The Real Lawyer (Official Trailer)

Join Joyce Sophia Xu, corporate lawyer, law firm owner and former Big Law partner, on an exploration into the world of law and the lives of real lawyers. In this heartfelt introduction, Joyce Sophia shares her vision for her first-ever podcast: a space where real lawyers share their personal and professional stories—their aspirations, challenges, and moments of joy, and where, through the telling of their stories, the human lawyer emerges from behind the job title. 

The podcast aims to connect lawyers and lawyers-to-be through these meaningful stories that inspire, educate, and resonate. Our listeners will hear candid conversations about our guests' transformative experiences, from navigating 1L year to building law firms, resolving high-stakes cases, and finding fulfillment in unexpected ways. 

With the first episode dropping on Monday, December 2, we invite our listeners to subscribe to The Real Lawyer on their favorite podcast platform and join our very vibrant and very real community.

Transcript

Joyce Sophia Xu (00:01.478)

Welcome to the Real Lawyer podcast, where we get real about life, working in law and everything in between. Hi, I'm Joyce Sophia Hsu, creator and host of the show. I am also a corporate lawyer, a law firm owner, and a former big law partner. On this show,

I talk to other lawyers about the importance of purpose, authenticity, and compassion, and about finding more joy and fulfillment in our work. Our guests are pretty diverse, different backgrounds, different stages of their careers, and different industries. But one thing they have in common is that they have all been incredibly successful at their jobs.

and somehow at the same time, manage to stay true to themselves. So I invite you to join us for these candid conversations and hear our guests share their personal stories, their aspirations and inspirations, their trials and triumphs, and most importantly, their joys and loves.

I was a terrible undergraduate. I went to three colleges. So for anybody who's listening who thinks that because they weren't great in college that you can't be a lawyer, I would definitely say that's not true. When we started as summer associates, the whole law firm world was so foreign to me. I wasn't even sure if I should be calling the partners by their first names. I, you know, I had the exact same thought. Starting a law firm is a challenge, but it's also

wonderful and exhilarating and scary at the same time. But in answer to your question, the key thing is to have a vision and to have the ambition and vision of what you want to accomplish. So my parents were immigrants from India who came to the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. And they were part of, I've heard this phrase called the twice blessed generation.

Joyce Sophia Xu (02:21.768)

So I will say that until I got to law school, and I worked very, very hard during high school, during college, I studied extremely hard to do well, but until I got to law school, I had never worked as hard as I worked my 1L year of law school. As you know, I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I am a very big Steeler fan. I was thrilled they won last night.

And so they had a general counsel who was retiring and they decided to look for someone with a very different skill set. And I ended up getting the job. And I resolved everything one day shy of my six month anniversary, which everyone told me was going to take two to three years. Following on the London experience, following on finishing college, now spending three months in Thailand, I was no longer really as Oklahoma as I thought I was. And I had started to become someone with a broader perspective. One time,

I said to her, know, mom, you work so hard at your job. What's my job? was, I was a kid, probably six or seven. And you know, she just said your job is to, to work hard and do well and flourish in life. And I really took that to heart. There is so much wisdom and heart in each conversation.

you will learn so much about the real human behind the job title and the humanity that unites us all. It is our sincere hope that these conversations will open hearts and minds and connect more and more real lawyers and real lawyers to be from all over. So subscribe to our show and tune in to our very first episode coming out right after Thanksgiving.

It'll be out on Monday, December 2nd. We're on all major podcast channels. So go and find the real lawyer on your go-to podcast listening platform and join us there.