#137: Adrienne Prentice - Tech Attorney Turned Founder & Lawyer Trainer

How I Lawyer Podcast with Jonah Perlin

Welcome back to another episode of the How I Lawyer Podcast, where Professor Jonah Perlin interviews lawyers about what they do, why they do it, and how they do it well.

Today's guest is Adrienne Prentice, CEO and Founder of Keep Company, a group learning platform helping legal organizations empower their teams with essential skills for the modern workplace. Before founding Keep Company, Adrienne's impressive career included roles as Manager of Attorney Talent at Hogan Levels, Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Hewlett Packard, and various positions at law firms and private companies. She holds degrees from Cornell University and American University's Washington College of Law.

In this episode, Adrienne shares valuable insights about the legal profession including:

🎓💼 How following her gut and being open to opportunities led her from labor relations studies to corporate law [1:25]

👥🌟 How choosing mentors and practice areas based on people rather than just subject matter shaped her early career [2:22]

📚✨ How hands-on partner mentorship in 2007 provided invaluable learning experiences through direct observation [3:41]

📊💡 How the 2008 recession created unexpected career opportunities in green tech and federal recovery funding [6:07]

🤝📈 How sponsorship differs from mentorship in law firms and why it's crucial for career advancement [26:45]

💪🎯 How doing good work alone isn't enough - you need strategic relationships and advocates [28:26]

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦💼 How the legal profession is evolving in supporting parents and caregivers, with room for improvement [38:46]

🌱🔄 How law firms need to expand support beyond new parents to address challenges at all parenting stages [41:04]

🤝💫 How the pandemic has allowed fathers to be more vocal about work-life integration [43:34]

This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys.