Young Lawyer Rising

Are you a young lawyer wondering how to snag that dream role?

Host Montana Funk welcomes Gianne Falvo Mangiro, a top legal recruiter at LHH and a former practicing attorney, to demystify the world of legal recruitment.

Gianne pulls back the curtain on how recruiters work, why they're not just for senior lawyers, and how they can seriously fast-track your job search. We'll cover everything from accessing hidden opportunities ...

Tristian Shannon took an unexpected route to the legal profession, trading the world of real estate for the courtroom. He joins us to discuss that journey, revealing the challenges that propelled him toward law and the entrepreneurial spirit that led him to build his own firm. Beyond the traditional legal landscape, Tristian is a proponent of modern connection, explaining how social media can humanize lawyers and build tru...

Bill Bay, President of the American Bar Association, joins Montana to discuss the role the ABA plays in supporting lawyers, promoting justice, and advocating for the rule of law.  Regardless of where you are in your career, the ABA offers not only a wealth of material for you to improve your practice and serve your clients better, but also an opportunity to get involved, get inspired, and effectuate a broader impact as par...

As young lawyers, you’re motivated to impress, to seem like the smartest person on the team.  But no one person can know enough to succeed entirely on their own.  We rely on the assistance and expertise of those around us, building a community of trusted allies who can help ensure we’re capable of fully serving our clients’ interests.  Expert witnesses are one such invaluable resource in many avenues of legal practice.

In ...

Financial expert Melissa Cecchine joins host Montana Funk to discuss the essentials of conscious financial management. Melissa shares insights into overcoming financial fears and building smart wealth strategies. Whether you're a young lawyer just starting your financial journey or you’re just looking to improve your approach to your finances, Melissa's practical advice on managing money, understanding your financial p...

Being a lawyer is a tough job. We’ve all heard the term “burnout”, maybe we even see it as just “something that happens occasionally” given our jobs, but most of us aren’t familiar with what all this stress is really doing to our bodies.  Montana is joined by Dr. Skattum to discuss the impacts of adrenal fatigue, burnout, and stress on the body, particularly for high-performing individuals like attorneys. They discuss prac...

Stacey Scrivani discusses the concept of mentorship in the legal profession, exploring what it means to be a mentor or mentee, and how these relationships can be mutually beneficial with Montana Funk. Stacey shares her insights on the various forms mentorship can take, from formal programs to informal peer support, and emphasizes the importance of a give-and-take dynamic. Whether you're seeking a mentor, aspiring to be one...

Stefania Lessen joins host Montana Funk to share her journey from law school to a successful legal career, emphasizing the importance of networking at every stage. From leveraging local bar associations to utilizing social media platforms like LinkedIn, Stefania offers practical advice and personal anecdotes to help law students and new attorneys build and maintain a strong professional network.

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Learn how to exceed expectations and thrive as a new lawyer from a panel of seasoned attorneys who are open and honest about what it takes to make partner, navigate your career, and excel in the legal field. Special thanks to our friends over at Litigation Radio, ABA's Section of Litigation and Podcast Host Dave Scriven-Young for sharing this special episode with us. For more conversations with top litigators, judges, and ...

Everybody wants your data, from companies to hackers to governments. Guest Lexi Lutz is senior corporate counsel, and privacy watchdog, at Nordstrom. She advises the company on the legal implications of AI, cybersecurity, privacy, and data protection. As computers get smarter and capabilities expand, it’s more important than ever to maintain legal guardrails and understand potential pitfalls.

Lutz starts with keeping up wit...

One challenge young lawyers encounter—especially in demanding corporate roles—is starting a family while advancing in their careers. Managing and balancing work and family isn’t something they teach in school. 

Guest Kimberly “Kim” Maney is a busy, successful in-house corporate attorney for a global corporation. She’s also a mom and a spouse who taught herself how to balance 10-hour days and constant demands from her job wh...

Guest Nancy Maurice shares her unique background as she followed her curiosity and leaned on her courage to explore several countries throughout her education—ultimately landing a position as an associate with a New York-area law firm.

Maurice is a native of France, where she learned English while growing up. She crossed the English Channel and earned her first law degree in England, a LL.B. Next, Maurice returned to Paris ...

Guest Mary Smith is an accomplished attorney and the first Native American woman to become president of the American Bar Association. In addition to a distinguished career in legal leadership for billion-dollar organizations, including CEO of the national organization Indian Health Services, she is also active in many civic organizations, including the Caroline and Ora Smith Foundation, dedicated to helping young Native Am...

As a new lawyer, have you ever considered a career in government oversight? It’s a broad, important field that ensures a wide range of agencies work as designed while protecting public funds and interests.

Guest Lucy Lang is a former prosecutor now serving as the New York Inspector General. She is charged with overseeing investigations into corruption, fraud, and abuse in the New York State government (more than 100 agencie...

Environmental law is a dynamic field that evolves rapidly with new challenges as they emerge but also against the backdrop of the politics of state and federal administrations. Regulatory focus shifts from administration to administration and crisis to crisis, creating a challenging area of law for those who practice it.

 Our guest, David Mandelbaum, is a shareholder with the firm of Greenberg Traurig and has practiced envi...

Guest Evita Nwosu-Sylvester focuses on the civil rights and fair lending needs of middle- to low-income earners in their quest for affordable housing. She works in multifamily fair lending operations at Freddie Mac (the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.).

But Nwosu-Sylvester is also a fighter for rights, fair hiring needs, and workplace accommodation for those embracing disabilities.

Nwosu-Sylvester followed a nontraditional ...

Guest Michael Kippins is a Boston-based civil rights attorney with Lawyers For Civil Rights. Driven by a desire to advocate for those too often left without robust representation, Kippins made the courageous jump from a big law setting to his civil rights practice and hasn’t looked back.

In one of his high-profile cases, Kippins is challenging what the suit describes as Harvard University’s system of admission bias toward “...

Happy New Year, and what a year that was. Host Montana Funk sits down with Tamara Nash, chair of the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, to review 2023 and share stories from listeners about the past year.

For listeners, it was a year of lessons learned. Learning how to separate work and life is difficult, but in one case, a young lawyer reported that an unexpected health issue forced her to learn what life’s a...

It’s been said there are only two things in life that are certain: death and taxes. Guest Anthony DeRiso can help with one of them. He’s a tax attorney.

It may sound like a daunting career path, but it really isn’t, DeRiso says. It’s about helping people chart a course to a desired outcome. Being a transactional tax attorney makes you the “coach,” drawing up plans as teams of attorneys deal with contractual issues. Then, th...