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.
#134: Why Some BigLaw Problems Never Get Solved
How organizations really work when it comes to who owns a problem is key.
#133: How Your Can Better Bill Your Time to Show Your Value in BigLaw
Entering your billable time can be more than just an administrative chore - it can help you show how you add value for the firm and clients.
#132: The 7 Signals BigLaw Associates Consistently Misread
Learn to identify what you’re seeing that signals a deeper understanding of how your career is progressing in BigLaw
#131: The Biggest Mistakes BigLaw Attorneys Make with Business Development Plans
If your business developing planning focuses on planning a lot activity but lacks strategy, it’s time for a change.
#130: How to Find Stability When BigLaw’s Structure is Changing
Be aware not just of what changes in BigLaw’s operating and structural approaches are, but how you can best navigate them.
#129: What Junior BigLaw Partners Wish They Understood Earlier
Get prepared to launch well as a new partner, with a deeper understanding of how your responsibilities and challenges will change.
#128: How BigLaw Associates Build Confidence Without Having All the Answers
Instead of trying to eliminate uncertainty, focus on becoming more effective in spite of it.
#127: What Associates Need to Know About Reading Unspoken Signals in BigLaw
Understanding what is going on even when it’s not directly stated is one of the most important skills for junior lawyers.
#126: Why Coherence Can Matter More Than Expertise in BigLaw Teams
Learn why the best teams aren’t engineered based just on who has the best expertise or the biggest profile.
#125: The AmLaw 2026 Rankings: How to Read Beyond the Headline Numbers
What do the numbers really tell you about what a firm’s finances and its culture look like?
#124: Almost a BigLaw Partner: Making Intentional Choices to Build Your Case for Partnership
Active management and calibration of your work, relationships, visibility, and use of your time has never been more critical.
#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.
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.