24 Aug
From Biglaw to Legal Tech with Alex Su (TFLP 054)
What do you do when you realize none of your strengths are rewarded in Biglaw—and many of your strengths are actually considered weaknesses? That’s what I’m talking about on today’s TFLP episode with Alex Su. Alex went from a top law school to a top Biglaw firm, realized it wasn’t for him, found his way into legal tech sales, and learned some important lessons along the way.
Meet Alex
Alex is a former lawyer who successfully transitioned into the business/tech world. He specializes in helping startups sell their technology to law firms and legal departments. Currently, he’s the Director of Business Development at Evisort, an AI-powered contract lifecycle management system developed out of Harvard Law/MIT.
Previously, Alex was an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell, clerked for a federal judge, and graduated from Northwestern Law, where he was an editor of the law review and the student commencement speaker. He’s also the author of The Unauthorized Guide to Getting Into Law School With Bad Grades.
In his free time, he shares stories from his unconventional career journey on LinkedIn.
Today, Alex shares about:
- As a summer associate, making a list of all the things he was good at and enjoyed, as well as all of the things he was bad at and didn’t like, and realizing that everything he’d be doing as an associate was on that second list.
- Choosing Biglaw over other options because he thought he had to because of his law school debt.
- Failing the bar the first time and getting hired as a federal clerk within a 3 month span.
- Why he went back to Biglaw after his clerkship, even though he knew it wasn’t for him.
- How he realized that he liked persuading people.
- Why trying different jobs is not just about figuring out what you’re good at—it’s also about figuring out what you actually want to be doing.
- How focusing on your core strengths when it comes to career moves helps each opportunity to build on each other.
- The importance of remembering that things change (and how that applies to the niche of legal tech).
- His best advice for lawyers interested in moving into legal tech.
- Learning that just because a job looks good on the outside didn’t mean it was going to align with what he was good at or what he enjoyed.
- Why career moves are learning experiences not just about where you should go, but also about where you shouldn’t go.
Connect with Alex
Mentioned In This Episode
For information about 1:1 coaching with Sarah for Biglaw lawyers, click here.
