Sivani Babu: From Federal Public Defender to Nature Photographer and Travel Journalist

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In Episode 022 of The Former Lawyer Podcast, Sarah talks with Sivani Babu. Sivani worked as a federal public defender before switching careers. She is now an award-winning nature photographer and travel journalist, and the co-founder and Creative Director of the cross-genre travel magazine Hidden Compass.</span></p> <p><strong>In this conversation, Sivani shares about:</strong></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Really enjoying being a federal public defender and getting up in court every day;</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Getting a “real” camera during law school and starting to take photos and display and sell her work simply as a hobby;</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The trip to Antarctica that changed the course of her career and her life;</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">How the people who knew her best reacted to her decision to leave the law;</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Learning to navigate a new industry that was in the middle of massive transition;</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Being told that she needed to choose between a career in writing or a career in photography since that was how the industry worked in the past, and deciding to chart her own course;</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">How she and the co-founder of Hidden Compass couldn’t find the kind of magazine that they wanted to read and write for—so they created it;</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">How learning how to do new things helps you move forward with even more confidence;</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Why you should embrace your fear if you’re thinking about leaving the law;</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span styl