From my home as a legal columnist, I don`t hear much about ex-lawyers. But pseudonymous comments from Hax readers provide insight into why, despite the expense and effort required to attend law school and the existence of the bar association, so many lawyers still leave major law firms. Have you ever dreamed of working outside of traditional legal practice in another role? Maybe you studied law to practice law, but you decided you wanted to use your talents elsewhere. Or maybe you`ve experienced a change in life circumstances and would like to explore a corresponding change over the course of your career. You can even consider sticking to the traditional practice while adding non-traditional work to your plate. The formal way to leave a law firm begins with writing a resignation letter and personally informing your manager. Depending on the circumstances, this may not be possible and you will need to stop via video or phone call. For me, the worst case of working in the legal profession, although not yet as a lawyer, was still a much better case than many. Think about what happens if your career change doesn`t work out.
Is the “worst-case scenario” you`ve identified something you can`t imagine at all? If so, you`ll have to redesign things and find a better and tastier way to regain some form of stability before hitting the road. This goes a long way in anchoring your trust before you take that leap and leave the law. If you`re wondering when to leave your law firm, you won`t feel like there`s a good time there. There are always customer cases and pending cases. The timing of your departure is also difficult if you have to leave suddenly due to external circumstances. Pro bono work can help you keep your traditional exercise skills honed while providing much-needed support to disadvantaged people. Formal volunteer opportunities often include coverage and resources in cases of violence that allow you to provide specialized assistance. – You will forever apply what you learned and acquired in law school.
Remember, just because you started giving up law doesn`t mean what you learned as a lawyer (problem recognition, strong writing skills, persuasion techniques, public speaking) was wasted. While there are many articles encouraging lawyers to change careers, saying that lawyers are excellent project managers, journalists, CFOs, etc., I think a relatively new lawyer trying to leave the practice makes the job search more complicated than otherwise. They are underqualified for most roles, which even require a year or two of experience (these will go to people who have had comparable roles in subordinate positions) and overqualified for roles that do not require experience (these roles go to more typical candidates, recent university graduates – why would an educated lawyer want to be a marketing assistant, whatever?) If you`re lucky enough to get an interview somewhere for a non-legal position, I bet there`s a 75% chance they`ll ask you or tell you that the role you`re interviewing for isn`t meant to be a stepping stone to an in-house consulting position. BigLaw`s journey to the soup eater has been that of many people who have been asked about during my decade of nomadic life. So much so that halfway through, I created a “Life Under the Law” series to provide case studies for lawyers or law students who wanted something less conventional than private practice. I called the series Thrillable Hours, which I found hilarious. (Non-lawyers didn`t seem to find this funny, though!) Through Leave Law Behind, I work with many smart, motivated, friendly, resourceful, knowledgeable, but unhappy, dissatisfied, demotivated, angry and exhausted lawyers. They tell me they want to leave the law behind and explore a whole new job. They tell me that they want to change their current legal practice to have more fun in their work. As I have written in many publications, my column Above the Law, and taught in CLE classes, you can find happiness inside and outside the law. A law degree and practice of law equips you with a wide range of coveted and transferable skills, including research and writing, public speaking, analysis and creative thinking, problem solving, and strategic negotiation. Lawyers are trained to think differently, and this difference is perceived positively in the outside world.
You can plan as much as you want, separate yourself from law school, and be as self-analytical as you want. But nothing will happen, you will never be able to create a new life for yourself if you do not look and begin to face your fears of change and leaving the law. It is, of course, a lifelong process, but as with everything, there are small, incremental steps you can take now to develop the courage, emotions, and structure to face your fears and leave the law behind. Before you leave your office, make sure you have a transition plan in place. Educate your team on current affairs and cases to ensure they have everything they need to successfully represent clients. 1. I`m afraid that if I leave law, I won`t look like any of my lawyer friends Stinson Woodward Ferguson is an associate attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center in Charleston, South Carolina, focusing primarily on energy and water issues. She is a Licensed Funeral Director and Director of Organizational Development for J.W. Woodward Funeral Home, Inc. Prior to her current position, she was Director of Pro Bono Programming for the South Carolina Bar Association.
Prior to joining the Bar Association, she worked as a litigator with a focus on construction and procurement disputes. Commercial litigation, financial services litigation and environmental issues, advice and representation of construction and utilities, credit institutions and healthcare providers. Prior to her private practice, Ms. Ferguson worked for the Honorable Kristi L. Harrington, South Carolina Circuit Court, Ninth Circuit. She has also worked for the S.C. Environmental Law Project as part of a fellowship program. Remember to keep your foot in the door of traditional practice. If you`re not sure you`ll never want to get involved in traditional legal practice again, consider keeping your foot in the door. Don`t quickly transition to inactive bar status or abandon your legal networks.
Stay in touch with your local, state, and national bar associations. Find and take advantage of pro bono opportunities near you. This third step to leaving the law behind helps unhappy, angry, potentially unrealized lawyers, not entirely satisfied with understanding us better, to change course (quite or slightly) to make sure we do it and get paid for what we know how to do and love. It is a pillar of planning that is needed to leave the law behind. Do your best to go on good terms, make a proper announcement, support your transition plan, and always put your customers and ethics first. And if not, if you find that your expenses are too high and your financial resources are too low, you now have the information you need to recalibrate your financial situation to leave the law on the road. Have thick skin. Many of us in traditional legal practice have identities that are closely tied to our work. Even if you`re looking forward to a new chapter in another role, you need to reinvent yourself and yourself in new ways.
unlearning things that have become second nature in traditional practice; And be prepared for questions and comments from family, friends, colleagues, and people you interact with who learn you`ve decided to transition. There are also new opportunities to work in emerging areas of law that did not exist when I was in practice or in law school. Areas like: As you`ll see below, there are endless possibilities if you want to leave the law. – We are beginning to realize that we can leave the law by building trust, gaining momentum, taking low or risk-free “small steps” In this series, I asked all former lawyers the same 5 questions to ask them how they see the world today. The interview also focused on advice to people who wish to leave the law. Where should they start? How do you navigate with this kind of change? These interviews are at the bottom of the page and have been a great source of advice for lawyers and students.