From Federal Public Defender to Post Legal Career In Photography and Travel Journalism with Sivani Babu

The Former Lawyer Podcast

The Former Lawyer Podcast
From Federal Public Defender to Post Legal Career In Photography and Travel Journalism with Sivani Babu
Jan 06, 2020 Season 1 Episode 22
Sarah Cottrell

Sarah talks with Sivani Babu. Sivani worked as a federal public defender before switching careers. She is now an award-winning nature photographer and travel journalist, and the co-founder and Creative Director of the cross-genre travel magazine Hidden Compass.

In this conversation, Sivani shares about:

  • Really enjoying being a federal public defender and getting up in court every day;
  • Getting a “real” camera during law school and starting to take photos and display and sell her work simply as a hobby;
  • The trip to Antarctica that changed the course of her career and her life;
  • How the people who knew her best reacted to her decision to leave the law;
  • Learning to navigate a new industry that was in the middle of massive transition;
  • Being told that she needed to choose between a career in writing or a career in photography since that was how the industry worked in the past, and deciding to chart her own course;
  • How she and the co-founder of Hidden Compass couldn’t find the kind of magazine that they wanted to read and write for—so they created it;
  • How learning how to do new things helps you move forward with even more confidence;
  • Why you should embrace your fear if you’re thinking about leaving the law;
  • Why the skills that she brought from lawyering to her new career were so valuable;
  • What you should consider when thinking about turning your hobby into a new career;
  • Why you need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable;
  • and much more!

Show Notes: