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.

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6 Jun

Giving Up A Job In The Law For A Growing Side Hustle with David Sparks [TFLP140]

Today, I am sharing my conversation with David Sparks. David practiced law for close to 30 years and he has only recently left his job in the law to focus on his growing side hustle, MacSparky.  In our conversation, we spoke about many different things including what he has found surprising about leaving the law, some of the responses he’s…

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23 May

Working As A Woman In Biglaw And Patent Litigation with Ashley Chi [TFLP138]

On the latest episode of the Former Lawyer Podcast, I spoke with Ashley Chi. Ashley worked in Biglaw for seven years in patent litigation. Then, she went in-house and managed outside patent prosecution attorneys. Now, she works as a legal recruiter.  The episode was listener-requested, looking for a former lawyer who had experience in Biglaw patent work and has had…

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9 May

How Kevin Ha Side Hustled His Way Out Of The Legal Profession [TFLP136]

On the latest episode of the Former Lawyer Podcast, I had a wonderful conversation with Kevin Ha. Kevin has a unique story compared to my other guests because he side hustled his way out of the legal profession and into a full-time blogger. I’m excited for you to hear this conversation about how he went from Biglaw to the government…

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2 May

If You’re Not Suffering In The Law, You’re Not Working Hard Enough [TFLP135]

This week, I want to talk about an issue that I see come up so often for lawyers. What we’re going to talk about today is the mindset of “if you’re not suffering in the law, you’re not working hard enough.” It’s particularly prevalent in really toxic work environments or workplaces, where being consistently overworked is normalized.  Want to learn…

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