Do you hate working as a lawyer? Are you an unhappy lawyer who wants to leave the law, but isn’t sure what to do next? Do your family and friends think you’re crazy for wanting to leave the law, or are you too afraid to tell them you don’t want to be a lawyer? The Former Lawyer Podcast is for you! Each week, host Sarah Cottrell interviews a different former lawyer who has left the law behind. Hear inspiring stories about how these former lawyers are thriving and found their way to careers and lives they love.
Heather Yurovsky went to law school unsure of whether she would practice law long-term. After a year of practice, the verdict was in (no pun intended)—legal practice was not for her. So, Heather embarked on a new career path, learning how to simply take the next step when it revealed itself to her. If you’ve ever worried about needing to…
Valerie Beck felt like she didn’t fit in from the moment she arrived in law school. After several Biglaw jobs and an in-house gig, she decided law was truly not the place for her and decided to forge her own career path in the world of chocolate. Nearly 20 years ago, she started a business providing chocolate tours to people…
In episode 059, Jessica Medina shared all about how she ended up in law school, and then Biglaw, before deciding to leave to take a job at the SEC. In this episode, Jessica shares about how she realized after making the move to the SEC that it wasn’t just Biglaw that she didn’t enjoy—she didn’t enjoy being a lawyer. She…
Jessica Medina went to law school thinking she would work for the government and change the world for the better. But during her 2L year at Columbia Law School, she gave birth to twins and became a single mom. Biglaw seemed the inevitable and obviously correct choice for her if she wanted her family to have a good life. But…
Hobbies and side hustles can seem like a distraction when you’re on the law firm treadmill. But cultivating interests outside the law is often the ticket to figuring out what you really want to do career-wise. In this episode, Helynn Nelson shares about becoming a level 3 sommelier—and how it helped her figure out that she wanted to leave the…
Have you ever looked at the people senior to you at your firm, the partners and senior associates, and thought, “I don’t want your life!” So did former lawyer Helynn Nelson, my guest on this episode of the podcast. Helynn landed a coveted employment litigation associate role in Biglaw, but the lifestyle of a Biglaw lawyer was simply not how…
