Welcome to the Texas Lawyer podcast, where we share stories from those who choose to practice law in the great state of Texas. I’m your host, Cheryl McGirr, and today we’re sitting down with the inspiring Tanya Ochoa, an attorney here in Central Texas who also happens to be a skilled Mahjong player and devoted dog-mom to her beloved (if not fully trained) Henry.

 

 

The Unexpected Path to Purpose

What truly drives a person to leave a successful, glamorous career in corporate retail—a life dedicated to fashion shows and buying—to instead face the demanding and emotionally taxing realities of child welfare law? That is the powerful question we explore today. Tanya’s journey began in Houston, where she majored in marketing at the University of Houston and pursued her dream of being a corporate retail buyer. But her path took a decisive turn, leading her to her current, highly specialized practice as a board-certified child welfare attorney in Central Texas, where she fiercely advocates for families.

 

This conversation is a profound look at how one singular, defining moment of injustice planted a seed of purpose that completely transformed her life. Over the course of the episode, Tanya walks us through her transition, discussing the necessary but painful steps she took to find her true calling and offering vital advice for preventing lawyer burnout by setting strict boundaries and maintaining a healthy emotional distance from the job. Ultimately, she confirms the answer every attorney who made a big sacrifice wants to know: was the commitment worth the cost? Join us to learn how Tanya found fulfillment in the law. 

 

The Spark of Injustice and Leaving the World of Fashion

Tanya’s life before law school was defined by high-stakes retail. A graduate of the University of Houston with a marketing degree, her initial aspiration was to be a buyer in corporate retail. She chased that dream, picturing herself front row at fashion shows, only to find the reality was far more about the bottom line than the runway. As she succinctly put it, “It’s very much a numbers game.” This journey took her to California for five years before she returned to Texas. She landed a buyer role at a company, where she was responsible for selecting products to replenish stores.

 

It was here, in this corporate environment, that the spark of injustice ignited her path. Tanya had befriended one of the cleaning ladies, Maria. One day, Maria came to her with a serious problem: she hadn’t been paid for the services she had rendered to the company. Tanya quickly uncovered a predatory and disgusting business practice. The company outsourced the cleaning services to a third party, and Tanya realized these third-party companies operate with “very little overhead,” hire workers, collect the money for the services, and then “just shut down overnight.” They prey on workers like Maria, knowing they have limited resources and often “questionable status,” meaning they are less likely to come forward and fight.

 

Tanya was immediately “incensed at what had happened to (Maria)” and “angry” that this was being done to vulnerable people. Maria trusted Tanya and asked her what to do, but as Tanya admits, she was “just a buyer,” not a lawyer. Her first step was a call to her college boyfriend, Frank, who was an attorney. Like many non-attorneys, Tanya assumed he knew everything about the law, but Frank clarified that it wasn’t his area. He was, however, supportive and directed her to a volunteer legal services organization. While they managed to get a small collection on Maria’s behalf, the true impact was on Tanya. She realized, “It’s happening to her; it’s probably happening to thousands of others because they know they can get away with this.” That powerful sense of injustice stayed with her, confirming that “the seed was born.” It was that little seed that grew and grew until she started looking into law school.

 

The Calculated Leap to Law School

The “little seed” of injustice—planted by the Maria incident—was strong enough to make Tanya revisit a high school aspiration. She and her best friend, Dolores, had a pact to become lawyers together, a dream Tanya admits she had “put to bed long ago.” But with her anger and sense of purpose now ignited, she realized she needed to do something. She called Frank back and told him, “I think I want to try to go to law school.” Frank became her biggest cheerleader and gave her practical, non-traditional advice: “Forget the expensive bar courses; just go on eBay, buy some used practice books, and just take practice tests.” That’s exactly what Tanya did. She worked her 9-to-5 buyer job, and then from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, she intensely focused on practice test after practice test for the LSAT for over a month. She took the official LSAT and performed even better than she had on her practice tests, confirming she was on the right track.

 

Tanya took the decision one step at a time, never fully committing to leaving her stable career until she saw the path clearly ahead. She was hesitant to leave a job she knew she was good at for something she wasn’t sure about. However, once she received her acceptance to UT Law, the decision was solidified: “I can’t pass this up.” The choice was framed as a major financial commitment, especially for someone who was “very debt-averse” and had worked two jobs to pay her way through college, graduating debt-free. She realized the cost was giving up her stable career and income, but the gain was an education and an opportunity, which she viewed as “investing in myself.”

 

She started law school at age 29, a decision she believes significantly enhanced her experience. Unlike many students who came straight from college, she was “happy to go to law school” and “excited to learn.” I shared a similar story, starting law school at 30. That decade of real-world experience—working, paying rent, and navigating the workplace—provided a crucial, mature perspective. We noted how much clearer business issues, like contracts and workplace management, were with that “real world” context. For Tanya, starting later meant she enjoyed the learning process more, finding fulfillment in finally pursuing a childhood pact with her friend Dolores. Ultimately, her driving force remained simple but profound: the injustice of what happened to Maria, whom she notes “will never know how much she changed my life.” 

 

Finding Fulfillment, Going From Defense to Child Welfare

Fresh out of law school, having overcome the financial hurdle of her “calculated leap,” Tanya faced the challenge of finding the right fit in her early legal career. After a clerkship doing family law at a boutique firm in Houston, she landed her first postgraduate job practicing labor and employment defense law. Though she had clerked at a big firm in this area, she only stayed at the boutique firm for about two years. She realized quickly that the work was interesting, but it wasn’t the right fit; it was on the “defense side” and “didn’t feel great.” Her reason for going to law school was to “help the good guy,” and she found that she “didn’t always feel like I was helping the good guy” in that role.

 

Seeking a change, she moved to Austin and took an in-house role at a friend’s startup. This was an unusual move for someone with only a few years of practice, as she expressed; in-house positions are often reserved for those with seven or more years “in the trenches.” She worked there for about three years but quickly discovered that she was “not a transactional attorney.” In fact, she “missed the action” of litigation. She vividly recalls feeling “envious” of her friends who were stressed out, staying up all night with trial prep at big firms, thinking, “I want some of that, you know?”

 

This restlessness led to the pivotal moment of her career. During a slow period at the startup, Tanya asked her boss for permission to revisit the area of law she had loved most in school: the Children’s Rights Clinic she did at UT. The clinic allowed her to solely represent children involved in child protective services (CPS). She did this work part-time for about six months before deciding to leave the company entirely to dedicate herself to child protective services (CPS) full-time. This dedication led her to become board-certified as a child welfare attorney. Today, her practice is a rewarding mix: full-time appointed CPS work in several counties, which she loves, and working part-time for a family law firm that specializes in representing single mothers (though they represent dads, too). She has finally found her true calling, stating, “I have really loved being a child welfare attorney.” 

 

The Heart of the Case: Advocating for Families

The reality of child welfare law is often heartbreaking. As a board-certified child welfare attorney, Tanya confirms that she sees the toughest issues every single day: “We see drug use, we see domestic violence, we see physical abuse, we see neglect, we see sexual abuse.” It is undeniably sad work. However, she says that the rewards make it worth the emotional weight, noting that “the good has outweighed the bad over the years.” To illustrate this fulfillment, Tanya shared an unforgettable story that solidified her passion for advocacy.

 

This was the case of a young mother who, despite having a child with a disability, was trying her best. Tanya mentally rated the case as maybe a “four” on a severity scale where ten is the worst. The mother successfully completed all her required classes and did everything she was asked to do to reunify with her son. Tragically, she made a lapse in judgment and left her son, who was about five, home alone. The department removed the child again and moved forward with terminating her parental rights. Tanya was personally invested, feeling that after all the work the mother had done, the system should not jump straight to termination. This intense personal commitment drove her. She “worked day and night on that case,” was “uber prepared,” and actually lost eight pounds in one month from the sheer stress of preparing for what was intended to be her first jury trial.

 

The trial—which ultimately became a bench trial before the Honorable Orlinda Naranjo—resulted in a momentous, emotional win. At the end of the proceeding, Judge Naranjo gave the mother her child back immediately. Tanya considers this client a true success story because the mother never had another CPS case after that experience. She believes the immense anxiety and stress of the trial process “probably really sent her message” and ensured she didn’t want to get on that painful ride again.

 

Now, let me interject here: Tanya and I are both huge fans of Judge Naranjo, who is now retired. I always appreciated how she ran her courtroom, particularly during jury trials. Judge Naranjo would actually allow the jury to submit questions for witnesses, a practice I never saw another judge implement. After reviewing them, she would ask the questions and then allow the attorneys to follow up. It was an innovative way to ensure that the “trier of fact” truly understood the story, not just what the attorneys wanted them to hear.

 

Despite the fulfillment, Tanya doesn’t sugarcoat the problems with the system. She is clear that “the system is not without its flaws.” The department often goes after families that “don’t have access to justice, which is where we come in.” Yet, for Tanya, being able to step in and ensure that “all of these people have a story and to be able to tell their story and to advocate for them has just been a great honor.” Looking back at the cost-benefit analysis of leaving her career and incurring debt for law school, Tanya confirms, “Absolutely. 100%. I really have loved being a child welfare attorney.”  

 

Advice for Longevity

Tanya concluded our conversation by offering invaluable advice for new attorneys aiming for longevity in this demanding profession. Given the increased access to information—and sometimes misinformation—available to clients today, she stressed that two rules are critical for success and self-preservation, starting with the first: You must set boundaries.

 

The law is indeed a jealous mistress (Thanks, Lisa, for this gem!), and the work will always be demanding of your time; as Tanya points out, if you have the capacity to work 17 hours a day, the work will be there to fill those 17 hours. She learned through hard experience, particularly with the constant emergencies in child protective services work, that being “incredibly responsive” and picking up calls at all hours did not correlate with client appreciation. Instead, she found a critical truth: setting boundaries creates more respect and is the only sustainable way to prevent burnout.

 

Her second, equally important piece of advice is to maintain a healthy distance, or simply, don’t take things personally. As a litigator, you are constantly navigating complex human emotions all day, every day—whether it’s dealing with a cranky judge, mean opposing counsel, or an upset client. Since the work involves deeply personal issues, it’s easy to get “swept up in that,” but a healthy distance is vital for self-preservation. Tanya’s closing counsel on this matter is simple and profound: “You go in there, you do your best, and then you leave it there. That is the healthiest thing you can do for both yourself and for your client.” 

 

Closing Arguments

Tanya Ochoa’s story is a powerful, inspiring reminder that it is absolutely never too late to find your true calling in the law. She left a successful career in corporate retail because a single, defining moment of injustice involving a cleaning lady named Maria planted a seed of purpose that she simply couldn’t ignore. Her eventual fulfillment in her board-certified child welfare work in Central Texas proves that purpose and passion are the only true antidotes to the burnout that can plague our demanding profession. Her advice is critical: set those boundaries and don’t take it personally; your longevity depends on it.

 

 

Now, what injustices stay with you? What is the seed that is still growing, waiting for you to make that calculated leap?

If Tanya’s story inspired you, we want to hear about it! Please head over to YouTube right now:

• Watch the full episode for all the details of Tanya’s incredible journey.
• Subscribe to the Texas Lawyer Podcast channel so you never miss an inspiring story from the great state of Texas.
• Comment below the video and tell us which piece of Tanya’s career advice—setting boundaries or maintaining distance—resonated with you the most.
• And finally, Share this episode with any young attorney or aspiring law student who needs to hear this story of passion and purpose.

With that, we are adjourned for today!