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.2025 was a difficult year. If you're already in an overwhelming job, everything else happening in the world makes it even harder to think clearly about your career.But even in difficult years, lawyers leave the legal profession and find work they actually want to do. Even when things are rough, it's still possible.See show notes at formerlawyer.com/294

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.Because there are actually two very different kinds.See show notes at formerlawyer.com/239

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 clear. She's not here to convince anyone to leave the law.See show notes at formerlawyer.com/251

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 moment." If that sounds like you, there's something you can do.This is going to be the most unsurprising recommendation, but one of the things that's really important for lawyers who are going through the process of figuring out what they want to do that isn't practicing law is therapy.See show notes at formerlawyer.com/293

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 something else. They didn't realize how much they needed to know they weren't alone.The legal profession can be deeply isolating, especially for people who are unhappy. In a field focused on prestige, lawyers often feel like they have to maintain a professional persona just to be taken seriously. It becomes hard to admit that the work doesn't fit, even to yourself. Lawyers who want out often believe they're the only ones who feel that way. They look around at colleagues who seem fine and wonder what's wrong with them for struggling.In this episode Sarah shares why finding even just one or two other people also going through this process can make leaving the law so much easier. See show notes at formerlawyer.com/292

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. But imagining you'd like to leave is not the same thing as deciding that you want to. That shift sounds simple, but it's tied up in identity, prestige, sunk costs, and everything you've been taught about what it means to be successful. It's the first real hurdle for a lot of lawyers, and one that's easy to avoid.See show notes at formerlawyer.com/291

There comes a point where the math you’ve been doing in your head stops adding up. You spent years in school. You passed the bar. You took on the loans. You built the career you were told would make it all worth it. Now you’re tired, anxious, or checked out, but the idea of leaving makes your stomach drop. It feels like walking away means none of it mattered.That’s how the sunk cost trap works. It convinces smart people that the only respectable choice is to stick with a decision that’s hurting them. It tells you that if you bail now, everything you put into becoming a lawyer disappears.If you’re stuck in the “I can’t throw this away” spiral and need help figuring out your next step you need to listen to this. See show notes at formerlawyer.com/249

Zi Lin did everything “right.” Philosophy major, law school, great grades, OCI, Biglaw offer, six-figure salary. From the outside, the path looked impressive. From the inside, it felt like being processed through a conveyor belt. No one asked whether the career actually fit. It was just the obvious next step. Parents approved. Professors approved. Colleagues approved. When everyone around you nods along, it’s easy to assume there’s nothing to think about.The problem came later, once Zi was actually practicing. The culture inside the firm didn’t match what was promised. “Bring your whole self to work” sounds supportive until you realize it only applies if your whole self fits the mold. Zi found herself performing a version of “acceptable lawyer,” constantly adjusting how she acted, talked, socialized, even reacted. When your value comes from churning out work and avoiding the wrong reactions, there’s no space to be a person. There’s only survival.In this episode Zi Lin joins Sarah to talk about her experience leaving Biglaw and what she's doing now.Website & PortfolioZori Nori Instagram (@zori_nori)Personal Art Instagram (@garbage_collector_s)Linktree (for all other links, shops, etc.)

A lot of lawyers assume that making more money will make leaving easier. In reality, the opposite often happens. Once you are in a high-paying legal job, it can feel like there is no other path that will work. People outside the profession are usually surprised by this. They assume lawyers have endless options, but many lawyers feel they have to hang on to what they have because there may not be anything else that fits.See show notes at formerlawyer.com/289

A lot of lawyers believe they shouldn’t feel burned out because they haven’t been practicing very long. But burnout isn’t measured by years in the profession. For many lawyers, it started long before their first legal job. Sarah hears from people who have only been in practice a few years and are already exhausted, overwhelmed, or checked out. They feel embarrassed or confused because they can point to colleagues who have been doing it longer. But measuring burnout by the calendar misses the reality of how it develops—especially for high-achieving perfectionists who have been pushing themselves for years before they ever set foot in a law firm.See show notes at formerlawyer.com/288