Toya Gavin: Battled Depression to Become Legally Bold

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In Episode 026 of The Former Lawyer Podcast, Sarah talks with Toya Gavin. Toya practiced law for over 10 years, eventually opening her own practice, before finding herself struggling with severe depression. After reexamining her life and her career goals, she started her company, Legally Bold, where she coaches and consults with women with J.D.s who are dissatisfied in their careers or who are trying to transform their side hustles into full-time careers.</span></p> <p><strong>In this conversation, Toya shares about:</strong></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Why the transition from an undergrad engineering major to law school was so jarring;</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">How most law students think they’re going to snag a highly paid job, but the numbers reveal otherwise;</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Why she expected to enjoy legal practice, even though she didn’t love the law school environment;</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">What practice she turned to when she realized that she didn’t like patent law (the obvious choice for her as an engineer);</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">What she loved about running her own practice (that had nothing to do with legal work);</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">How her “whole life shifted” when she experienced what was eventually diagnosed as clinical depression;</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The extremely high rates of depression, anxiety, and substance abuse amongst lawyers;</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Why her best friend had to tell her that what she was experiencing was not normal before she realized she should get help;</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Why bein