Like many lawyers, I’m fairly risk adverse. I enjoy predictability and stability. Yet I also crave job satisfaction. Over time, I’ve noticed that my greatest levels of stress have occurred when those values were at odds with each other. Looking back, I’ve realized that to be fully engaged in my work, I’ve had to take some chances and get comfortable with change. It felt risky at the time, but the payoff has been priceless.
The first big change came several years into law practice. I was doing meaningful employment discrimination work, but I was not happy. I was demoralized by the combative nature of litigation, by the remedies that were ineffective at making my clients whole, and by the inefficiency of the system. Everything about it felt like a struggle, and I was miserable.
Walking away from being a lawyer was not an obvious option. After all of the time and money I had invested in my education and training, how could I justify it? How could I explain it to my family? And if I wasn’t a lawyer, what would I be? I couldn’t see the path forward.
As much as I knew that my current role wasn’t a good fit, I knew that I enjoyed counseling my clients, and I was still fascinated by issues related to employment. I sought out the guidance of a career counselor and realized that her job looked pretty cool! I applied for a position as a law school career counselor, and from the moment I got the job, everything changed. I discovered an excitement and ease in the work that had been absent in my work as an attorney. I was energized by the job, and found that it came naturally. I had found my professional home.
For the next twenty years, I loved my work. It was an ideal situation: I was doing work I enjoyed, for an institution I believed in, serving students I was committed to, and with colleagues I respected. Everything lined up, and I could think of nothing else I’d rather do.
And then it was time for a change.
This time around was different. I wasn’t experiencing the acute struggle I had dealt with as a lawyer. Instead, I gradually sensed that I needed something new. The predictable cycles of the academic calendar now felt burdensome. I was exhausted from managing a team. Instead of serving clients, I was spending my time in meetings and writing reports. I craved a different relationship to my work: one where I could have direct impact on my clients, while having the autonomy to determine my own priorities and integrate my role as a parent with my work.
So in 2015 I walked away from the job I loved and where I had been valued, and left the city that I had called home my entire adult life. I took a leap and hoped that the net would appear.
I landed in Portland, where I knew very few people, and I started to create a new path for myself. I traded in the steady paycheck and built-in client base that the law school provided and decided to launch a private career coaching practice.
I followed the advice I had shared with so many students and lawyers over the years: I went back to school to deepen my expertise, I started connecting with lawyers and coaches in my new community, and got involved in professional organizations. I developed a presence through speaking and writing, and maintained ties to my large professional network.
Over time, my practice gained traction, and I discovered that I love working for myself. I set my own priorities and get to work with clients I admire. Each day I learn something new, whether it’s mastering a new coaching technique, setting up an administrative process, or sharing a powerful insight with a client.
I love helping my clients transform their lives. Many of them have tolerated difficult circumstances for a long time out of fear and inertia. When they finally realize that their discomfort is a call to action and not something to be avoided, they begin to create the future they've always wanted.
I love my job!
The first big change came several years into law practice. I was doing meaningful employment discrimination work, but I was not happy. I was demoralized by the combative nature of litigation, by the remedies that were ineffective at making my clients whole, and by the inefficiency of the system. Everything about it felt like a struggle, and I was miserable.
Walking away from being a lawyer was not an obvious option. After all of the time and money I had invested in my education and training, how could I justify it? How could I explain it to my family? And if I wasn’t a lawyer, what would I be? I couldn’t see the path forward.
As much as I knew that my current role wasn’t a good fit, I knew that I enjoyed counseling my clients, and I was still fascinated by issues related to employment. I sought out the guidance of a career counselor and realized that her job looked pretty cool! I applied for a position as a law school career counselor, and from the moment I got the job, everything changed. I discovered an excitement and ease in the work that had been absent in my work as an attorney. I was energized by the job, and found that it came naturally. I had found my professional home.
For the next twenty years, I loved my work. It was an ideal situation: I was doing work I enjoyed, for an institution I believed in, serving students I was committed to, and with colleagues I respected. Everything lined up, and I could think of nothing else I’d rather do.
And then it was time for a change.
This time around was different. I wasn’t experiencing the acute struggle I had dealt with as a lawyer. Instead, I gradually sensed that I needed something new. The predictable cycles of the academic calendar now felt burdensome. I was exhausted from managing a team. Instead of serving clients, I was spending my time in meetings and writing reports. I craved a different relationship to my work: one where I could have direct impact on my clients, while having the autonomy to determine my own priorities and integrate my role as a parent with my work.
So in 2015 I walked away from the job I loved and where I had been valued, and left the city that I had called home my entire adult life. I took a leap and hoped that the net would appear.
I landed in Portland, where I knew very few people, and I started to create a new path for myself. I traded in the steady paycheck and built-in client base that the law school provided and decided to launch a private career coaching practice.
I followed the advice I had shared with so many students and lawyers over the years: I went back to school to deepen my expertise, I started connecting with lawyers and coaches in my new community, and got involved in professional organizations. I developed a presence through speaking and writing, and maintained ties to my large professional network.
Over time, my practice gained traction, and I discovered that I love working for myself. I set my own priorities and get to work with clients I admire. Each day I learn something new, whether it’s mastering a new coaching technique, setting up an administrative process, or sharing a powerful insight with a client.
I love helping my clients transform their lives. Many of them have tolerated difficult circumstances for a long time out of fear and inertia. When they finally realize that their discomfort is a call to action and not something to be avoided, they begin to create the future they've always wanted.
I love my job!