From the Classroom to the Recording Studio: Personal Jurisdiction

Like many of their classmates, both Allison Freedman (JD ’14) and Hallie Ritzu (JD ’14) began their legal careers at large law firms after graduating from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. The two friends—who first met in an 8 a.m. constitutional criminal procedure class—each spent several years at their respective firms, with Allison focusing on financial markets litigation and enforcement and Hallie focusing on estate planning. But then their careers diverged from the traditional Big Law path. Allison clerked for Judge Joan H. Lefkow in the Northern District of Illinois, who inspired her to pursue clinical teaching, while Hallie began her own law firm, Olive Avenue LLC, which focuses on estate planning. Today, Allison is an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of New Mexico School of Law, and Hallie continues to practice as owner of Olive Avenue while also teaching legal writing and research at the University of Illinois Chicago Law School.

It was when Allison and Hallie started teaching that they first noticed a lack of information on the many different paths one can take to have a successful legal career. To fill that information gap, the two collaborated in 2021 to start the podcast Personal Jurisdiction, which features a wide variety of guests “within the first 10-ish years of practice” to hear their unique career journeys and offer advice to law students and new attorneys. “In talking with students … we realized there wasn’t good information on all the things you can do with a law degree that aren’t joining a firm,” says Hallie. “It’s become a way for us to connect with people across the country and share insights with law students.”

“We really want to get beyond the resumes of people we interview,” adds Allison. “Two people can have the same resumes and experience, but the story of how they got there is completely different.”

Five seasons and 75 episodes later, the podcast has become a valuable resource for law students and attorneys within their first or second year of practice, as well as listeners who might be thinking of a career change. The show has featured in-house attorneys, government workers, law clerks, public-interest attorneys, and those in academia, private practice, and fields outside of the law. They purposefully try to reach people in all legal fields, including those who have law degrees but work outside a traditional legal role. They also have completed several mini-series dedicated to important topics such as mental health, legal clinics, and judicial clerkships, in addition to collaborations with other legal podcasts including Class Action, the Portia Project, and The Legal Department.

According to Hallie, the podcast has “given us the opportunity to learn about so many different careers and allowed us to reach a national audience of listeners.” Some favorite episodes of the co-hosts have included Roshanna Toya, an attorney and tribal court judge; Bridgette Carr and Vivek Sankaran, professors at University of Michigan School of Law who shared insights about “designing a fulfilling life in the law”; and Northwestern Pritzker Law classmate Yvette Diaz, a personal injury attorney in Dallas, Texas. Reflecting on the episode with Yvette, Hallie says, “it was fun to connect and learn more about her experience in law school and the path she’s taken since then,” says Hallie. “We got to form a friendship with her thanks to the podcast.”

Yvette is one of more than 20 Northwestern Pritzker Law alumni who have been featured on the podcast, a reflection of the “amazing community” both co-hosts felt and continue to feel thanks to their time at the Law School. The friendships formed during trial team or as a member of the Law Review continue to help shape their careers, especially for Hallie as a solo practitioner, who meets weekly with one such friend, now based in Miami, to discuss the things they see in their practices. Allison, meanwhile, points to her experiences at the Bluhm Legal Clinic as crucial in informing how she teaches today. “I’m grateful I had these experiences as a student,” she says.

Ultimately, the podcast’s goal is to demonstrate that there is no one path to a successful legal career—no “yellow brick road,” as guests Carr and Sankaran put it. At the end of each season, Allison and Hallie compile clips of the last question they ask each guest: What does success mean to you? With unique answers from more than 75 guests, law students and attorneys can find a wealth of guidance in Personal Jurisdiction as they forge their own paths ahead.