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.
 
      
      #96: When Your BigLaw Firm Stops Valuing You: Signs Partners Often Miss
It happens, to very capable and strong partners, so you need to be aware of when it may be happening to you, and what you can and should be doing about it.
 
      
      #95: The BigLaw Blind Spot: What Many Partners Don’t Understand About PEP
You know it’s important, but do you really understand how it affects you?
 
      
      #94: How to Respond When Your Mentor Partner Pulls Back from You in BigLaw
Learn how to respond and act strategically when your relationship with your mentor or sponsor partner begins to change and you no longer feel the support you need.
 
      
      #93: Making Partner in BigLaw in the AI Era
Get smarter about what you need to do to make sure AI fluency is part of what you offer as a candidate for partner - and to show how this adds value to your firm.
 
      
      #92: What to Do When the Work Dries Up - Responding to Enforcement & Regulatory Downturns in BigLaw
How can you respond when your practice area starts to slow because government priorities have changed?
 
      
      #91: Why Collaboration Matters in BigLaw
Learning how to collaborate more effectively both within your firm and on behalf of your clients is one of the most critical skills you need to develop.
 
      
      #90: How to Handle Ambiguity in BigLaw Assignments
Mastering the unclear and uncertain direction often given to you in your BigLaw firm is a critical skill.
 
      
      #89: How BigLaw Measures Profitability and What It Means for Your Career
Learn how you can better understand how your firm tracks profitability so you can take control of the numbers that impact your comp, bonus, and long-term prospects.
 
      
      #88: How Strategic Planning Can Help BigLaw Attorneys Succeed In Their Firms - With Sheri Palomaki
Sheri Palomaki joins the podcast to share how strategic planning can help lawyers better develop, design, and execute on their goals for long-term success and sustainability.
 
      
      #87: How BigLaw Lawyers Can Succeed At Business Development Without Firm Support
Don’t let limited firm business development and marketing resources or the wrong ways of working to access and leverage those teams limit your ability to grow your practice and profile.
 
      
      #86: What Your BigLaw Firm Really Means When It Says You’re Not Ready for Partnership
Make sure you really understand what you’re hearing when you get pushback about the timing for your partnership path
 
      
      #85: Why BigLaw Partners Still Need Learning & Development—Leigh Riley on How Foley & Lardner Built a Program That Delivers
Learn from Partner Leigh Riley how Foley & Lardner’s innovative and unique training and development program helps meet the need for continuing learning and growth for partners at all stages of their careers.
 
      
      #84: Finding Ways to Raise Your Visibility in BigLaw When You Lack External Opportunities
Find ways to drive your profile and brand externally - beyond traditional opportunities that are less available to you.
 
      
      #83: Business Development in BigLaw: Structural Barriers No One Talks About
Even when you’re doing everything right and working hard to develop business, there are still some factors that are hard to control.
 
      
      #82: Fighting Back Against Credit Theft in BigLaw
Get smart about how to confront people that try to claim your work as their own, and be ready to defend your contributions and achievements.
 
      
      #81: Why BigLaw Lawyers Struggle with Clear Communication - And How to Fix It
Don’t let your communication style hold you back from developing better ways to engage with your clients and colleagues in clear and practical ways.
 
      
      #80: How BigLaw Attorneys Can Better Leverage Conferences for Business Development
Don’t leave another conference wondering whether it was worth the time, money and disruption to your client work. Learn how to strategically approach these opportunities - before, during, and after the event - so that you can better maximize them to develop business and relationships.
 
      
      #79: The Critical Need for Elder & Adult Care Benefits in BigLaw - With Thomas Adrian of Sheppard Mullin
How can BigLaw better assist its lawyers and business professionals who are trying to balance work demands and responsibilities as adult caregivers for parents, adult dependents and other family members? Thomas Adrian of Sheppard Mullin shares the firm’s innovative approach to a comprehensive benefit created in partnership with Homethrive.
 
      
      #78: What To Do When Your BigLaw Firm Won’t Give You a Partnership Timeline
Finding out WHEN you will make partner is critical, so learn how to have the conversations and ask the questions you need to resolve that issue.
 
      
      #77: Missed Opportunities for BigLaw Associates
For lawyers early in their BigLaw careers, who want to move from meeting the firm’s minimum expectations to being seen as strategic and of higher value, this episode breaks down how to show up and demonstrate your ability to do that.
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.
 
                         
             
           
           
          