Rephonic
Artwork for The Former Lawyer Podcast

The Former Lawyer Podcast

Sarah Cottrell
Career Transition
Mental Health
Career Change
Legal Profession
Therapy
Burnout
Law
Work-Life Balance
Law Profession
Job Satisfaction
Biglaw
Lawyers
Sunk Cost Fallacy
Law School
Values
Big Law
Perfectionism
Personal Development
Coaching
Lawyer Mental Health

Do you hate working as a lawyer? Are you an unhappy lawyer who wants to leave the law, but isn't sure what to do next? Do your family and friends think you're crazy for wanting to leave the law, or are you too afraid to tell them you don't want to be a lawyer? The Former Lawyer Podcast is for you! Each week, host Sarah Cottrell interviews a different former lawyer who has left the law behind. Hear... more

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes364Founded7 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
CareersBusinessEducationSelf-Improvement

Listen to this Podcast

Artwork for The Former Lawyer Podcast

Latest Episodes

“There’s a reason they call it a job.” “If it was fun, everyone would do it.” “The grass isn’t always greener.” Lawyers who hate their jobs hear some version of this all the time from people outside of the legal profession, usually when they are tryi... more

When you start thinking about leaving the law, it is really common to realize that some of what you are trying to figure out is about your career and some of it goes much deeper than that. You may need help understanding what kind of work would actua... more

You can know that you do not want to keep practicing law and still have no idea what you want to do. You may not even know what you could do. A lot of lawyers assume they need to have some sense of the answer before they can start when the process is... more

After years in the law, it can be easy to believe that creativity simply is not part of who you are. Maybe you stopped making time for things you used to enjoy, or maybe you decided a long time ago that being artistic was not practical, serious, or s... more

Key Facts

Accepts Guests
Contact Information
Podcast Host
Number of Listeners
Find out how many people listen to this podcast per episode and each month.

Similar Podcasts

People also subscribe to these shows.

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen YangBig Money Players Network and iHeartPodcasts
Career Contessa
Career ContessaCareer Contessa
The Daily
The DailyThe New York Times
SmartLess
SmartLessJason Bateman, Sean Hayes, Will Arnett

Recent Guests

Alex Su
Former practicing lawyer, now Chief Revenue Officer at Latitude Legal
Latitude Legal
Episode: How Lawyers Can Rethink Their Skills for Business with Alex Su
Zach Reisch
Co-owner of Rozzie Fitness and personal trainer
Rozzie Fitness
Episode: From Commercial Litigator to Personal Trainer and Business Owner with Zach Reisch
Amy Terwilliger
Certified sex and relationship coach; former attorney
Independent coach; former large law firm
Episode: Leaving Biglaw to Become a Sex and Relationship Coach with Amy Terwilleger
Ben Chiriboga
Founder of Reframe Lawyer, platform helping lawyers move into legal technology and AI careers
Reframe Lawyer
Episode: How to Break Into Legal Tech and AI as a Lawyer with Ben Chiriboga
Zi Lin
Former lawyer turned artist
Episode: You Don’t Have to Earn the Right to Leave the Law with Zi Lin
Tiffany Obeng
Former practicing lawyer turned author and publisher focusing on diverse children's literature
Sugar Cookie Books
Episode: From Biglaw Impostor Syndrome to Publishing Diverse Children's Books with Tiffany Obeng
Bryson Malcolm
Legal recruiter and founder of Mosaic Search Partners, focused on representing historically underrepresented attorneys in Biglaw
Mosaic Search Partners
Episode: Legal Recruiter Bryson Malcolm Calls Out Firms That Abandon Diversity
Dan Lemon
Lawyer and member of The Collab who practices family law after leaving big law.
Episode: From Biglaw Misery to a Meaningful Career in Family Law
Elisa Schatzman
Co-founder of the Legal Accountability Project
Legal Accountability Project
Episode: Supporting The Legal Accountability Project Because Transparency Shouldn’t Be Controversial

Host

Sarah Cottrell
Host of The Former Lawyer Podcast

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars from 135 ratings
  • Helpful to hear the truth

    As an attorney, I’ve gotten so used to lying to myself. Listening to this podcast reminds me of truths I’ve buried for a long time. And that tells me I’m not alone. It’s eerie. Thank you so much Sarah, for doing this work.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Kimacima
    United States2 years ago
  • A must for anyone even thinking about thinking about leaving the law

    If you’re feeling the push to leave the law Sarah shares incredible and actionable insights + hear from former lawyers about their experiences leaving the law.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    TheStaceyHarris
    United States4 years ago
  • Thank You

    Thank you for this podcast. Relatable and well thought out. Feels great that someone gets it!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Meggers1233
    United States4 years ago
  • Great podcast!

    So happy to have found this podcast.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Elizabeth in VA
    United States4 years ago
  • Great interviews

    I feel seen!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Pehmbeh
    United States5 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Content is relatable for non-lawyers seeking career change as well as lawyers.
Shows how to navigate leaving law with practical, compassionate guidance.
Listeners feel seen and understood by host and guests.
Guests are varied and insightful, offering realistic paths beyond traditional practice.
Audiences appreciate actionable steps and therapeutic framing, though some point to audio quality inconsistencies.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts
#177
United States/Business/Careers
Apple Podcasts
#102
New Zealand/Business/Careers
Apple Podcasts
#164
Indonesia/Business/Careers
Apple Podcasts
#237
Norway/Business/Careers
Apple Podcasts
#250
Argentina/Business/Careers

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

How Lawyers Can Rethink Their Skills for Business with Alex Su
Q: What are the big differences in mindset between practicing law and working in a performance-based business role?
In law you're trained to push through details and do everything perfectly, while in business you must be outcome-focused, willing to try multiple approaches, and ready to move on quickly if an approach doesn't work.
How Lawyers Can Rethink Their Skills for Business with Alex Su
Q: Alex, where do you want to start in terms of framing the high-level points about shifting from law to business?
The core distinction is that business rewards outcomes and impact, not hours worked, so lawyers moving into business need to embrace experimentation, prioritize ruthlessly, and learn to measure success by revenue-related metrics rather than traditional legal hours.
Making a Career Change When You're Afraid of Getting It Wrong with Kelcey Baker
Q: Hi, and welcome to The Former Lawyer Podcast. I'm your host, Sarah Cottrell. I am excited as always, but particularly excited because this is not your first time on the podcast. So can you introduce yourself to the listeners and give them a little bit of background on who you are and what they might have heard you talk about before on this podcast?
Kelcey Baker introduces herself, recounting her past as a paralegal and lawyer, and notes prior appearances where she discussed her experiences in the collab and remarks about narcissism in the legal profession.
From Commercial Litigator to Personal Trainer and Business Owner with Zach Reisch
Q: Can you tell me what made you decide to go to law school in the first place?
He pursued law because his parents were lawyers and he wanted to use his research and writing skills while hoping to help people.
From Biglaw Misery to a Meaningful Career in Family Law
Q: Why did you decide to become a lawyer in the first place?
I was the kid who always wanted to be a lawyer and I didn't have any lawyers in my family. I didn’t know really what practicing law was all about.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
Interests
Professions
Age Range
Household Income
Social Media Reach

Frequently Asked Questions About The Former Lawyer Podcast

What is The Former Lawyer Podcast about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A show focused on helping unhappy lawyers rethink their careers by sharing real pivot stories from former lawyers who left traditional practice for business, entrepreneurship, coaching, or other professions. Episodes emphasize practical steps, therapy and mental health, structured career design, and the creativity required to translate legal skills into new paths such as tech, sales, and wellness. The conversations frequently highlight overcoming burnout, managing fear of failure, and building confidence to pursue “non-traditional” futures, often with tactical frameworks, bridge jobs, and supportive programs. Notable traits include candid discussions about therapy, personality factors like perfectionism and ADHD, and a host who consistently... more

Where can I find podcast stats for The Former Lawyer Podcast?

Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for The Former Lawyer Podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to The Former Lawyer Podcast and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.

How many listeners does The Former Lawyer Podcast get?

Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for four million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for The Former Lawyer Podcast, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.

What are the audience demographics for The Former Lawyer Podcast?

Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for The Former Lawyer Podcast, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.

How many subscribers and views does The Former Lawyer Podcast have?

To see how many followers or subscribers The Former Lawyer Podcast has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

Which podcasts are similar to The Former Lawyer Podcast?

These podcasts share a similar audience with The Former Lawyer Podcast:

1. Happen To Your Career - Meaningful Work, Career Change, Career Design, & Job Search
2. Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
3. Career Contessa
4. The Daily
5. SmartLess

How many episodes of The Former Lawyer Podcast are there?

The Former Lawyer Podcast launched 7 years ago and published 364 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact The Former Lawyer Podcast?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for The Former Lawyer Podcast?

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for The Former Lawyer Podcast from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.

How do I access podcast episode transcripts for The Former Lawyer Podcast?

Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of The Former Lawyer Podcast. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.

What guests have appeared on The Former Lawyer Podcast?

Recent guests on The Former Lawyer Podcast include:

1. Alex Su
2. Zach Reisch
3. Amy Terwilliger
4. Ben Chiriboga
5. Zi Lin
6. Tiffany Obeng
7. Bryson Malcolm
8. Dan Lemon

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

Find and pitch the right podcasts

We help savvy brands, marketers and PR professionals to find the right podcasts for any topic or niche. Get the data and contacts you need to pitch podcasts at scale and turn listeners into customers.
Try it free for 7 days