Do you dream of leaving law?
Do you hate working as a lawyer? Are you sick of doomscrolling LinkedIn hoping the perfect non-legal job will appear? The Former Lawyer Podcast is hosted by Sarah Cottrell, an ICF-certified career coach who has worked with hundreds of lawyers to help them identify an alternative career. Join her each week for advice and strategies for lawyers who dream of an alternative career, and interviews with former lawyers who have left law behind to find careers and lives that they love.
The Former Lawyer Podcast is a production of Former Lawyer LLC, a career coaching consultancy founded by Sarah that helps lawyers who want to leave law identify the alternative career that is right for them.
Find the podcast on...
Do you dream of leaving law?
Do you hate working as a lawyer? Are you sick of doomscrolling LinkedIn hoping the perfect non-legal job will appear? The Former Lawyer Podcast is hosted by Sarah Cottrell, an ICF-certified career coach who has worked with hundreds of lawyers to help them identify an alternative career. Join her each week for advice and strategies for lawyers who dream of an alternative career, and interviews with former lawyers who have left law behind to find careers and lives that they love.
The Former Lawyer Podcast is a production of Former Lawyer LLC, a career coaching consultancy founded by Sarah that helps lawyers who want to leave law identify the alternative career that is right for them.
Find the podcast on...
23 Jun
Is Making Partner Really Better Than Being an Associate [TFLP273]
You’re a senior associate at a law firm. Maybe you’re in Biglaw, maybe you’re somewhere else, but you’re definitely not happy. You might be anywhere from “this isn’t great” to straight-up miserable. But you’re still there, grinding it out, because you keep telling yourself the same thing: “It’ll get better when I make partner.” This is one of the most…
16 Jun
From Biglaw Misery to a Meaningful Career in Family Law [TFLP272]
Content warning: This post discusses suicidal ideation and mental health struggles. Dan Lemon always wanted to be a lawyer. Even in second grade, when other kids were dreaming about being firefighters or astronauts, Dan was already set on law. He had no lawyers in his family and no real understanding of what practicing law actually meant, just a persistent childhood…
9 Jun
Biglaw Leaders are Cowards and the Effects are More Obvious Now than Ever [TFLP271]
Biglaw has a problem—and it’s not just long hours or impossible billing targets. It’s cowardice at the top. In many of the country’s most prestigious law firms, the real rot is a leadership culture that rewards silence, self-preservation, and going along to get along. Sarah Cottrell, host of The Former Lawyer Podcast, has been calling this out for years: Biglaw…
2 Jun
Supporting The Legal Accountability Project Because Transparency Shouldn’t Be Controversial [TFLP270]
Most lawyers know the truth. The profession is full of unspoken power dynamics. And nowhere is that clearer than inside a courtroom, especially for young lawyers clerking for judges. In this episode of The Former Lawyer Podcast, Sarah shares why she donated to The Legal Accountability Project, a nonprofit co-founded by former podcast guest Aliza Shatzman. It’s an initiative aimed…
26 May
Reddit and Fishbowl Are Great—Except When They’re Not [TFLP269]
Reddit and Fishbowl might not seem like central characters in the story of leaving the law. But they’ve become unexpected mirrors for what’s broken inside the profession. In this episode of The Former Lawyer Podcast, Sarah Cottrell shares why she occasionally scrolls these platforms, what she sees when she does, and how even the “safe” spaces online often end up…