The Mentor Every Future Lawyer Needs feat. Anjie Vichayanonda (December 2021)

3 days ago
3 min read

Anjie Vichayanonda is the founder and CEO of Leg Up Legal, a mentorship platform that connects aspiring law students with attorneys before they apply to law school. In this episode, Anjie shares how mentorship changed the course of her own career, why exposure matters before making the investment in law school, and how lawyers can use their knowledge to create opportunities for others.

About This Episode

Background

Anjie Vichayanonda grew up as a first-generation Asian American whose parents immigrated from Thailand and worked as engineers. Without lawyers in her family or network, she found herself navigating the legal profession largely on her own. As she considered law school, she became determined to learn as much as possible about the profession before making such a significant investment of time and money.

“I didn't have a single lawyer in my family. So I had no idea what I was doing," shares Anjie Vichayanonda on You Are A Lawyer.

Rather than rely solely on internet research or law school brochures, Anjie started cold-calling attorneys. After dozens of attempts, she found a lawyer willing to mentor her, hire her as a legal assistant, and introduce her to a network of attorneys. That experience fundamentally changed her understanding of the profession and eventually became the inspiration for Leg Up Legal.

Why Law School

Before attending law school, Anjie wanted clarity. She had heard stories about the cost of legal education, graduates struggling to find jobs, and the realities of the profession that many students never fully understood before enrolling. Rather than blindly pursuing a JD, she wanted firsthand insight from practicing attorneys.

“I really wanted to learn more about what I was about to get myself into," reflects Anjie Vichayanonda on Episode 28 of You Are a Lawyer.

The mentorship she received gave her exactly that. Through networking events, informational interviews, and countless conversations with attorneys from different practice areas, Anjie gained a realistic picture of the legal profession. That exposure helped her make informed decisions about law school, career paths, and eventually her niche focus in trademark and copyright law.

What Can You Do with a Law Degree

Anjie believes one of the biggest misconceptions about legal careers is that lawyers must allow the profession to define their entire identity. Throughout the conversation, she emphasizes that lawyers can build careers that include business ownership, side ventures, technology, mentorship, and many other pursuits beyond traditional practice.

“You could be a lawyer and still have a bunch of side hustles that have nothing to do with law," explains Anjie Vichayanonda on this episode of You Are a Lawyer.

While she continues to practice trademark and copyright law through contract work, Anjie's primary focus today is building Leg Up Legal. Her career demonstrates how legal training can become a foundation for entrepreneurship, education, and creating solutions to problems within the profession itself. Rather than choosing between law and business, she found a way to combine both.

Lawyer Side Hustles

Leg Up Legal began as an effort to solve a problem Anjie experienced firsthand. She knew how difficult it could be for aspiring lawyers to find mentors, learn about different practice areas, and understand what life as a lawyer actually looks like before committing to law school. Instead of accepting that challenge as inevitable, she built a platform designed to make mentorship more accessible.

“I wanna be able to teach these things to hundreds of people, thousands of people,” shares Anjie Vichayanonda in Episode 28 of You Are a Lawyer.

In addition to running Leg Up Legal, Anjie also became a published co-author of Networked, an anthology written alongside 19 other women lawyers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The project captured stories of resilience, career pivots, personal challenges, and professional growth during a historic moment. Both the book and Leg Up Legal reflect Anjie's broader passion for helping people navigate uncertainty through connection, mentorship, and community.