In Episode 009 of The Former Lawyer Podcast, Sarah talks with Jen Berson. Jen is a former lawyer who owns and run her own PR Agency, Jeneration PR, and teaches others how to start and grow their own successful agency. In this conversation, Jen shares: How she originally got on the path to law school because she was looking for a reason to stay in the city where she went to college for the summer; Why observing women more senior to her in her law firm made her realize that working at a firm was not for her; What caused her realization that she could make her life happen for her instead of feeling like it was just happening to her; How she was advised by a female mentor to ignore mistreatment by a partner because it would be “career suicide”, but bravely spoke up anyway; How she started doing unpaid PR work on the side while working as a lawyer, before realizing it was something companies would pay for; How she dealt with her parents’ negative reactions to her decision to leave the law; How leaving the law ultimately inspired her husband to make his own career change; How she built a PR business from scratch, and the kind of work she’s doing now; Why she tripled her rates overnight, and landed her dream client the next day; Why your experience in law really can help you in so many other careers; and much more! Check out Jeneration PR, and connect with Jen on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter!  Take the guesswork out of your first steps to leaving the law by grabbing Sarah’s free guide at formerlawyer.com/guide! Pre-order the Jump Start mini-course at formerlawyer.com/jumpstart! Connect with Former Lawyer on Instagram, Facebook,

In Episode 008 of The Former Lawyer Podcast, Sarah has a conversation with Alex Davis. Alex is a former lawyer who is now a writer, content expert, and consultant. Alex’s company, Davis Legal Media, helps attorneys and firms create content strategies to attract their ideal clients. In this conversation, Alex shares: How she decided she was going to be a lawyer at a very young age; Why “you’re so good at arguing” is not a good reason to go to law school; Why she “hit the accelerator” towards a traditional legal career after starting law school without really considering whether that career would be a good fit; How the sunk costs fallacy holds law students and lawyers back; Why litigation was not a good fit for her personality type; Why she struggled with feeling like there was something wrong with her when she realized she didn’t like practicing law; Why she wishes The Former Lawyer Podcast was around when she felt stuck in her lawyer job (hey thanks! :) );  The struggle with feeling directionless once she realized she didn’t want to work as a lawyer;  How she got the idea for her next move from work she was doing for her own firm; The “plan” she had (air quotes her own!) for the company she founded after she left legal practice; What content marketing for lawyers is and how it differs from advertising; Why she thinks we need to flip the script about lawyers and anxiety; How personality typing systems like the Enneagram can help you understand yourself and what career might be the best fit for you; Why we need to challenge the false narrative that you have failed if you decide you don’t like working as a lawyer; and much more! Interested in the Enneagram? Here are some resources to check out: https://assessment.yourenneagramcoach.com/ (free) https://www.truity.com/test/enneagram-personality-test (free) https://tests.enneagraminstitute.com/ ($12) https://www.instagram.com/enneagramandcoffee Check out Davis Legal Media

On today’s show, Sarah talks with Stacy Mikulik. Stacy is a former lawyer who is now a jewelry designer and the owner of grace + hudson jewelry.  In this conversation, Stacy shares: The danger of paying too much attention to what other people are saying about your career without listening to yourself as well; Why law school was a bad fit for her from the start; The confusion she felt about why anyone would want to be a biglaw associate; How inspiration from a shop she visited on vacation propelled her into the world of jewelry-making; The lessons she learned from opening her first jewelry store and why she’s thankful that she did it even though she ultimately closed it; What it was like to run a brick & mortar store while also working as a lawyer, and why she didn’t enjoy running a store; How that experience helped her appreciate certain aspects of working as a lawyer; Why she is a proponent of therapy for unhappy lawyers; How being thoughtful about what success truly means for you can help you clarify what you really want to do with your life; and much more! Check out grace + hudson, and connect with Stacy on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, or by email!  Take the guesswork out of your first steps to leaving the law by grabbing Sarah’s free guide at formerlawyer.com/guide! Learn more and pre-order the Jump Start mini-course at formerlawyer.com/jumpstart! Connect with Former Lawyer on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and

On today’s show, Sarah talks with Matt Maxwell. Matt is a former lawyer who is now a Leadership Coach and Facilitator.  In this conversation, Sarah and Matt talk about: How he found himself asking during the first month of law school, “When did I actually choose to do this?”; How he raised the idea of leaving law school early on with his then-wife, but ultimately was held back by a sunk costs fallacy; Why taking the LSAT was his favorite part of his entire legal journey; The role his spiritual life played in deciding to leave the law; Why he left his in-house job with a great schedule to go back to biglaw AFTER he decided he wanted to leave the law; How he accelerated his exit strategy from the law; What made him decide to become a coach; The difference between professional coaching and advice giving, and the difference between coaching and therapy; The value of both coaching and therapy; The organization that Matt trained with, and why he recommends people check it out if interested in coaching; How our training as lawyers makes us uniquely susceptible to not making a career change; Why you should look for ways to enjoy your job while you’re still working as a lawyer; and much more! Visit Matt’s website, listen to his podcast, and connect with Matt on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn!  Take the guesswork out of your first steps to leaving the law by grabbing Sarah’s free guide at formerlawyer.com/guide! Learn more and pre-order the Jump Start mini-course at formerlawyer.com/jumpstart! Connect with Former Lawyer on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter!

On today’s show, Sarah talks with Heidi Mueller. Heidi is a former lawyer who is now the Director of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice.  In this conversation, Heidi shares about: Why she had an inkling that she might want to leave law firm life even before she started; How she struggled with guilt over the fact that she didn’t like working as a big firm lawyer; The article she read that affirmed her decision to leave; Why she freaked out just as she was leaving her firm, even though she knew she wanted to leave; How she got hired for multiple jobs after leaving the law firm without ever again applying for a job; How a complete stranger was the person who seemed most disturbed by her choice to leave law practice; Why therapy can be so helpful when you are making a decision about leaving the law; How you can get more involved in juvenile justice work if you’re interested; and much more! Take the guesswork out of your first steps to leaving the law by grabbing Sarah’s free guide at formerlawyer.com/guide! Connect with Former Lawyer on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter!

On today’s show, Sarah talks with Nicolle Neulist, a former lawyer who went from lawyer, to information security consultant and analyst, to writing about horse-racing.  In this conversation, Nicolle shares about: Realizing during law school that law was not a good fit; Leaving the law after less than a year as a lawyer; Internally dancing a jig when being laid off during the 2009 contraction of the legal industry; Being willing to accept having law school debt forever in exchange for not hating your job; The mindset most lawyers have about how their career should go that holds them back from considering other options; Why you need to learn to listen to yourself when it comes to your job and career; and much more! Take the guesswork out of your first steps to leaving the law by grabbing Sarah’s free guide at formerlawyer.com/guide! Connect with Former Lawyer on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter!

On today’s show, Sarah interviews Alexis Michaud. In her former life, Alexis was Deputy General Counsel for a newly public technology company.  In this interview, Alexis shares: Why she left the law after practicing for 18 years; How working with an Executive Coach was integral to determining her next move;  Why someone who loves legal work can still want to make a change and leave the law; Why knowing your own work personality is essential when deciding whether to leave the law; The reason she didn’t have pictures of her kids in her office while she was a lawyer (it’s probably not what you think); The turning point that caused her to walk away from an extremely lucrative and interesting job (and why she had to resign multiple times!); and much more! Connect with Alexis on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or by email! Go to https://formerlawyer.com/guide to get Sarah’s free guide, “First Steps to Leaving the Law,” today! Connect with Former Lawyer on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, and access completely free resources to help you leave the law here!

On today’s show, Sarah interviews Maria Phillis, former lawyer turned doctor (ob/gyn, to be specific).  In this interview, Maria shares: Why getting laid off during the big crash of '08/'09 wasn’t a terrible thing in retrospect; Why loving trial work wasn’t enough to keep her in the law;  How she challenged herself to prove that she was truly interested in med school while still working as a lawyer; Why she doesn’t regret taking the path that she took (even though it meant even more student loans); Why she thinks it’s so hard for lawyers particularly to allow themselves to think about making a career change; and Why brutal honesty about what you actually want is essential if you’re thinking about leaving the law. Connect with Maria: https://www.instagram.com/gabi37avsfan/ https://www.twitter.com/mariaphillis [email protected] Get Sarah’s free guide, “First Steps to Leaving the Law,” today, at https://formerlawyer.com/guide! Follow Former Lawyer: https://formerlawyer.com https://facebook.com/formerlawyerpod https://instagram.com/formerlawyer https://twitter.com/formerlawyerpod linkedin.com/company/former-lawyer