You Are A Lawyer: Take Risks and Change Careers in Law

Patrick Jester is a metrology consultant, law school graduate, and JD Advantage professional who built a meaningful career outside traditional legal practice after facing repeated bar exam setbacks. In this episode, he shares how he navigated disappointment, trusted the process, and created a path that aligned with his skills, faith, and long-term vision.  

Lawyer Side Hustles
Beyond his primary career, Patrick has remained committed to causes that originally drew him to law school, including advocacy work related to foster care. While his professional path shifted, his underlying motivations, helping people and contributing to meaningful systems, did not disappear. Instead, they evolved alongside his career.

“I still participate with advocacy groups for foster parents and foster children and adoptive children as much as I can,” Patrick Jester expresses in Episode 244 of You Are a Lawyer.
Patrick also speaks openly about the emotional and mental journey that came with redefining his career. Through mentorship, leadership roles in professional organizations, and sharing his story, he contributes to a broader conversation about resilience and non-linear success. His work outside traditional practice reflects a deeper truth: fulfillment often comes not from following a prescribed path, but from staying aligned with your values even when the path changes. 

This episode is produced by Skip the Boring Stuff, a podcast strategy company for business owners and creatives.

What is You Are A Lawyer: Take Risks and Change Careers in Law?

Are you an ambitious lawyer who feels limited in life? A law student who daydreams about impacting the world? Did you struggle with the bar exam? Are you bored working as a lawyer?

You Are A Lawyer is an interview-based podcast that promotes lawyers with fearless career changes, ambitious side hustles, and extraordinary lives.

On this top-rated podcast, Kyla talks to law school graduates, attorneys, and lawyers about the risks they've taken, the joys (and challenges) of law school, and their transitions out of legal careers.

You Are A Lawyer will motivate you to start that business, unpack some drama from law school, consider a nontraditional career, and push you to embrace the hobby you’ve been hiding.

There are so many ways to use your law degree. Whether you’re working as an artist, tech investor, coach, or blogger, if you’ve graduated from law school, YOU ARE A LAWYER, and your law degree is valuable.

Find more episodes and resources at www.youarealawyer.com. Contact Kyla with any questions: hello@youarealawyer.com.