Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the legal learning podcast. I’m your host Jolene. And with the legal learning center, I help prospective law students save $300,000 on law school to receive three money savings strategies today. Visit legal learning center.com forward slash money. Today we are joined by attorney turned health and fitness coach. Megan O’Neill. Megan has some great insights as to how students can try to stay healthy, how working professionals can too, and how being a lawyer can help you even if you change careers.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Thanks so much. Thanks for having me. So I’m Megan O’Neill. I own MLC fitness. I am a former trial attorney. I was at the district attorney’s office for several years and then went to a civil firm. So I was there doing employee. I did employment, labor discrimination cases, and then I represented police officers for civil rights cases. So I was there for about eight or nine years. And then I actually left law altogether and opened my own health and wellness company, MLC fitness. And that was it. I pretty much left and never looked back.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
All right. So what year did you leave law?
Speaker 2 (01:17):
So I left altogether in 2000, the beginning of 2008. I had, I was pregnant with my first son and kind of knew like this was it for me. I wanted to be home more with them, you know, w with my son when he was born and, you know, I love this, I always loved health and wellness. I taught, so I was certified and taught some classes in college and law school, and then continued when I was at the DA’s office and the firm, but just, you know, once in a while. And then when I decided I was all in full-time, I just, I, you know, LLC and myself went forward with the business and stayed at the law firm for about a year and kind of built clients back, developed, you know, some corporate relationships and then laughed off together after about a year and a half.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Wow. Okay. So you were doing both for a while.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
I was doing both ironically. I was pregnant this time. I was taking depositions in a very large prison death case at the time, and that was pretty much an all day event for about a year, year and a half with the, with this case going on, going to trial. And then I had, you know, this brilliant idea while pregnant that I was going to open my own business. So I was doing that at the same time. So I would go to depositions. I would leave get changed. I would go to some personal training clients. I would go to some nutrition classes and then kind of start the next day, the same way. Wow.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
It was a lot, but well worth it. Yeah. So you mentioned nutrition classes. So what type of training do you have?
Speaker 2 (02:58):
So it was really important to me to not just have, you know, to get certified in personal training, but to get certified in nutrition. So I am also a fitness nutritionist and what I do then is, you know, I do work with individuals, but a big portion of what I do now is taking that, that knowledge and going into companies. So I do corporate wellness programs for companies you know, nonprofits through, through global. I I’ve worked in with Microsoft Pricewaterhouse and then a lot of smaller companies as well, and a lot of law firms because surprise, surprise lawyers, aren’t taking care of themselves health wise. So I take that as far as that portion of it for nutrition. And we talk about all of that. We then, you know, do fitness classes through these programs, step challenges. And then I’ll come in and talk about, you know, growth mindset and kind of how are we going to take care of ourselves emotionally and, you know, not only physically, but emotionally and mentally as well. And you know, a lot of these big companies don’t have, and law firms don’t have wellness programs. So this is, you know, maybe in the last 6, 6, 7 years has become this huge thing that HR is really now trying to make a push for, which is great.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Yeah. I left corporate in 2019 and I definitely saw that where we were moving towards the step program type thing, like how many steps did you do today? And that kind of thing, just, Hey, let’s keep moving. That’s great. So yeah. How do you work with people inside their firms?
Speaker 2 (04:30):
So what I do with it, you know, so, so essentially what happens is that large companies and law firms get a, you know, they’ll get an employee discount for their health insurance through major health insurance companies, but it’s very impersonal. So it’s kind of like, Hey, if you do this, this and this screening, which we’re basically telling you, you have to do, and you talk to this person on the phone from this health insurance company, we’re going to get you know, we’re going to get a break and then we’re going to pass that break onto you. So you might get like a $400 tax or a $400 reduction in your health insurance costs, which all sounds great. But you know, about eight years ago, I did a ton of market research on this and what the companies are telling me, what the employees are telling me.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
It’s like, you know what it steaks, it’s very impersonal. It’s not making us feel or be any healthier and okay, we get 400 bucks off. It’s kind of a pain, it’s kind of a pain to do this like stock stuff that they’re making us do. So I took all that market research and I was like, what am I, what can I do for these companies, big and small and law firms and all these other kind of places that’s going to be more personal. So what I started doing was going in myself and doing, you know, pre COVID, obviously I would go in, in person and do classes for them and lunch and learns. And, you know for example, like Pricewaterhouse has a really big family event where they bring in all their kids for the day and they rent out a whole park and we would do, you know, 5k runs and a one mile fun walk.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
And then we would all sorts of classes for them. And it just became this, you know, environment. Well, it was team building for everybody and people started really getting into it. And I think the biggest thing was, you know, as a lawyer, obviously I make them sign HIPAA forms. So I signed that in the beginning, even though I’m not a medical professional and I signed a confidentiality agreement. So that kind of takes the pressure off the HR people where it’s like, Hey employees, I’m not going to tell HR that you have, you know, high cholesterol and your step away from a heart. It’s, you know, how are we going to fix that? But I’m not going to, I can’t share that with them. So, you know, after a couple of weeks of doing these things, I think they feel really comfortable with me. And I just did one probably about a year ago.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
And you said that the stuff I was getting from employees like Megan, this is amazing. I’ve lost like 30 pounds and I’m no longer pre-diabetic. And, you know, I’m just like happier and feel healthier. And I’m so happy with the company for doing this for us. So it’s a win-win for the employees because they’re there, they’re happy and they’re more balanced and healthy, but the employers are now saving way more than they ever would with those stock company, you know, with the stock health insurance, they, because they’re actually getting their people healthier. So it’s not just like saving 400 bucks. Now they’re saving, you know, overall, globally, you know, a couple of hundred thousand, because now these people aren’t going to the doctor as much. They’re, they’re feeling better, they’re looking better and they’re, and they’re engaging more with their, with their other employees.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
Yeah. And you’re right. It’s absolutely all tied in that diet needs to be there with the exercise. Cause I know, you know, pre COVID I was exercising regularly, but there was a point where I was so busy at work that I just, I don’t normally eat a lot of fast food. I was eating just non-stop fast food and just grow stuff. And my literally my whole face like exploded. Like it actually, like you got bigger and, and, but then shrunk up like a raisin. I looked like I was 80 years old. It was so crazy. And I mean, I really, you know, I don’t know what did that, except obviously I knew my diet wasn’t so good. So I had to really slow it down, make sure I was drinking my water and go back to, you know, better food. Right. And just, even if I was on the run, running into the grocery store for some healthy snacks, even rather than, you know, Jack in the box or whatever. So
Speaker 2 (08:22):
That’s exactly, and that’s what we talk about a lot. And you know, being a former litigation attorney when I was at the civil firm, I came in there and it was like first week out of the box was like, Hey, we’re going to send you up, you know, a couple hours away. You’re going to just be on this trial for a month. So I, you know, can relate to everybody’s work schedules like, Hey, we’re busy professionals, you know? And everybody’s like, oh, we don’t have time. Well, w what I like to work on with them is we’ll do, do you not have time? Like what let’s talk about what busy is, let’s break that down. Like, let’s, let’s figure out how you can get the time to still crush everything you need to at work, but take care of yourself as well.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Absolutely. And I have found that at least if you’re enjoying your exercise, if you’re finding it interesting and entertaining that it helps your mental state as well, that just relieves you of your stress.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Oh yeah, absolutely. A hundred percent. And that’s what we talk about, you know, with these companies too, and like, you know, youth, people coming out of COVID where they’re, you know, a lot of places haven’t even gone back in person, so they’re still online. And that’s what a lot of HR reps are reaching out to me now is like, how do we keep these people engaged? What, what, what should we do? Well, you know, it’s like stop spending all this money on stuff they don’t care about and start spending money on stuff that they can actually do. And that will be helpful for them. And that they can engage in fitness and nutrition and, you know, and, and mental health stuff so important. So, you know, that’s kind of where, you know, it’s gone nowadays, especially if, if they’re at home, what can we do for them at home? Or, you know, it’s like, we’re bringing in new hires, but we can’t do these big events. What can we do for them?
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Yeah. That’s so funny. You might actually ask them, does this benefit you? Oh, you don’t care about this yet. Let’s move on to the next thing. Let’s move onto some fitness.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
That’s not wasted 10, 15, $20,000 on it. Let’s figure something else out.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
Yeah. Yeah. Now what about, for example, like I know when I was in law school, I really, I didn’t exercise. I didn’t do anything. I just studied. Yeah. I felt like there was no time. Are there things that pre-loss students can do before they start their law school routine to kind of get used to exercising and eating, right. So that when that first loss I’m at hits their desk, they’re just, they’re better prepared and they can still keep exercise and diet in their minds.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Definitely. And, you know, w you know, the law school is so vigorous and it’s just, you’re constantly studying and outlining and the pressure that they put on you there with, you know, basically teaching yourself, everything is so difficult. So I went through that as well, and it was just finding that balance. So what I would say to them is, you know, figure out before you even start that, how you’re going to take the time for yourself. Is it going to be, you know, between classes, is it going to be at night is going to be in the morning. And then when you schedule classes, because, you know, first year is a little tough for that. But second and third year, it gets easier where you can schedule all day, Tuesday, and Thursday, or all day, Monday, Wednesday, and then half a day, Friday. So take those other days. And it’s not selfless if anything, you know, I mean, it’s not selfish. If anything it’s selfless to do that is take that time for yourself. So in between studying, take that time and, you know, go to the gym, try to try to get yourself together with food, because it’s only going to help you in the long run. And it’s only going to help you, honestly, the better you take care of yourself, the better you are, and you’re the better you’re able to focus that you are.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Yeah, absolutely. I know. And I don’t know what the actual information is, but I know that when you eat healthy, that it helps your brain to focus and to have your body, to have that energy that you need to keep going.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
It definitely does. It definitely does. It’s, you know, eating healthy and clean makes such a big difference for everything you do. So it’s not just like, Hey, I’m training for a marathon. We got to eat healthy, but it’s, it’s pretty much like every day. And especially when you’re in law school and you are just always on the go and then you’re getting closer to graduation and it doesn’t end because then you’re studying for the bar exam. So if I had, you know, if I could go back and, and do it all again, I would just tell myself to relax a little bit in the beginning and find that time for myself. So that way as second and third year come, and you’re going into that bar exam that you’re prepared for, that, that you’ve taken the time for yourself. And even when studying for the bar, I mean, those are wild times where you are just in the library, 8, 10, 12 hours a day, like go into that, knowing that you need the time for yourself. So go into that already, having set that schedule up for yourself over those three years so that when the bar comes, you’re able to handle that stress. That makes sense,
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Because if we build good habits, you know, going into law school and try our best to maintain them during law school, then during the bar exam, during future trials, the habit is there. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Yeah. Because nothing gets you, you know, it doesn’t get easier from there. You’re at a law firm and you’re, you’re traveling, you’re on trial, you’re taking depths. You have to find the time. So, and again, that’s easy for me now, looking back, cause I’ve able to, you know, to look back and say, this is how you do it sort of thing. But when you’re in it, it’s really hard. So I would say start earlier rather than later. And yeah, before you go into that first year, you no one else Tufts. So start, start doing that for yourself now, so that you build in that time
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Now, is there some way that you find so that the exercise is again, entertaining or fun for your clients,
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Whether it’s corporate clients or just individual clients? I mean, I, myself am a runner, love it. You know, it’s very motivating for me. And some people love it and that’s what they’ll tell me is like, Hey, you’re a runner. I want you to coach me to run you know, whatever, half mile a mile, a 5k, 10 K a marathon, whatever it is. But you know, some people hate that. So some people, I find what they love. I’m like, it doesn’t matter what time of day you work out. It doesn’t matter what you do as long as you’re doing something. So let’s fight, figure out what you’d like to do, what you’re going to do. And that way you’re actually going to do it because if I tell somebody to get up and, you know, whatever, they’re going to do kickboxing for an hour and they hate that they’re not going to do it.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
So I tried and I, you know, everybody’s going to do everything when I’m there, but when I leave, nobody’s going to do it. So I try to make it corporate clients or my individual clients, something that they’re actually like. And that they’re actually going to feel motivated by. I’ll go out with clients and play tennis and we’ll do all sorts of tennis exercises and stuff on the court. Not just games matches, but we’ll do all sorts of stuff. We’ll go, we’re running together. We’ll do, you know, all kinds of equipment together. We play soccer. So same thing. Like I play soccer with clients and we’ll do soccer drills. I train a ton of teenagers now through COVID because they know all their sports were gone. So, you know, we were doing a lot of football and soccer and how do we get, you know, keep these teenagers motivated to, you know, through COVID and then after COVID when things still weren’t open.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
So that, yeah, that’s, that’s huge. And actually you know, on that note, I, I have something very exciting coming out probably in the next few months that I’ve kind of thought of about COVID too, is like, how can we work out at home and on the road? So I’m kind of putting some exciting things together, some, some new equipment and things like that, that people can take on the road with them. And just a very simple routine that they can do on the road with this equipment. And, and that’s it, you know, there’s no excuse. You’re traveling for work. You finally thank God. Be able to travel again for pleasure after COVID and there’s, you know, you could take the stuff with you, so there’s kind of no need for a gym or, or anything else, but you got it right with you.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
Nice. Yeah. One thing I was researching a couple of years ago, because I was spending so much time driving from courthouse, the courthouse, you might have courthouse on one side of LA in the morning and the other side of LA in the afternoon and just constantly running and in my car I was always looking for car exercises. What can I do while I’m stuck in traffic? And it’s a little limited, cause you know, you’re supposed to be focusing on the road, but
Speaker 2 (16:45):
So, so having been to LA a few times, I know that even when you’re on the road, you are literally sitting on the road there. So you are sitting for hours sometimes. So yes, you should call me when that’s happening, because I will give you lots of exercises you can do while you’re sitting in LA traffic.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Awesome. Yeah. I had a, I think a Facebook post a handful of years ago where I said I’m sitting on the freeway. I think I had a vacuum in my car. I was vacuuming. I was posting on Facebook. I think let’s do a couple of other things as well. You know, my cousin was screaming at me. I said, you don’t understand, I’m not moving, so,
Speaker 2 (17:21):
Oh no, I’ve been, I, I I’ve never seen anything. Like it I’ve literally sat on the, on the freeway for like three, four hours. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
It’s it’s not fun. So yes, it’s, there’s definitely, I know ways to do things. I kept trying to do a little mini sit ups and things like that, you know, without letting go of the brake pedal. Right. So it’s, it’s still
Speaker 2 (17:43):
Difficult. Do some of the things I’m coming out with soon. So I will, I will send you the bands and they are totally appropriate for traffic.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
That’s awesome. I am going to have to look forward to that because seriously, we spend way too much time in that morning. Especially evening traffic’s even worse the morning traffic, but yeah. The poor attorneys that are driving all over the place, but yeah, when attorneys have to go to another part of the state for a month to take care of a trial, it’s really hard. It breaks your entire routine. So if they have some type of stuff, they can take with them to do their little exercises, just to at least maintain something, you know, especially on that busy schedule. That’s great.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that’s, that’s the thing when you’re on trial, you know, and, but you have even on trial, even during those stressful times in traveling, you have to take those rates. I mean, you’re never going to be able to focus on whatever you’re closing your openings, your cross. You’re never going to be able to do that unless you take those breaks and guess what? During those breaks you can exercise. You can take care of yourself.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Absolutely. I used to schedule all my trials. Was it for, I think it was for Tuesdays and later in the week because I played soccer on Monday nights. And then I realized, wait, you know, I have to go out Monday night and I have a trial the next morning. That’s not good. So I started scheduling them for Mondays. Most people don’t like Monday trials, but I started scheduling them for Monday. But regardless of whether it was Monday or Tuesday, I would get out there and I would just, you know, it was so helpful because I would just forget everything where the trial was Monday. And I played Monday night, then I just forgot about all the mistakes or errors or whatever. And if the trial was the next day and I’m out there, it was just that one hour or so of, for once. I’m not thinking about that trial, like in the week leading up to that trial, I’m not thinking about that trial for that one hour and it’s just so needed and so fabulous. And yeah, I really hope people find that outlet because it is needed in this industry.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
Oh, it is needed. I mean, it’s lawyers are some of the most stressed people ever, eh, it’s just out there in the corporate world. They just are, and, and it’s so needed for them. And that’s why it’s, you know, it’s, it’s a huge part of what I do is working with law firms on that. And just kind of, you know, even at my old law firm, you know, two 50 year olds drop dead of a heart attack. So it’s like, it’s, there has to be ways that, you know, these law firms find to help the employees distress.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Yeah. I think we need to actually have you go into the law schools and help them there.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
Yeah. Because that is so much stressful times, you know, when you’re just getting used to law school, it is so different from undergrad and yeah. Figuring out ways to take care of yourself. It’s huge. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
And we certainly pay enough for law school. I mean, it would be great to have someone there to actually help take care of us. Yes,
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Yes. Agreed. We’re paying for law school for many, many years after, so yes. During the course of it, they should be providing services.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
So, okay. You do one-on-one and you do corporate. Anything else that you’re doing? I know you had the travel pack coming out, so anything else that you do?
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Yes. so, so basically that’s it right now. It’s just the corporate wellness and doing now, obviously the corporate stuff has changed a lot of online. So a lot of it is just going online and talking about everything online and doing classes online. We’re starting to get back to in-person events, which is great here I’m, I’m in the Philadelphia area and we’re starting to get back to in-person events. But I’ve kind of always worked online too. I’ve, I’ve worked with individual clients across the country, so online. So it was nothing new to me, but it is nice to be able to, you know, start traveling a little bit again and start doing some corporate events. And then the other thing that I do is I travel for a couple of companies that I’m connected with that sponsor me and I’ll go out and travel for them and run races for them and things like that, which has been great because then I also have the opportunity I’ve come out to California and have the opportunity to meet people there and kind of connect with companies out there as well.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
That sounds great. That sounds a lot nicer than being a lawyer
Speaker 2 (21:56):
That will tell you, people are way happier to see me now than when I was, I don’t know what the other pro say though, is, is to all your prospective law students and, and all your students who were in there now is that it’s never a waste. So I completely change careers, you know, like I guess 10 years in nine years in, and I still use those skills. And I can’t tell you how quick companies are assigned with me knowing that I’m an attorney. And then knowing that I provide my own liability insurance and I have this much coverage and I can get riders for them and confidentiality agreements done and HIPAA waiver that has made me so successful where I think if I was not an attorney and just trying to branch into this health and wellness corporate, well, you know, I don’t know that it would’ve worked as easily as it has for me. You know, especially big companies who have large legal teams and there’s lots of hoops to jump through, to kind of get in there. And it’s been, it’s been miraculous cause it’s, it just flows are natural. So I would just say to all your law students is that it is never a waste and you’re gonna, you can transition careers. You could still use that law degree and it’s going to be helpful no matter what. So don’t feel like you’re pigeonholed once you’re out of law school to do one certain thing. You’re not,
Speaker 1 (23:11):
I love that because we all have multiple interests. And sometimes we put things on a back burner, we want to do law or whatever. And then, you know, we get tired and we want to make a transition. It’s not always just from burnout. It’s sometimes just, okay, I did this, I want to move on. And you’re absolutely right using your law degree. I mean, you can use it for anything. And especially for example, what you do, you know, I can hire an exercise coach, but having someone who understands my schedule, who isn’t going to me, well, you can just find the time, but actually says, okay, I get what you’re saying. You’ve got this big trial. Okay. We’re going to try and find you some time, but isn’t going to just be dismissive. You know that, oh, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it. Like, no, it’s, it’s not, it’s not that easy. Yeah. We can try and work on it, but it’s not just a little bit of overtime
Speaker 2 (24:04):
And it’s been super, you know, it’s great coming from that background for me, civil and criminal is that I get it right. Like I get it. I was where you were. So let’s figure it out from there because I, I understand where you are. So let’s kind of just move on from there and let’s work with that knowledge and then find a time from there, which either, by the way, they’re like, oh no, we can’t hide it from her. She actually did this. She used to try cases and travel. So we can’t use that as an excuse. Yeah. Which works, which is funny. And usually we’ll end up just laughing about it and they’ll end up finding the time and being happy or yeah,
Speaker 1 (24:39):
No, it’s, you know, I think from the outside, looking in a lot of people are a little bit judgmental of attorneys, you know, they just kind of make assumptions about a lot of things. So yeah, having that background where you’re like, I’ve been there, I’ve done that. I can work with you. I can help you. I love that. I I’ve, I’ve found myself increasingly whenever I need something, looking for an ex attorney to help me with whatever I need helping with. It’s just so much better. I, you know what, and honestly, when I was house hunting, I did not hire a local realtor. I hired a coworker who did real estate on the side because she understood my schedule. She understood my demands, why I had to go this way and I had to go that way and all these different directions every day. And so she understood what I needed from a house as far as location and all the different stuff. And it was just, it just works so much better with working with her.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
It does. And, and coming from that background, it just helps so much you know, even in the, even in the, I work with a lot of tech people and, you know, even in that high demand tech world, coming from, you know, the legal background helps to understand that. And they’re with theirs. The demands are so that’s interested. It is just never a waste. I mean, I’m way happier and healthier than I was, you know, when I was practicing law and I feel like I’ve given so much, you know, I, but I feel like everything happens for a reason. And like I said, like those, you know, when you’re in law school, you think you’re going to go one way, you may go a totally different direction and that’s okay. You know, it’s all, everything happens for some reason. And you’re probably just going to be happier in the long run for it.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
Absolutely. All right, Megan. So where can people find you if they want to do that?
Speaker 2 (26:22):
So it’s MLC fitness.com Facebook and Instagram is MLCC fitness one. And then LinkedIn is under Megan O’Neill and MLC fitness.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
All right. I’ll link that all up. Thanks so much for joining us before we get into my top takeaways, a quick word from our sponsor. Juno, if you have to take out student loans, check in with Juno. First, Juno can often offer law students one to 2% lower interest rates than the federal government and with no origination fees and oftentimes cash back as well. Visit advisor dot. Let me go. Learning center.com forward slash Juno. For more information, my top takeaways from this chat with Megan, number one better, self-care eating right and exercising leads to better focus. That’s really important in law school. Build those habits early because one L year is tough, but it doesn’t get a whole lot better. Once you start your career. Number two, corporations are moving towards this real health and fitness movement. And this might be something you want to ask about in an interview. Just something to keep in mind. If it’s important to you. Number three, being a lawyer can be helpful towards running your own business. No matter what that looks like. Your background knowledge can help you with contracts and just understanding potential liability in a business. That’s it. For this episode, all the tips and links will be in the show notes. A full transcript will be available@legallearningcenter.com forward slash M L C. And if you enjoyed today’s episode, please leave a review that helps the show help more people. Thanks.
