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: