The Former Lawyer Podcast
Episodes
348 episodes
Translating Legal Skills for a Non-Legal Job Doesn't Start With Your Resume
When lawyers start thinking about doing something else, the first thing they reach for is almost always the resume. It feels like real progress. It produces something tangible. And for lawyers who are used to having clear work product, that mat...
Leaving Biglaw to Become a Sex and Relationship Coach with Amy Terwilleger
On paper, Amy Terwilleger’s life as a lawyer looked great. Partner at a regional firm in Florida. Deputy general counsel. Thirteen years of business litigation. Married with two kids. And the whole time, a constant restless feeling she could no...
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Trying to Justify Leaving Law Is What’s Keeping You There
If you're thinking about leaving the law, there's a good chance you've asked yourself some version of this question. Am I justified in doing this? You already know the environment isn't good for you. You already know something needs to change. ...
Tolerating Your Lawyer Job While You're Preparing to Leave
There are two very different situations a lawyer can be in when they start thinking about leaving. One is a job that is actively damaging their mental, physical, and emotional health. The other is a job that is just not the long-term answer. Wh...
How to Break Into Legal Tech and AI as a Lawyer with Ben Chiriboga
Legal tech comes up constantly when lawyers are thinking about leaving practice. It's legal adjacent, the field is growing, and there seem to be a lot of jobs. But when lawyers actually try to make a move, they usually don't know where to start...
How an Overdeveloped Sense of Responsibility Keeps Lawyers Stuck
Responsibility is one of the things that makes lawyers good at their jobs. It also shows up, over and over, as one of the things that makes it hardest for them to leave. Not because they don't want to go, but because leaving means someone else ...
What Doing Your Best Is Costing You as a Lawyer
For a lot of lawyers, hearing "just do your best" as a kid didn't feel reassuring. It felt like a requirement to give every ounce of everything they had until there was literally nothing left.That's not incidental. The kind of person who...
You Don't Have to Quit Your Job to Start Leaving Law
Lawyers thinking about leaving often get stuck on a question that feels practical but actually keeps them waiting longer than they need to. Do I need to quit my job before I start figuring out what I want to do instead? It sounds responsible, b...
Why Lawyers Think Feelings Are Optional and What It Costs Them
Lawyers who are unhappy at work often tell themselves they'll feel things later. When they retire, maybe. The sense is that feeling the full weight of what's happening would make it impossible to keep functioning, so the feelings get pushed dow...
Why High-Achieving Lawyers Stay in Jobs That Are Hurting Them
Being good at your job and being in the right job are not the same thing. For lawyers who are high achievers, that distinction can be almost impossible to see when every external signal, strong reviews, steady advancement, a reputation for gett...
The Perfectionist Trap That Makes It Hard to Leave Law
Lawyers are, as a group, highly responsible, hard on themselves, and convinced they should be able to handle more than anyone else around them. That combination does not just make for a stressful career. It makes it genuinely difficult to ackno...
Why Unhappy Lawyers Should Pick Up a Hobby Before They're Ready to Leave
For lawyers who know they are unhappy but are not ready to make any real moves yet, the waiting period can feel like dead time. There are things you can be doing right now, though, that will set you up for success when you are ready to go throu...
What Lawyers Wish They'd Asked Before Going to Law School
A lot of people end up going to law school without ever really asking themselves whether it's what they want to do.The questions in this episode are the real questions you should be asking yourself if you're considering law school. And i...
Hard Things Feel Hard Because They Are Hard
2026 is kicking a lot of people's asses, including Sarah's. She gets into what the last few weeks have actually looked like, and shares the reminder she keeps coming back to. Hard things feel hard because they are hard. Not because you're doing...
Escaping the Legal Grind to Build a Balanced Life with Dan Branagan
When lawyers look back at why they entered the profession, they often find the answer is less about a lifelong passion and more about a lack of other plans. Dan Branagan, a former bankruptcy associate turned data analyst, describes his journey ...
How to Explore Your Career Options After Law with Patience and a Plan
When Sarah looks back at her time in practice, she can see a pattern that shows up for almost every lawyer who thinks about leaving the law. She would have a kernel of interest in a career path outside of the law, but her brain would immediatel...
From Law School to Literary Agent with Lilly Ghahremani
Maybe you've thought about it. You love books, you love reading, and somewhere in the back of your mind, you've wondered if there's a way to turn that passion into a career that uses your legal skills without actually practicing law.Lill...
How a Misalignment of Values and Career Helped a Lawyer Become a Therapist with David Sazant
Former litigator David Sazant spent years bouncing between practice areas, convinced that if he just worked hard enough and found the right fit, everything would click into place. He moved from insurance defense to construction and commercial l...
How Multiple Assessments Help Lawyers Changing Careers
Lawyers love a good assessment. Sarah has learned this running The Collab. There's something appealing about taking a test that promises clear answers about who you are and...
Don't Wait for the World to Stabilize Before You Leave Your Legal Job
When the world feels unstable, the idea of introducing more instability into your life by leaving your job can feel impossible. But waiting for things to stabilize before you address your career unhappiness might mean waiting forever.202...
Do You Need a Bridge Job? Key Questions for Lawyers in Transition
One of the most common questions lawyers ask when they're thinking about leaving is whether they need a bridge job. It's a fair question, but before Sarah can answer it, she needs to know which type of bridge job you're talking about.Bec...
I'm Not Here to Convince You to Leave the Law
Sometimes people ask Sarah, "Do all the lawyers you work with end up leaving law?" She gets the sense they think she's trying to convince people to abandon their legal careers, like she's running some kind of exit campaign.Let her be cle...
The Best First Step When You're Not Ready to Leave Law Yet
Maybe you're thinking about leaving the law, but you aren't quite sure you're ready to start working through the process. You're thinking, "I really think this isn't for me, I definitely want to get out eventually, but maybe not at this exact m...
Why Community Support Matters When You're Leaving the Law
When lawyers start thinking about leaving, they focus on the practical steps. What career should I pursue? How do I update my resume? What skills do I need? Those things matter, but Sarah consistently hears from lawyers that they underestimated...
The One Decision Unhappy Lawyers Must Make Before Changing Careers
Most people who are thinking about leaving the law spend a long time in a familiar place. They know their job feels awful, they say it to themselves and to other people, and they imagine how much better things could be somewhere else. ...
