🎙 How I Lawyer #110: Jordana Confino
Lawyer Well-being & Positive Lawyering Expert, Assistant Dean of Professionalism at Fordham Law
👋 Welcome back!
This week on How I Lawyer I speak with Jordana Alter Confino. Jordana plays many different roles but what they all share is a focus on the skills, well-being, empowerment, mental health, and growth of lawyers & law students. She is the Assistant Dean of Professionalism at Fordham Law where she oversees all aspects of the Professionalism Office’s work including the Law School’s wellness, professionalism, and peer mentorship offerings.
Jordana also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law, teaching Positive Lawyering and Peer Mentoring & Leadership. She was voted Fordham Law Adjunct Professor of the Year in 2021. She also has her own consulting and coaching business where she works with individuals and groups on topics related to building connections, living your values, dealign with perfectionism by cultivating a growth mindset, and using positive psychology to boost well-being, resilience, performance, and happiness. She serves as a leader of number of academic and professional organizations focused on balance and attorney well-being. Prior to joining Fordham, Jordana served as the Assistant Director of Academic Counseling, Acting Clerkship Advisor, and a Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law and before that started her career as a law clerk to judges on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and the Southern District of New York. She is a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School (Go Bulldogs) and she holds a certification in applied Positive Psychology from the New York Open Center.
In our conversation we discuss her personal challenges as a law student and how they led to her current career, her decision to study and then teach positive psychology to law students and lawyers, her techniques to help lawyers deeper and more fulfilling professional and personal lives, perfectionism in our profession, the importance of identifying and living your values, and more.
You can learn more about Jordana and her work at the following links:
Jordana's Website: https://www.jordanaconfino.com/
Subscribe to Jordana's Blog, Chronicles of a Recovering Type A+ Perfectionist: https://www.jordanaconfino.com/newsletter-sign-up
Values Discovery Guide: https://www.jordanaconfino.com/values
Jordana's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanaconfino/
Connecting with Past Guests!
One of the greatest joys of starting the podcast has been getting to meet wonderful attorneys from across the profession who have become friends and collaborators. Last night, I was lucky enough to moderate an event here in DC for my guest from Episode 85, Helen Wan. Helen is the author of the Partner Track (now an acclaimed Netflix Show). Even more amazing, we grew up in the same town and our 8th Grade Civics teacher (Tina Yalen) was in attendance at last night's event! What an absolute joy to get to interview Helen again, this time in front of a live audience. Photo below:
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Thanks again for being a part of the How I Lawyer community and see you next week,
Jonah
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