Most lawyers chase prestige. Patrick Hagen chased freedom —and found it in a $35K clerkship, a debt-free JD, and a few well-timed LinkedIn posts. Patrick is a business litigator, a father of four, and the kind of lawyer who built his brand not through networking dinners or late-night emails—but by hitting publish on LinkedIn at 5AM. In this episode, he joins Brian to share how walking away from a $75K salary to attend law school debt-free gave him the freedom to clerk for peanuts, build autonomy in Big Law, and design a career that fits around his family—not the other way around. They get into: Why most lawyers are missing a massive opportunity on LinkedIn The hidden power of legal writing as a personal brand How law students should think about opportunity cost and clerkships What work-life balance actually looks like inside a 1,000-lawyer firm This conversation is proof that you can play the game—but you don’t have to lose yourself in the process. Connect with Patrick on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/hagenlaw/ ____________________________________ Brian Glass is a nationally recognized personal injury lawyer in Fairfax , Virginia. He is passionate about living a life of his own design and looking for answers to solutions outside of the legal field. This podcast is his effort to share that passion with others. Want to connect with Brian? Follow Brian on Instagram: @ thebrianglass Connect on LinkedIn
