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In this week’s episode of the ‘Happy Lawyer Happy Life Podcast’ I had the pleasure of interviewing the lovely Jenna Hutchinson, lawyer, lover of animals and football (soccer!) enthusiast!  I came to know a little bit about Jenna when she joined my Happiness Challenge earlier this year.  I wanted to know how this lawyer was fitting in a premier league career in football whilst holding down a Senior position at Turner Freeman Lawyers running their Brisbane wills and estates team.  Jenna didn’t need my happiness challenge!  She has a great sense of how to keep herself in check, managing the stressors of our job through exercise, friendships and her passions in and outside of the law.

I also loved the timing of this conversation.  Jenna started her career in smaller law firms and is now with a national organisation and loving it.  We spoke about the great leadership style and culture that has been fostered by her managing partner and how this has inspired her to contniue to grow both as a lawyer but also as a leader within the practice.

I say it a lot in the interviews for this  show- ‘There is no one ‘right way’ to be a lawyer” and the fun really should be in finding the place that is right for you.  Big law, small law not even in law- it all doesn’t really matter as long as you are achieving what you need for your life in that moment.

In this interview, Jenna and I also chatted about-

• If Jenna was not a lawyer she would have been a professional football player
• The practical side of keeping up a hobby like football, balanced with work
• Jenna grew up near Ipswitch and her father was a dairy farmer, Jenna is a country girl at heart
• Jenna attended school at Boonah State High School and attended the University of Southern Queensland for her law degree
• Growing up with brothers, Jenna always loved to argue and was passionate about injustice, this is what motivated her to start a career in the law
• Jenna loves her life in the law, however when she first started her career she had a difficult time and shares some advice from this time
• The differences between the study of law and the practice of law
• The experience of living on a University Campus and the adjustments of moving away from family and out of home
• How Jenna came to love and play football, and the importance of team sports even as adults
• Starting out in a generalist law firm in Ipswich Jenna found her way to the ‘big smoke of Brisbane’.
• Jenna works in the area of Wills and Estates and loves this side of the law
• The client-lawyer relationship and the balance between advice and allowing clients to choose their own path
• Jenna works for Turner Freeman and shares how she started out with them 6 years ago
• The history of Turner Freeman
• Finding Passion and Purpose within your work
• Jenna operates at her best when she is exercising and belieives her productivity increases immensely when she exercises
• Looking back on her harder times in law land Jenna gives us some advice on how to deal with self doubt
• The effect of technology and phones in our lives and how Jenna manages this in her world
• The future of law from Jenna’s perspective as a lawyer in a large firm
• Jenna is driven by empathy and compassion and it is essential when dealing with clients Wills and Estates
• Jenna’s goals for 2019
• Mentors in Jenna’s career and how Jenna has become a mentor for her own team
• Jenna makes time for building her business and her home life and shares some tips on how to do so
• Jenna’s Happiness Tip

Sit back and enjoy this interview with Jenna Hutchinson

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Learn more here about upcoming events and courses and connect with Clarissa Rayward at the ‘Happy Lawyer Happy Life’ knowledge centre-  A community for lawyers who want to make the best out of their life in and outside of the law.   

Listen to last week’s episode here