Melissa Lorenzo-Herve tells us how she ditched big law for a dual career in legal publishing and fashion

Melissa Lorenzo-Herve is a Senior Attorney Editor at the Practical Law Company (a division of Thompson Reuters), as well as the CEO and Creative Director of Pirouette NYC, a clothing line for the professional woman. Melissa tells us about how she built this dual career after leaving the practice of law.

In this episode we discuss:

• That the area of law that attracted you is often not where you end up practicing 
• How, even if you work with nice people, it may not be enough to keep you going if you’re working insane hours
• Looking at the lawyers ahead of you, does their work/life balance seem any better? Is that the path you want to stay on?
• Feeling hesitant to leave practice because of the time and money commitment
• Taking the time to go for a walk, and giving yourself space to actually think about what you might want to do next: Then write it down!
• Getting clear on what it is that you do and don't like about practicing - it can be different for each of us
• That legal publishing can be a way to lean into the academic side of law you might have liked without the client-based work
• Talking to people about your potential career shift is important - it is likely to open doors to new ideas and new contacts 
• How you can pursue two things at the same time. A side hustle is a great route to pursue a passion
• How it makes no sense to be miserable for the next 40 years because in your early 20s you decided to go to law school