stick. This conversation offers attorneys a blueprint for sustaining peak performance without sacrificing the energy that makes them effective advocates.

Jonathan Schutrum's intellectual transformation began during COVID lockdown on nightly walks with his dog through Buffalo's winter streets. While the world shut down, the insurance defense attorney discovered philosophy podcasts that fundamentally changed how he approached legal practice. What started as curiosity evolved into a deliberate framework: treating mental fitness with the same rigor as physical training. In this episode of Lawyers Who Learn, host David Schnurman, CEO of Lawline, explores how Schutrum applies ancient wisdom to modern insurance defense work at Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote. From Marcus Aurelius's Meditations to German philosopher Martin Heidegger's phenomenology, he views diverse intellectual pursuits as essential cross-training for the legal mind. His logic is compelling—lawyers already possess the analytical skills philosophy demands, so strengthening those muscles outside the courtroom makes you sharper inside it. Schutrum's approach extends beyond philosophy into deliberate cognitive expansion. When a Germany trip sparked intensive language learning, he discovered it offered the same mental benefits—taking him outside daily worries while exercising different parts of his mind. His visit to the unchanged Nuremberg trial courtroom, with its original 1945 leather chairs and wood paneling, reinforced how thinking across centuries and disciplines enhances legal perspective. He even applies this principle to his work soundtrack, comparing Richard Wagner's complex orchestrations—where multiple sections play different themes that converge into one melody—to managing the simultaneous elements of complex cases. As a Lawline faculty member teaching medical malpractice and strategic depositions, Schutrum embodies his core philosophy: teaching reinforces learning. His framework of "habit stacking"—layering new learning onto existing routines like podcast listening during dog walks—offers attorneys a practical path to compounding professional growth through intentional mental cross-training.  

Karen Munoz spent nearly a decade at a personal injury firm, rising from receptionist to managing partner while handling wrongful death cases and winning multi-million dollar verdicts. But beneath the external success, she was slowly losing herself. Then yoga, recovery, and a master's degree in counseling psychology changed everything. In this episode of Lawyers Who Learn, host David Schnurman sits down with Karen to explore her transformation from personal injury attorney to trauma-informed wellness coach. As a first-generation Mexican-American who graduated from UIC School of Law in 2008, Karen never felt she fit the traditional lawyer mold. While classmates competed ruthlessly, she focused on genuinely helping clients through their darkest moments—sitting with them without notebooks or computers, offering full presence in a profession built on multitasking. Karen's parallel path began when she walked into her first yoga class as a young attorney and discovered a practice that would save her life. By 2010, she was writing about mindfulness for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and teaching yoga to lawyers through the Lawyer's Assistance Program—long before wellness became mainstream in legal circles. In 2021, five years into recovery, she formalized this work by founding Roaring Grace Mindful Wellness. Now pursuing her master's in counseling psychology while also teaching CLE courses on Lawline, Karen bridges ancient wisdom and modern legal challenges. She explains how trauma lives in the body, shares Viktor Frankl's concentration camp-born philosophy on finding meaning, and delivers a powerful message to struggling attorneys: you're not alone, and the light you're searching for already exists within you.

Colin Lachance's journey began at age 10, when a fateful summer camp experience introduced him to law as society's "cheat code." That early exposure launched a decades-long career from telecom regulatory law to becoming an entrepreneur determined to prevent lawyers from being left behind by AI. In this episode of Lawyers Who Learn, host David Schnurman explores Colin's unconventional path to founding LawQi, a platform on a mission to upskill 100,000 attorneys on AI fundamentals before it's too late. After managing the Canadian Legal Information Institute, Canada's most-used legal research resource, Colin recognized an urgent problem: attorneys have a shrinking window to understand how AI works at its core before being relegated to using narrow tools without comprehension. His solution? An interactive sandbox called LawQi, where lawyers learn by doing, guided by an AI assistant trained on the course materials. Colin's contrarian approach challenges traditional legal education. Forgoing CLE accreditation, he charges bar associations as little as $1 per member annually, reflecting his mission-driven focus on impact over revenue. The conversation reveals Colin's unconventional entrepreneurial philosophy—intentionally building a business with a limited lifespan, capping growth at 10 employees, and measuring success by transformation rather than typical venture metrics. His goal is to reach 100,000 lawyers by 2030, building trust to navigate whatever comes next in an unpredictable AI landscape. Colin's journey serves as a wake-up call for legal professionals witnessing AI's rapid integration across research and practice management tools, as demonstrated in Jack Newton's pivotal Clio keynote that left 2,500 lawyers uncomfortably silent about their future. His story urges attorneys to proactively upskill before the window of opportunity closes.

Clarissa Dominguez couldn’t shake the feeling that traditional therapy was keeping her stuck. Despite years of Western treatment for borderline personality disorder—and pouring most of her 401(k) into healing a chronic illness—she kept cycling through the same emotional patterns. So she did something most lawyers would never risk: She walked away from her BigLaw career for an entire year to study neuroscience coaching and rebuild herself from the inside out. In this episode of Lawyers Who Learn, host David Schnurman speaks with Clarissa — now Professional Development Manager at BakerHostetler — about transforming personal crisis into professional expertise. She designs neuroscience-based leadership programs for Baker’s groundbreaking Business Development Coaching Program, a year-long coaching experience focused on growth, performance, and purpose. Clarissa also partners with The Honor Foundation, coaching transitioning special operations leaders as they move from mission-driven service to purpose-driven civilian life. After co-presenting at PDC with Harvard Law Professor Scott Westfahl on The Awakened Brain and purpose-driven leadership, Clarissa now brings flow-state science, nervous system regulation, and spiritual anchoring into BigLaw’s achievement-obsessed culture. Clarissa’s work addresses what she calls the integration crisis in legal practice: Lawyers climb the ladder of billable hours and business development while ignoring the emotional incidents accumulating along the way. This disconnect between intellectual achievement and emotional wellbeing produces high-functioning attorneys who don’t know who they are anymore. Her stance is bold: Lawyers need spiritual grounding—reflection, stillness, prayer, community—not just training and productivity hacks. Especially now, as AI begins reshaping the profession and the value of being human becomes the competitive edge. This conversation offers practical neuroscience-backed tools for legal professionals who feel stuck in chronic stress, achievement addiction, or the exhausting pursuit of external validation.

Michael Grupp started his legal career at Freshfields and Hogan Lovells before founding Bryter, a workflow automation platform he calls "Lego for lawyers." Over the years he has raised $90 million, leads 100 employees across three continents, and teaches at Goethe University. In this episode of Lawyers Who Learn, host David Schnurman explores Grupp's journey from Big Law associate to legal tech entrepreneur navigating the chaos of AI transformation. Based in Frankfurt, Germany, Grupp has built a company that turns repetitive legal processes into automated enterprise apps without requiring lawyers to write code. His approach to legal tech and the ups and downs of legal tech life is humour, and endurance sports. “Don’t take yourself too seriously”, he advocates, and proposes to do sports that get you to your limits. “Laughing and triathlons will keep you on the ground.” His contrarian views extend to legal education, where he teaches in Germany's eight-year training system that prepares lawyers to be judges—a career 95% won't pursue. With AI automating research and drafting, Grupp advocates radical reform: less memorization, more focus on project management, client relationships, and business skills law schools ignore. He shifts between two views of AI's impact: either lawyers drastically underestimate the irreplaceable human work they do, or the industry faces real contraction as 20-30% of billable work disappears. The conversation reveals lessons from "The Culture Code," which transformed how Grupp builds teams, and his Ironman training, which taught him that consistency beats talent—just showing up is most of the battle.

Marc W. Halpert encountered the same paralyzing problem across professions: all struggling to talk about themselves despite extraordinary credentials. The pattern was universal—high achievers frozen by fear, worried about sounding "too out there," dragging themselves through the mud instead of showcasing their value. In this episode of Lawyers Who Learn, host David Schnurman sits down with Marc, a serial entrepreneur turned LinkedIn branding strategist who helps attorneys break free from the psycho-cultural programming that keeps them invisible. Marc's philosophy cuts against conventional wisdom: you're not bragging when you share your expertise—you're serving your future clients by helping them understand why you do what you do. His "know, feel, believe, do" framework transforms LinkedIn from a digital resume into a strategic platform for authentic professional visibility. The conversation reveals why legal professionals particularly struggle with self-promotion, how Marc teaches without slides to promote authentic expertise, and his counterintuitive advice on consistency of original content—post when you have something important to say, not according to arbitrary schedules. From his two published books to teaching at major law firms, Marc demonstrates how authentic visibility creates opportunity without the aggressive selling lawyers fear. For professionals stuck between imposter syndrome and the fear of appearing salesy, this episode offers strategies to finally let your value bubble up.

Fifteen years ago, Richart Ruddie survived on rice and frozen shrimp while working six months without pay, taking out negative equity from ATMs just to get by. Today, after selling his bootstrapped reputation management company for more than competitors who raised $70 million, he's building Captain Compliance—a data privacy software company protecting businesses from costly compliance violations that could mean generational wealth. In this episode of Lawyers Who Learn, David Schnurman, CEO of Lawline, explores Ruddie's unconventional path from valet parking luxury cars to serial legal tech entrepreneur. After a mentor advised him to intern anywhere during the 2008 financial crisis—even for free—Ruddie spent six months earning nothing while learning digital marketing at a hedge fund's startup. That SEO expertise became the foundation for Profile Defenders, which he launched in March 2011 and grew to $90,000 monthly revenue by December of that year, all while maintaining obsessive client service that included taking 3 AM calls to bury damaging content before morning meetings. Ruddie's approach defied Silicon Valley convention at every turn. He bootstrapped while competitors raised massive funding, prioritized profit over revenue growth, and let efficiency become his competitive advantage—ultimately outperforming venture-backed rivals and achieving a more successful exit despite far less capital. Now with Captain Compliance, Ruddie tackles an even bigger opportunity as privacy laws proliferate beyond California and GDPR. The stakes are higher—he's raising venture capital for the first time while managing two young children—but the market potential is staggering, with competitors selling for nearly $2 billion. His journey proves that grit, efficiency, and customer obsession can beat big budgets every time.

Johnna Story has spent three decades at Finnegan—a remarkably rare tenure in today's legal landscape. But her longevity isn't just about staying; it's about evolving a profession that barely existed when she started. As Director of Professional Development and Wellbeing, Johnna has watched attorney development transform from an afterthought into a strategic imperative. In this episode of Lawyers Who Learn, host David Schnurman explores how Johnna built her 1,700+ day meditation streak using the free Insight Timer app and why she's convinced that wellbeing isn't dessert—it's the main course. Starting as an HR assistant in 1995 at a firm of 120 attorneys where professional development "wasn't really a thing," Johnna grew alongside an emerging profession that truly coalesced in the early 2000s. Today, she supports 350 attorneys at Finnegan, helping them develop the self-discipline, responsiveness, and authenticity that technology can't replicate. Johnna's approach addresses the billing hour paradox directly: taking time for wellbeing means time away from billable work. Her solution involves meeting attorneys where they are—whether through 10-minute tips on the firm's landing page, secondary trauma support for pro bono lawyers, or monthly programming with benefits providers like Cigna and Prudential. She's learned that impacting even one person counts as a win. The conversation turns vulnerable as Johnna discusses losing her mother in September 2025, revealing how complicated grief intersects with workplace authenticity. Her philosophy of "selective vulnerability" offers a framework for bringing your whole self to work while maintaining boundaries—admitting you don't know everything, being willing to learn, and recovering from mistakes. These human skills matter more than ever as AI creates knowledge gaps while demanding different competencies from emerging attorneys.

Jack Newton runs Clio with 2,000 employees and over $300 million in annual recurring revenue, yet he describes his CEO role as "a new job every quarter." His secret to sustaining energy seventeen years into building Clio isn't about winning existing markets—it's about creating entirely new categories of software that didn't exist weeks before. In this episode of Lawyers Who Learn, host David Schnurman sits down with Newton at ClioCon to explore the mindset behind scaling a legal tech unicorn. Newton reveals how humility and continuous learning drive his approach, from seeking mentors among portfolio companies to studying frameworks like Simon Sinek's "The Infinite Game"—which reframes business not as zero-sum competition but as unlimited opportunity creation. Newton's keynote announcement left 2,500 attendees in stunned silence as he unveiled technology that compresses ten hours of legal work into forty-five minutes. The implications are profound: when automation handles routine tasks at scale, it doesn't eliminate lawyers—it creates massive new market opportunities. Newton draws parallels to LegalZoom, where automated forms generate enormous demand for attorney services, demonstrating how giving away commoditized work for free actually expands the entire legal market. Newton balances this demanding role by being fully present at home with his wife of twenty-two years and three teenage children, finding renewal in Vancouver's natural beauty. His philosophy challenges lawyers to stop jealously guarding routine work and instead embrace AI as a competitive advantage that could quadruple market size—transforming how legal professionals deliver value in an automated world.

Four months in a NICU changes you. For Kathryn Marquez, Global Director of Learning and Development at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP), those 120 days watching her three-pound, 14-ounce daughter Evie fight to survive—born with an esophagus that never fully formed—made her a better parent, professional, and leader. The whiteboard goal "to grow strong" wasn't just for her daughter; it became something she carries with her in everything she does. In this episode of Lawyers Who Learn, David Schnurman, CEO of Lawline, explores Kathryn's journey from a 22-year-old legal personnel assistant at Sidley Austin to her current global role. Taking notes in exit interviews—listening to departing attorneys describe their unhappiness, including one who hadn't spoken to anyone in two days—convinced her not to pursue law school and instead build a career supporting lawyers rather than becoming one. Kathryn shares how BCLP’s learning approach partners with internal practitioners to ensure a pragmatic, targeted experience, rooted in a high-performance culture that emphasizes a client-focused, human-centered, results-focused mindset. Three former high-performing partner leaders bring this approach to life, as they now coach full-time to develop BCLP’s next-generation pipeline. Other in-person programming, including their global sponsorship program, mirrors the firm’s tailored investment in their high-potential talent. The conversation turns vulnerable when Kathryn recalls meeting Dr. Nath, the surgeon who surprised her with his compassion, attentiveness, and skill, beginning that first day when he gave her his cell phone number. She still texts him six years later and uses that story when teaching client service. Drawing on Kim Scott's Radical Candor, Kathryn delivers her core challenge: high care with low challenge—avoiding hard feedback to protect feelings—is inherently unkind. True compassion means having difficult conversations, whether coaching an associate, conducting a layoff, or advocating for your child in a hospital room.

Darshan Kulkarni doesn't believe in meditation, doesn’t have time to read books, and thrives on chaos—yet he's earned six degrees by age 25, founded a law firm, teaches at Drexel, and has recorded thousands of podcast episodes. His secret? "Chase being uncomfortable," he says, and find joy in everything you do. In this episode of Lawyers Who Learn, David Schnurman, CEO of Lawline, sits down with Kulkarni to explore an unconventional learning philosophy that rejects traditional productivity advice. As a sixth-generation pharmacist who added a JD and master's degree to his credentials while still in his twenties, Kulkarni's approach challenges conventional wisdom about focus and balance. Kulkarni's journey began at 15, teaching judo to blind children in India—an experience that taught him about "the tyranny of low expectations." After immigrating to the US at 19, he completed 60 college credits in one year simply because he didn't know it was supposed to be impossible. His learning strategy? Work from 9 AM to midnight daily, pursue 15 projects simultaneously, and outsource everything except what brings genuine joy. "The moment I get comfortable with something, I get bored," he explains. Now focusing on FDA law, life science related privacy and pharmaceutical compliance, Kulkarni is witnessing a seismic shift in healthcare: direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical models that bypass traditional insurance middlemen. From Trump RX to Amazon pharmacy initiatives, he explains how patients are becoming consumers, and why this transformation matters for legal professionals navigating healthcare's future. At Drexel, he's redesigning his courses around AI, asking students to treat artificial intelligence as their boss rather than fighting against its inevitable integration into legal practice.

Anusia Gillespie hasn't applied for a single job since law school, yet she's moved through seven organizations in ten years—all by design. She played pivotal roles in two major legal tech acquisitions, built innovation programs across global law firms, and figured out exactly which parts of work fuel her versus drain her. When the ratio shifts too far, she makes her move. In this episode of Lawyers Who Learn, host David Schnurman, CEO of Lawline, explores this unconventional career philosophy with Anusia Gillespie, Enterprise Lead at vLex and author of the book Soul Toll. Her journey spans BigLaw associate to Global Head of Innovation at Eversheds Sutherland, Chief Strategy Officer at Skillburst (sold to Barbri), and Enterprise Lead at vLex during its billion-dollar acquisition by Clio. Anusia introduces her "soul toll ratio"—measuring how much of your job energizes versus depletes you. She reveals why a hundred percent soul job actually limited her growth at Harvard Law School Executive Education, how a forced meditation experience exposed her complete disconnection from herself, and why she's packaging leadership wisdom in a fiction novel instead of another dry business book. From building AI training consortiums across eleven law firms to landing speaking gigs through simple text messages, she demonstrates how bringing your full self to work creates unexpected opportunities. Her networking advice challenges conventional wisdom: forget sports statistics, find your ballet. This conversation reframes career sustainability for lawyers who suspect they're shutting themselves off to show up—and offers a practical framework for measuring when it's time to make a change.

Emily Logan Stedman was having full-blown panic attacks on family vacations. Despite making partner track at a prestigious Milwaukee firm—Teach for America, Law Review Editor, clerkship, Big Law success—she was ready to leave law entirely. Then her husband said something that changed everything: "I think you actually like being a lawyer. You might just need a different environment." In this episode of Lawyers Who Learn, host David Schnurman, CEO of Lawline, sits down with Emily, now a partner at Husch Blackwell, to explore her transformation from secretly struggling associate to Big Law's most visible wellness advocate. Raised by attorney parents who joked her birth announcement named her their firm's "newest associate," Emily followed the expected path without questioning what she wanted. Teaching fifth grade in rural Arizona became unexpected litigation preparation—breaking down complex concepts, managing classrooms with precision, and reading people became daily courtroom skills. Emily's breakthrough came when she joined Husch Blackwell with a radical ultimatum: be fully herself, or leave. That authenticity manifested in daily LinkedIn posts about Big Law realities, nationwide mentorship calls, and a systematic approach that "neutralizes" the billable hour by tracking everything like clocking in and out. Her most surprising revelation: adopting an entrepreneurial identity through Coursera business courses, thinking of her practice as "the law office of Emily Logan Stedman" within the larger firm. Emily represents the bridge between generations—an elder millennial who survived the old model and is reshaping it from within, proving strategic time management and authentic self-expression can make Big Law sustainable.

Most law students can argue complex cases but struggle to explain basic legal rights every citizen should know. Marisa Monteiro Borsboom noticed this disconnect and decided to do something radical about it—launching a legal literacy initiative that challenges both how lawyers are trained and how citizens understand their place in the legal system. In this episode of Lawyers Who Learn, David Schnurman, CEO of Lawline, explores Borsboom's unconventional journey from Portuguese lawyer to quantum computing policy advisor to founder of the Humanity of Things Agency. Licensed since 2004 and splitting her life between the Netherlands and Portugal, Borsboom developed what she calls a "quantum mind"—refusing to see limits between disciplines like law, physics, anthropology, and technology. Her legal literacy initiative tackles a striking paradox: we teach people they need lawyers for everything, yet we never teach them the basic legal toolkit for navigating life—from understanding labor rights to knowing where to go when legal problems arise. Borsboom works with law students who discover they've been trained in complexity but can't explain citizenship in simple terms. Her dream? Integrating this knowledge into K-12 education, creating citizens who understand the legal dimension of their lives from birth to death. Borsboom's philosophy challenges lawyers to go "beyond the commercial pitch" and embrace their role as agents of humanity. She candidly discusses nearly quitting after years of disillusionment, until watching "The Professor and the Madman"—a film about creating the first dictionary—reminded her that transformative work requires relentless devotion, not project management systems. Now juggling quantum computing policy, civil society advocacy, and raising two pre-teens, she argues that waiting for governments to fix education is no longer viable. Civil society must step up, building knowledge infrastructure from the ground up, one community at a time.