Personal Jurisdiction

Hosted by Hallie Ritzu, Allison Freedman

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Nov 2026

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About the show

When you look up “Personal Jurisdiction” in Black’s Law Dictionary, it directs you to the entry for “Jurisdiction.” We won’t do that to you. We’re here because there’s not enough good information available for law students and new attorneys to make informed choices about their careers. Join co-hosts Allison Freedman and Hallie Ritzu as we talk to a variety of people within the first 10ish years of practice to hear about their journeys to fulfilling careers and the advice they have for getting there. From government to start-ups; politics to academia; in-house to legal aid—we’ll get the scoop on what it’s really like to work in different areas of the law, so you can chart your own course for success.

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60 recent

November 3, 202619 min

#97: Let's Get Personal about Success (Season 4)

Episode #97 compiles the "success" responses from our wonderful Season 4 Guests, including: #46: Sara Coulter #47: Karla Johnson #50: Jessica Fairchild and Drew Beres #51: Maria Griego #52: Kate Ferlic #53: Andrew Herrington Gilmore #55: Megan Richardson and Lauren Myerscough Muller #56: Lisa Haidostian #57: Rachel Levick #58: Jessica Paduganan Get new episodes by email by subscribing to our Substack ! Thank you to our sponsor, Themis Bar Review ! Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.com Find us on LinkedIn on our new page and subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletter Find us on Twitter @PersonalJxPod We couldn't do this alone! So... Personal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast . We use Riverside.FM to record our episodes. Our episodes are edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.com Our new logo/branding was designed by Ellie Mejia, a graphic designer and illustrator located in Chicago, Illinois. Check out Ellie's work here . Our previous logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor. Our Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ **This track was shortened for use in this episode. Source: https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

October 6, 20261 hr 9 min

#96: Let's Get Personal with Julie Siegal, Executive Counsel for Strategic Matters at GE Aerospace

Julie Siegal is Executive Counsel for Strategic Matters at GE Aerospace. She is based in Washington, D.C. Prior to her current role, Julie was a partner at Kirkland and Ellis. Julie was a law clerk to Chief Justice John Roberts on the United States Supreme Court. She was also a Bristow Fellow in the Office of the Solicitor General. Julie served as a law clerk on both the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Julie earned her J.D. summa cum laude and order of the coif from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and her B.S. from Northwestern University. Get new episodes by email by subscribing to our Substack ! Thank you to our sponsor, Themis Bar Review ! Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.com Find us on LinkedIn on our new page and subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletter Find us on Twitter @PersonalJxPod We couldn't do this alone! So... Personal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast . We use Riverside.FM to record our episodes. Our episodes are edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.com Our new logo/branding was designed by Ellie Mejia, a graphic designer and illustrator located in Chicago, Illinois. Check out Ellie's work here . Our previous logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor. Our Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ **This track was shortened for use in this episode. Source: https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

September 8, 202650 min

#95: Let's Get Personal with Laura Ryan, Associate at Korngut Paleudis LLC

Laura Ryan is an associate at Korngut Paleudis LLC in New York City, and practices in the areas of hospitality, alcoholic beverage, real estate, and corporate law. Her clients are mostly bars and restaurants, as well as liquor, beer, and wine producers. Prior to law school, Laura worked in restaurants and hospitality. She graduated from Rutgers Law School in 2024, and Georgetown University in 2007. Get new episodes by email by subscribing to our Substack ! Thank you to our sponsor, Themis Bar Review ! Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.com Find us on LinkedIn on our new page and subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletter Find us on Twitter @PersonalJxPod We couldn't do this alone! So... Personal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast . We use Riverside.FM to record our episodes. Our episodes are edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.com Our new logo/branding was designed by Ellie Mejia, a graphic designer and illustrator located in Chicago, Illinois. Check out Ellie's work here . Our previous logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor. Our Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ **This track was shortened for use in this episode. Source: https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

August 4, 20261 hr 3 min

#94: Let's Get Personal with E.K. McWilliams, Strategic Response Counsel Lead at Block

E.K. McWilliams leads Strategic Response for Block (formerly Square), a financial technology company that provides payment, banking, and consumer financial services. In that role, E.K. provides counsel in connection with complex investigations, external inquiries, and proactive regulatory compliance initiatives. Before joining Block, E.K. was Chief Regulatory Counsel at Green Thumb Industries, and an associate and then partner at Jenner & Block in Chicago. Prior to law school, E.K. was also a field organizer, a community organizer and research analyst, and Chief of Staff for the Wisconsin State Legislature. E.K. has a Bachelor’s in Philosophy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Masters in Comparative Social Policy from Oxford, and a JD from the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. Get new episodes by email by subscribing to our Substack ! Thank you to our sponsor, Themis Bar Review ! Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.com Find us on LinkedIn on our new page and subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletter Find us on Twitter @PersonalJxPod We couldn't do this alone! So... Personal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast . We use Riverside.FM to record our episodes. Our episodes are edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.com Our new logo/branding was designed by Ellie Mejia, a graphic designer and illustrator located in Chicago, Illinois. Check out Ellie's work here . Our previous logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor. Our Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ **This track was shortened for use in this episode. Source: https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

July 7, 20261 hr 5 min

#93: Let's Get Personal with Jennifer Belmont Jennings, Estate Planning Attorney at MGD Law, LLC

Jennifer Belmont Jennings is an estate planning attorney at MGD Law in St. Louis, Missouri. Prior to her current role, Jennifer was a wealth advisor at Wells Fargo Advisors and Hightower Wealth Advisors, both in St. Louis. Jennifer is a Certified Financial Planner. She is also one of the co-authors of Women in Law: Discovering the True Meaning of Success. Jennifer is a committed community volunteer, and serves on the Board of Directors of YouthBridge Community Foundation and Fathers and Families Support Center St. Louis, and Rooted Sisters. She was recognized as a St. Louis Business Journal 40 Under 40 in 2020, and is a member of the Estate Planning Council of St. Louis. Jennifer is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. Jennifer also earned her B.A. and M.A. from Washington University of St. Louis and completed the General Course Program at The London School of Economics and Political Science. Get new episodes by email by subscribing to our Substack ! Thank you to our sponsor, Themis Bar Review ! Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.com Find us on LinkedIn on our new page and subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletter Find us on Twitter @PersonalJxPod We couldn't do this alone! So... Personal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast . We use Riverside.FM to record our episodes. Our episodes are edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.com Our new logo/branding was designed by Ellie Mejia, a graphic designer and illustrator located in Chicago, Illinois. Check out Ellie's work here . Our previous logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor. Our Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ **This track was shortened for use in this episode. Source: https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

June 2, 20261 hr 5 min

#92: Let's Get Personal with Elissa Knoff, Patent Counseling and Prosecution Partner at Bookoff McAndrews, PLLC

Elissa Knoff is a partner at Bookoff McAndrews, a boutique patent counseling and prosecution firm in Washington, D.C. In her role at the firm, Elissa counsels companies on developing and leveraging their patent portfolios. She represents clients ranging from startups filing their first patent application to Fortune 500 companies. Through secondments, Elissa has worked in-house at a major medical device company. Prior to entering practice, Elissa served as a law clerk to the Honorable Timothy B. Dyk at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. After her clerkship, she worked as a patent litigator in BigLaw. Elissa earned her JD magna cum laude and order of the coif from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, her M.S.Ed from Northwestern University, and her B.A. in Physics from Northwestern University. Get new episodes by email by subscribing to our Substack ! Thank you to our sponsor, Themis Bar Review ! Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.com Find us on LinkedIn on our new page and subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletter Find us on Twitter @PersonalJxPod We couldn't do this alone! So... Personal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast . We use Riverside.FM to record our episodes. Our episodes are edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.com Our new logo/branding was designed by Ellie Mejia, a graphic designer and illustrator located in Chicago, Illinois. Check out Ellie's work here . Our previous logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor. Our Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ **This track was shortened for use in this episode. Source: https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

May 19, 20261 hr 0 min

#91: Let's Get Personal With Sherri Burr, Dickason Chair and Regents Professor Emerita at the University of New Mexico School of Law

Sherri Burr is the Dickason Chair and Regents Professor Emerita at the University of New Mexico School of Law . Sherri joined the UNM faculty in 1988, after receiving her bachelors from Mount Holyoke College, a master’s in International Relations from Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs, and her JD from Yale Law School. Sherri was the first African American woman to receive tenure and promotion to full professor in New Mexico. Sherri has taught intellectual property, art law, entertainment law, wills and trusts, and international law, among other courses. She has also authored and co-authored over thirty books , which have won numerous awards. Her 27th book, Complicated Lives: Free Blacks in Virgina, 1619-1865 was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in History. Sherri has also frequently written items for the general public, and even produced and hosted her own television show—ARTS TALK, which won numerous New Mexico and National Federation of Press Women Awards. She has served on countless boards and associations, including serving as president of the New Mexico Black Lawyers Association, and her current service on the boards of the Albuquerque Museum and the Authors Guild Foundation. Most recently, Sherri published her first memoir titled: Living with Nephew: How I got Voted the Meanest Parent in the World. You can buy the book here or at any major bookseller Get new episodes by email by subscribing to our Substack ! Thank you to our sponsor, Themis Bar Review ! Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.com Find us on LinkedIn on our new page and subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletter Find us on Twitter @PersonalJxPod We couldn't do this alone! So... Personal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast . We use Riverside.FM to record our episodes. Our episodes are edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.com Our new logo/branding was designed by Ellie Mejia, a graphic designer and illustrator located in Chicago, Illinois. Check out Ellie's work here . Our previous logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor. Our Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ **This track was shortened for use in this episode. Source: https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

May 5, 202627 min

#90: Let's Get Personal about the NextGen Bar Exam with Sophie Dye Gayle of Themis Bar Review

Sophie Dye Gayle is the Director of Legal Education and Innovation at Themis Bar Review . She has been with Themis for over 15 years. Sophie earned her JD from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and her BA from Loyola University New Orleans . Get new episodes by email by subscribing to our Substack ! Thank you to our sponsor, Themis Bar Review ! Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.com Find us on LinkedIn on our new page and subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletter Find us on Twitter @PersonalJxPod We couldn't do this alone! So... Personal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast . We use Riverside.FM to record our episodes. Our episodes are edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.com Our new logo/branding was designed by Ellie Mejia, a graphic designer and illustrator located in Chicago, Illinois. Check out Ellie's work here . Our previous logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor. Our Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ **This track was shortened for use in this episode. Source: https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

April 7, 20261 hr 13 min

#89: Let's Get Personal with Victoria Jepson, Global Government Enforcement Attorney at Trafigura

Victoria is a global government enforcement attorney at Trafigura in Geneva, Switzerland. Before her current role, Victoria was an internal monitor and senior legal counsel at HSBC in London. Victoria has experience in private practice both in the UK and in the US. She was a white collar attorney at Steptoe and Johnson and at Katten in Chicago. She has experience guiding financial institutions, multinational corporations, and senior individuals through government and internal investigations, regulatory enforcement actions, and commercial litigation, with significant monitorship experience. Not only is Victoria admitted to practice in the US, but also she is qualified to practice law in the United Kingdom. Victoria is a graduate of Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and the University of Iowa. Get new episodes by email by subscribing to our Substack ! Thank you to our sponsor, Themis Bar Review ! Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.com Find us on LinkedIn on our new page and subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletter Find us on Twitter @PersonalJxPod We couldn't do this alone! So... Personal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast . We use Riverside.FM to record our episodes. Our episodes are edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.com Our new logo/branding was designed by Ellie Mejia, a graphic designer and illustrator located in Chicago, Illinois. Check out Ellie's work here . Our previous logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor. Our Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ **This track was shortened for use in this episode. Source: https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

March 3, 20261 hr 21 min

#88: Let's Get Personal with Michael Bloom, Founder and CEO at Praktio

Michael Bloom is the founder and CEO of Praktio , an interactive online learning platform for training in contracts, transactional skills, and litigation skills. Michael has also served as a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan Law School, where he founded and directed the Transactional Lab & Clinic, as a Lecturer in law at the University of Chicago Law School, and as an associate at Sidley Austin. Michael is the co-author of two books on contracts from a transactional perspective: Contracts and Commercial Transactions and Contracts: A Transactional Approach. Michael is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Yale Law School. Get new episodes by email by subscribing to our Substack ! Thank you to our sponsor, Themis Bar Review ! Find us online at https://www.personaljxpod.com Find us on LinkedIn on our new page and subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletter Find us on Twitter @PersonalJxPod We couldn't do this alone! So... Personal Jurisdiction is powered and distributed with Simplecast . We use Riverside.FM to record our episodes. Our episodes are edited by Scott Donnell at Run and Drum Media https://www.runanddrummedia.com Our new logo/branding was designed by Ellie Mejia, a graphic designer and illustrator located in Chicago, Illinois. Check out Ellie's work here . Our previous logos were designed by Lizzie L. O'Connor. Our Theme Song is Pleasant Porridge by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ **This track was shortened for use in this episode. Source: https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

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