The podcast for lawyers and business professionals working in, with, and around Big Law
Hear from lawyers and other professionals who have experience navigating work and life in the challenging world of large law firms.
The Podcast
Expert insights and advice to help you achieve your goals in your legal career
Working in and with big law firms is full of challenges — everything from becoming a partner to succeeding as a partner or pivoting to another role, making your case for compensation and recognition as a professional at any level, managing and steering the business of the firm, and engaging these firms as outside counsel.
On this podcast, I share what I’ve learned in a long career as a Big Law partner, and also talk to others — lawyers, business developers, project managers, legal pricing experts, clients, and other professionals — about what they find exciting, engaging, frustrating, challenging and motivating in working with these firms.
You may be:
Already working in Big Law and are looking to advance your career or transition out;
Wondering what it takes to move into a Big Law from government or corporate legal departments;
Trying to improve your relationships with outside counsel at large law firms; or
Otherwise want to understand more about how to engage in the large, complex business environment of major global law firms
For all of these and many other situations, the podcast offers candid and honest advice that will help you take the next best step toward your professional goals in the world of Big Law.
#123: Almost a BigLaw Partner: Do You Have the Right Mentor?
Ensure that you have the right support and guidance when you need it most.
#122: Almost a BigLaw Partner: The Senior Associate Identity Crisis
How can you get on the right path to partnership when you’re no longer just executing on work but also not in a full leadership role?
#121: How BigLaw Office Design Impacts Culture, with Gensler’s Christian Amolsch and Jordan Novak
Learn what BigLaw firms are doing to embrace office design that actually helps shape culture, visibility and collaboration.
#120: Why Your Performance Review Doesn’t Match the Work You’re Doing in BigLaw
Learn how to identify what is causing a gap between your view of your work and what your evaluators are seeing - and what you can do about it.
#119: Why “One Firm” in BigLaw Rarely Works the Way it Sounds
Understanding the reality of how your firm operates is critical even when the external messaging may be different.
#118: Before Saying Yes: Know What Partnership At Your BigLaw Firm Really Means
Do you know enough about what partnership at your firm is like to decide if you want to be a partner there?
#117: Building a Book of Business Without Taking Clients from Other Partners
Learn how to develop your own book of business without stepping on other partners’ toes.
#116: How to Plan to Exit BigLaw and Why Most Associates Wait Too Long
Don’t be caught without a plan for how you’ll be best prepared to leave - and that planning starts early in your BigLaw career
#115: Social Media in BigLaw: What to Post, What to Avoid, and Staying Out of Trouble with Your Firm and Clients
Learn how to make the most of social media as a tool you can use to bolster your brand and network, without risking backlash due to firm rules or client concerns.
#114: AI Won’t Replace BigLaw Associates, But It Will Expose Weak Writing and Poor Judgment
AI is changing how associates need to learn earlier in their BigLaw careers to write with clarity and demonstrate good judgment and analysis. Because the more AI can do, the higher the bar is for you.
#113: The Structural Power Changes Reshaping BigLaw
Learn what is leading large law firms to make significant pivots in how they promote, compensate and evaluate the career paths for senior associates, counsels, and junior partners - and how you can best navigate this new reality.
#112: A Few of the Unwritten Rules of BigLaw
Get smart about the quiet but usually unspoken things that BigLaw is signaling so that you don’t miss what you need to know.
#111: Weekend Work in BigLaw: What’s Normal, What’s Dysfunctional, and What It Signals About Your Future
Not all weekend work is created equal so learn how to determine what is healthy and role appropriate as opposed to dysfunctional and draining.
#110: How the Cravath Scale Actually Works in BigLaw for Mid- and Senior-Level Associates
Learn what you need to know about what is and isn’t standard about a scale that isn’t designed to guarantee equal outcomes or compensation for advanced associates.
#109: When You Were Assured of BigLaw Partnership This Year But It Didn’t Happen
How do you determine what happened when you did everything you were told to do to make it and yet you still weren’t elected partner? And how do you assess whether partnership will be achievable in the future for you at the firm?
#108: Inside Goodwin’s Client Immersion Program for Junior Associates - With Lynda Galligan and Josh Klatzkin
Learn how Goodwln’s program for early training and working in-house with clients has changed the development model for junior associates.
#107: Do You Have to Be a Big Rainmaker to Succeed in BigLaw?
Attorneys who are force multipliers in firms that value how this drives business can forge a clear path to partnership.
#106: 10 Things BigLaw Attorneys and Business Professionals Should Do in January (But Usually Don’t)
Get ready for a new calendar year and meaningful progress in a better way.
#105: Cringe-Free BigLaw Goals for Associates in the New Year
Avoid trying to make changes that are unrealistic and instead focus on practical, small steps that compound to make you more visible and impactful.
#104: BigLaw Partnership Timing: What Actually Controls When You Make Partner
Get clear on not just how you make partner based on your capabilities and skills - but also what factors you need to be realistic about that may affect timing.
Guests on Big Law Life
Interested in being a guest on Big Law Life?
Contact Laura at laura@lauraterrell.com to share what you would like to add to the conversation about life in big law firms.