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
Episodes
This compilation episode features some of our guests who focus on Space Law - in academia, private practice, and government. Michelle Hanlon, Caryn Schenewerk, Franceska Schroeder, Ruth Pritchard-Kelly, and Bailey Reichelt share their paths to the law and the growing field of Space Law specifically.
In this reprise episode, M.C. Sungaila interviews an esteemed panel of female legal tech founders: Nicole Clark of Trellis Research, Inc., Dorna Moini of Gavel (formerly Documate), and Jacqueline Schafer of Clearbrief. They discuss their respective businesses and the pain points that pushed them to move from law into the legal tech space. This stando...
In this special episode of The Portia Project podcast, we shine a light on the journeys of our nonprofit leader guests and how they transitioned from law school to leadership roles. Tune in and be empowered to forge your own path and succeed.
In this compilation episode, we feature the journey and advice of some of our guests who are thriving in BigLaw -- leading firms, practices, offices, and trial and deal teams. Hear from Barb Dawson, Hillary Holmes, Paula Hinton, Cindy Chang, Robin Crowther, and Anne-Marie Seibel.
This summer, we focus on legal careers, and the wisdom our guests have shared about their own professional paths. We start with the in-house counsel role.
Ever wondered what drives successful in-house counsel? This episode dives into the journeys of prominent general counsels, revealing their motivations, challenges, and th...
Law student and Founder of the American Space Law Foundation, Elizabeth Sanchez Chang, joins podcast host M.C. Sungaila from the sidelines of the Foundation's first national space law moot court competition in Washington, D.C., to talk about growing the next generation of space lawyers, the futu...
In this reprise episode, Judge Julia Smith Gibbons of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit shares how the relationships she formed throughout her career paved the way for her to become the first woman trial judge of a court of record in Tennessee, followed by distinguished service on both the U.S. District Court and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. She is the recipie...
Laurie Earl, Administrative Presiding Justice of the California Court of Appeal, Third District, joins the podcast in a reprise episode to share her career journey from the public defender and district attorney's offices to Presiding Judge of the Sacramento Superior Court and now Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal. She describes how mentors nudged her along the...
In 2024, women served as presiding judges in 5 Southern California counties and as presiding justices on several California Courts of Appeal. The Portia Project was invited to highlight many of these dynamic women presiding judges – including then Justices Kathleen O'Leary, Lee Smalley Edmon, and Maria Stratton, and LA Superior Court Presiding Judge Sama...
In celebration of the successful Artemis II mission, we reprise our episode with Nicole Stott, a NASA engineer and astronaut who journeyed into space twice and was a crewmember of the International Space Station, shares her career journey. As a former crew member of the International Space Station (ISS), Nicole brings a unique perspective to today’s episode, shedding light o...
In this compilation episode, we feature marketing and presentation tips from cross-disciplinary guests Angela Meyer, Rachel Cossar, and Carol Carpenter. If you want to level up your client development and client presentation game (particularly on remote video calls), this is your episode.
In this episode, Justice Carol D. Codrington, the first African American justice on California's Fourth District Court of Appeal, shares her unique career trajectory, starting with being a litigator and a lawyer and moving up to her current position. She takes us deep behind the scenes of what goes into being a ...
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 and now on the appellate bench. She shares how her acting training helped her gain confidence early in her career, the importance of mentors, and the role a flexible work a...
On the heels of the inaugural American Space Law Foundation national moot court competition, we reprise this compilation episode featuring some of our guests who focus on Space Law - in academia, private practice, and government. Michelle Hanlon, Caryn Schenewerk, Franceska Schroeder, Ruth Pritchard-Kelly, and Bailey Reichelt share their paths to the law and t...
We reprise one of our most popular episodes in our continuing series on Space withAarti Holla-Maini, the Director of the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) who joins the podcast to share her journey from solicitor training to attending ...
In this reprise episode, Newport Beach, California City Council Member and now Mayor Lauren Kleiman talks with host M.C. Sungaila about her path to practicing law and the unexpected road to elected office. She also draws the ugly and amazing side of elections and politics in general. Council Member Lauren Kleiman encourages people in Newport Beach to get involved in different areas of what their community is doing to shape and supp...
Continuing our space leader series, Dr. Ulpia-Elena Botezatu, Space Policy Officer at the Romanian Space Agency, joins us from the sidelines of the recent UNOOSA Commercial Lunar Activities and Space Law Conference at the U...
Get ready for our annual episode of The Portia Project Podcast compiling and highlighting the personal mottos of many of our guests - extraordinary women in the legal field - sharing the wisdom that shaped their careers. From judges to law professors, hear their guiding principles, life lessons, and how they’ve overcome challenges. Whether you’re aspiring to the bench, the bar, or beyond, this episode offers powerful in...
In this episode, we get to hear some of the most impactful and profound personal and professional mottos that The Portia Project guests have shared on the show. Whether we can articulate it or not, we each have our own motto that we live by, and women in law are no different. You’d be amazed at just how many of these mottos you will resonate with. Most probably all of them. Tune in to find o...
Many of the judicial guests on the podcast have shared their top tips for briefwriting. This episode compiles many of these tips for those who want to learn. Whether you are preparing for your first appellate argument or seeking to refine your existing skills, this episode offers a treasure trove of practical advice to elevate your brief-writing prowess and be...
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