The Portia Project
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
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 53 minutes
- Episodes
- 237
- Years Active
- 2022 - 2025
Lisa Sarnoff Gochman
Lisa Sarnoff Gochman, a criminal appellate lawyer and author of At the Altar of the Appellate Gods: Arguing before the US Supreme Court, reflects on her career, the parallels between good writing in …
Stacy Bratcher
Stacy Bratcher, General Counsel of Cottage Health, in conversation with host M.C. Sungaila, shares her journey to in-house leadership and dives into the role of bar associations in shaping profession…
Ruth Pritchard-Kelly
To continue the series featuring leading women in space law, Ruth Pritchard-Kelly, an expert on satellite regulatory policy, joins The Portia Project podcast to discuss her career in satellite policy…
Michelle Banks
Michelle Banks is a champion of women lawyers and their careers. Her own career trajectory – from BigLaw to General Counsel to Executive Coach – is also inspiring. Michelle sits down with host M.C. S…
Angela Meyer
Client relationship expert Angela Meyer joins the podcast to talk about her corporate career, including business development strategy and tips for lawyers. She is a mechanical engineer, the former ex…
Diana Hagen
Utah Supreme Court Justice Diana Hagen sits down with M.C. Sungaila to share her career journey from clerking for a federal judge to serving in the appellate division of the U.S. Attorney's Office an…
Roberta Liebenberg & Lauren Rikleen On Women's Progress In The Legal Profession
Bobbi Liebenberg and Lauren Rikleen are both keen observers of trends in the legal profession and women's progress in particular. Joining MC Sungaila, they share their thoughts in a freewheeling disc…
Elaine Hammond
Bankruptcy Judge Elaine Hammond sits down with host M.C. Sungaila to demystify both bankruptcy law and the path to becoming a bankruptcy judge. Bankruptcy is a very specialized area of the law. Judge…
Denise Dragoo
Denise Dragoo, Snell & Wilmer partner, shares her trailblazing path in environmental and natural resources law. Denise shares her incredible journey, from being on the Governor's policy team to becom…
Robyn Crowther
Robyn Crowther, the Regional Managing Partner for California at Steptoe & Johnson, sits down with host M.C. Sungaila to share her path to leadership in a large law firm, her earlier experience at a p…
Franceska Schroeder
The highly respected Franceska Schroeder, Founding and Managing Counsel at Schroeder Law PLLC, discusses her niche and growing area of space law, the power of mentoring and paying it forward, and fou…
Carol W. Carpenter
In this episode, Carol W. Carpenter, Chief Marketing officer at Unity and former CEO of ElasticBox, shares her journey as a marketing powerhouse at Silicon Valley technology firms. She also provides …
Ninth Circuit Law School Clinic Alumni Panel With Tina Kuang, Molly Okamura, And Sydney Wong
In this episode, we explore the transformative experience of law school clinics and their pivotal role in shaping the careers of aspiring lawyers. Today, we have the privilege of hearing from three e…
Jean Lawler, Mediator, Arbitrator, and Former Law Firm Managing Partner
Jean Lawler shares her journey from law firm managing partner to mediator and arbitrator, and her experience leading the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel. She is a great example of how to …
Rachel Cossar, Founder and CEO of Virtual Sapiens and Former Professional Ballerina
Olympian. Professional ballerina. Presence and public speaking coach. Tech company founder. Rachel Cossar, CEO of Virtual Sapiens, which provides realtime body language coaching for video meetings, c…
Maria Hernandez, Presiding Judge of the Superior Court of Orange County, California
Maria Hernandez is the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court of Orange County, California. She shares her journey to the bench from a career as a public defender, and her new role as presiding judge …
Suzette Torres
Suzette Torres, General Counsel for Lennar Title Group, LLC, talks about how she navigated from law firm partnership to inhouse, and the role she played in connecting inhouse women together through h…
Barbara Madsen, Washington Supreme Court Justice
Washington Supreme Court Justice Barbara Madsen is a trailblazer. The first woman to be popularly elected to the Court in Washington state history, and the third woman to serve on the Court, she is c…
Samantha P. Jessner
Judge Samantha P. Jessner is the Presiding Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court, the largest trial court in the United States. Judge Jessner discusses the role that mentors, including powerhouse w…
Stacy D. Phillips
Legendary family law attorney Stacy D. Phillips talks with host M.C. Sungaila about being intentional in your career choices but also being open to new opportunities, giving back, moving from her own…