The Portia Project™ Podcast seeks to inspire the next generation of women lawyers and law students by sharing the stories of high achieving women in the law – their paths to the bench, the bar, and beyond. Their personal histories, spanning the 1960’s to today, chronicle women’s progress in the legal profession and business world, and serve as powerful reminders that there are many individual paths to success.
As master storyteller Bobette Buster puts it: “Stories, told well and acted upon by one generation, ignite the next generation to greatness; because they have heard with their own ears, and seen with their own eyes, what courage can achieve.”
Guests stepping into the spotlight to share their career stories include federal judges, state supreme court justices, and state trial judges from across the country, as well as leading trial lawyers, general counsel, law professors, business and nonprofit executives, and founders. They provide tips on effective lawyering and reveal the array of meaningful careers possible with a law degree, in a format that is a far cry from formal judicial or lawyer profiles in traditional legal publications – one that brings out the interviewees’ human side and lets their personality shine through.
By listening to the lives of these lawyers and judges, you will gain a clearer idea of how they built their careers and may be inspired to follow in their footsteps. Who knows, maybe the next woman to revolutionize law, business, or the judiciary will be you!
Hosting the podcast is M.C. Sungaila, a practicing lawyer for more than 30 years, who has consistently been named one of the Top 100 Women Lawyers in California by the legal newspaper The Daily Journal. She focuses on civil appeals, writs, and related trial strategy and consulting. M.C. received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for her combined professional achievements in humanitarian and pro bono work. She shares this recognition with seven U.S. Presidents, Nobel Prize winners, athletes, artists, and industry leaders who made a significant contribution to humanity.
M.C. invites amazing judges and lawyers to the podcast to share their valuable, inspiring legal advice. With each guest, you receive the best of both worlds: tips to improve your law practice and insights to enhance your career trajectory.
Join M.C. Sungaila in this meaningful journey to elevate your legal career and forge the path to becoming the lawyer of your dreams.
Listen to The Portia Project™ Podcast today at theportiaprojectpodcast.com
In today’s episode, California Fourth District Court of Appeal Administrative Presiding Justice Judith McConnell shares her journey from the trial bench to administrative presiding justice of the Cou…
Many people lack access to, or funds for, a lawyer. This makes public interest work an essential part of our legal system. M.C. Sungaila delves into the public interest space with Leigh Ferrin, the D…
Judge Nicole Bershon was appointed to the Los Angeles Superior Court in 2013 by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. Prior to becoming a judge, she served as a court commissioner and even an inspector genera…
In this episode, M.C. Sungaila interviews an esteemed panel of female legal tech founders: Nicole Clark of Trellis Research, Inc., Dorna Moini of Documate, and Jacqueline Schafer of Clearbrief. They …
MC Sungaila welcomes the Honorable Christine Byrd of the Los Angeles Superior Court, whose path to the family law bench included serving as a federal prosecutor and BigLaw partner. She offers valuabl…
MC Sungaila is joined by the Honorable Anna Blackburne-Rigsby, Chief Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Chief Judge Blackburne-Rigsby shares her journey as a Black woman lawyer and t…
M.C. Sungaila sits down with former law firm partner and litigator Jennifer Friend, now CEO of Project Hope Alliance. Jennifer shares her experience of homelessness and how that led her to law school…
Justice Lee Smalley Edmon is the Presiding Justice of the Second District, Division Three of the California Courts of Appeal. She previously served as a judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court…
Senior Assistant Orange County Public Defender, Tracy LeSage, talks to M.C. Sungaila about her experience defending those accused of crimes, from misdemeanors to serious felonies. She provides insigh…
We’re in for a treat as MC Sungaila dabbles a little bit more into legal academia as a career option for lawyers and law students. Joining her is Professor Rebecca A. Delfino of the Loyola Law School…
Our guest today is Jane Bland, a Justice on the Texas Supreme Court. Learn how Justice Bland got into law and moved from BigLaw practice to the bench. Discover what it takes to be elected to the benc…
Host M.C. Sungaila sits down with Lyrissa Lidsky, Dean of the University of Missouri School of Law. Lyrissa discusses her passion for teaching and her career journey from a small town in Texas to lea…
Harmeet Dhillon, the founder of Dhillon Law Group and the Center for American Liberty, is a nationally recognized lawyer, trusted boardroom advisor, and passionate advocate for individual, corporate …
Arizona trial court Judge Danielle Viola joins M.C. Sungaila to discuss how her policy work with the Arizona state government and law practice at the venerable Phoenix-based firm Snell & Wilmer colle…
M.C. Sungaila discusses the ins and outs of improving and developing your business development skills with Sheila Murphy, a former Senior Legal Officer for a Fortune 50 company and current President…
Join MC Sungaila as she talks to attorney and member of the Orange County, California Board of Supervisors Katrina Foley about becoming a community leader. Prior to her election to the Board of Super…
Lisa Lang describes her journey from serving in the military as a paralegal to becoming general counsel at Kentucky State University, a public historically black land-grant university. She also descr…
Antoinette Balta, Executive Director and Co-Founder of the legal nonprofit Veterans Legal Institute®, discusses her nonprofit career, how her military experience and her immigrant family impacted the…
Michelle Hanlon is a maven of all things involving space law. She is Co-Director of the Center for Air and Space Law at Ole Miss and an instructor of aviation and space law. She is also a co-founder …
Legal thriller author Patricia Hunt Holmes spent 30 years as a public finance attorney with a large international law firm specializing in nonprofit healthcare finance and rural electric cooperative …