How To Avoid A Boring Legal Career feat. Sheila M. Wilkinson (Part I)

Sheila M. Wilkinson is a social worker, lawyer, career transition coach, and podcaster who spends half the year in Brussels, Belgium, and half the year in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her life is centered on taking risks, rejecting boring careers, and people-pleasing. In this episode, Sheila emphasizes the importance of connecting with people and offers recommendations for books that can help her clients on their personal and professional journeys. Sheila also talks about her mission to help lawyers make aligned decisions, set boundaries, and focus on what they truly want to do rather than what they think they should do. She believes in reconnecting the intellectual self with the emotional self and offers guidance to lawyers in this process. This episode is Part 1 of a two-part series with Sheila M. Wilkinson.

LISTEN TO LEARN

  • How to build a rich, joyful, and thriving life and business
  • The benefits of setting daily goals and reflecting at the end of the week
  • How to disconnect intellect from emotion

WE ALSO DISCUSS

  • The importance of connecting with people, especially in a post-lockdown world
  • Doing what you actually want to instead of what you think you should
  • Challenges lawyers face in balancing their personal and professional lives

Too busy to start a podcast?

Skip the boring stuff! Work with KD Creative to launch a podcast in one month and get your business in the ears of your ideal customers. Visit skiptheboringstuff.com to create your podcast today.

How To Avoid A Boring Legal Career feat. Sheila M. Wilkinson (Part I)

<iframe width="100%" height="180" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://share.transistor.fm/e/41c6b6bb"></iframe>

How To Avoid A Boring Legal Career feat. Sheila M. Wilkinson (Part I)How To Avoid A Boring Legal Career feat. Sheila M. Wilkinson (Part I)

About This Episode

Sheila M. Wilkinson’s Background

Sheila M. Wilkinson is a social worker, lawyer, career transition coach, and podcaster who spends half the year in Brussels, Belgium, and half the year in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her life is centered on taking risks, rejecting boring careers, and people-pleasing. In this episode, Sheila emphasizes the importance of connecting with people and offers recommendations for books that can help her clients on their personal and professional journeys.

Sheila also talks about her mission to help lawyers make aligned decisions, set boundaries, and focus on what they truly want to do rather than what they think they should do. She believes in reconnecting the intellectual self with the emotional self and offers guidance to lawyers in this process. This episode is Part 1 of a two-part series with Sheila M. Wilkinson.

"I think it took me a while to make the integration happen… because I was so caught up in the titles. When I really recognized and accepted and admitted to myself that I'm not a title, that I'm actually a human, that I'm a human first and a title second, I was able to really shift that in my brain for myself," shares Sheila M. Wilkinson on You Are A Lawyer.

In the episode, Sheila emphasizes the importance of recognizing one's humanity before any professional title. This mindset shift allows her to guide her clients in aligning their actions with their true desires and finding fulfillment in their personal and professional lives.

Why Law School

Sheila chose law school because she wanted to make a difference and affect change within the legal system. As an indigenous girl from South Louisiana, she recognized the need for representation and advocacy for marginalized communities. She saw becoming a lawyer as a means to have a voice and create meaningful impact within the legal field.

"The better way for me to do that wasn't from the social work perspective, but to do it from the legal perspective, because then I could actually be inside the system that I want to affect change in," reflects Sheila M. Wilkinson on Episode 125 of You Are a Lawyer.

Furthermore, Sheila's decision to pursue law was also influenced by her desire for security and self-sufficiency. Growing up with a strong work ethic instilled in her, she wanted to ensure her own financial stability and independence. By choosing law school, Sheila aimed to combine her passion for social justice with the practicality of a stable career.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vQEFFBO78is?si=2hoYwXS7YkRdxCIE" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

What Can You Do with a Law Degree

In this podcast episode, Sheila M. Wilkinson, a lawyer and coach, shares her journey and the various ways she has utilized her law degree. She mentions working with lawyers to help them build rich, joyful, and thriving lives and businesses. Sheila emphasizes the importance of reconnecting with one's true desires and passions, rather than simply following societal expectations. She also highlights the need for lawyers to address their emotional well-being and find a balance between their personal and professional lives. This interview showcases the versatility of a law degree and how it can be applied beyond the traditional legal field.

"No one teaches us how to reconnect those things when we leave the office...we forget," explains Sheila M. Wilkinson, on this episode of You Are a Lawyer.

Lawyer Side Hustles

Sheila has built a successful coaching business. In her coaching practice, she helps lawyers build rich, joyful, and thriving lives and businesses. Sheila believes that many lawyers are caught up in doing what they think they should be doing, rather than focusing on what they truly want. She emphasizes the importance of reconnecting with one's emotions and desires in order to create a fulfilling and intentional life.

“Because most people are doing all the things that they think that they should be doing instead of the things that they actually should be doing, which is the things that they want,” shares Sheila M. Wilkinson in Episode 125 of You Are a Lawyer.

Sheila M. Wilkinson's approach combines her background as a licensed social worker with her legal expertise, allowing her to guide her clients through the emotional and intellectual aspects of their careers. She encourages her clients to reflect on their experiences and goals, providing them with the support and guidance they need to navigate the challenges of the legal profession.

Join the FREE mailing list!

Get behind-the-scenes content from You Are A Lawyer. 

1) Visit www.youarealawyer.com

2) Add your email address to the Subscribe pop-up box OR

3) Enter your email address on the right side of the screen

4) Get emails from me (I won't fill your inbox with junk)!

Contact Sheila M. Wilkinson

Sheila M. Wilkinson is licensed to practice law in the state of Louisiana.

Learn more about Sheila: SheilaWilkinson.com

Interact with You Are A Lawyer

Kyla Denanyoh hosts the You Are A Lawyer podcast. 

Follow the podcast:

YouTube: youtube.com/@youarealawyer

Instagram: instagram.com/youarealawyer

Twitter:  twitter.com/YouAreA_Lawyer

Website: youarealawyer.com

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x-c2PdgE1Lg?si=Tz6IZOeLh5sw5Nut" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Recent Episodes

How Bold Women Lawyers are Changing the Rules featuring Sharon Christie

Sharon Christie explains why she went to law school after being an ICU nurse and the importance of being a bold woman lawyer.
Read and listen here

Why High School is the Right Time to Start Thinking about Law School featuring Jolene Blackbourne

Jolene Blackbourn explains the importance of knowing your debt to income ratio while choosing a law school.
Read and listen here

Finding Success in the Legal Field with a Technology Background feat. Devin Zito

Devin Zito, a technology professional and lawyer, shares his unique journey from running his own IT company to becoming the Director of Information Services and Corporate Counsel at Assurance Financial Group. He discusses the intersection of technology and law, the value of a legal education in various industries, and the importance of embracing non-traditional paths to career success.
Read and listen here

Why People Avoid Estate Planning (And How Lawyers Can Change This) featuring Justin Stivers

Justin Stivers explains the importance of empathy as a lawyer and how consistency converts social media followers to clients.
Read and listen here

Why I Never Mention my Yale Law Degree featuring Elisabeth Steele

Elisabeth Steele explains how to be confident in Zoom meetings and dodge questions about never taking the bar exam.
Read and listen here

How Technology is Changing Law Firms (and Why Lawyers Don’t Know It Yet) featuring Maya Markovich

Maya Markovich explains why networking is easy and how diverse law applicants will innovate the legal field.
Read and listen here

How to Knock Out the Bar Exam featuring Caroline Vickers

Caroline Vickers explains why she created Bar Prep Champs and the importance of working with first time bar exam takers.
Read and listen here

From $40k a Year to a Million Dollar Month featuring Ali Awad

Ali Awad explains how he gets his clients ‘a wad of money’ and how to appreciate the opportunities presented to Americans.
Read and listen here

How Food Consultants are Creating Stronger Farms with Candace Spencer

Candace Spencer explains why she became a food consultant and how food inequity hurts farmers.
Read and listen here

How SettleShark Helps You Get Your Money Back (Legally!) featuring David Orozco

David Orozco explains why he created the company SettleShark and the importance of not taking the bar exam if you do not plan to practice.
Read and listen here

Why I Moved to Dubai to Teach American Law featuring Michelle Words

Michelle Words explains the importance of changing your life to try new things and why she teaches business law in Saudi Arabia.
Read and listen here

How Filmmaking Taught Me to Advocate for Incarcerated Persons featuring Katherin Hervey

Katherin Hervey explains her frustration with the rigidity of law school and the importance of seeing humanity in everyone, even people who have committed acts of violence.
Read and listen here

©2023 You are a Lawyer LLC.
All rights reserved.