Former Lawyer Podcast with Sarah Cottrell: Part 2

Mar 26

Jessica Medina: From Biglaw To The SEC To Financial Counselor For Biglaw Lawyers (TFLP 060)

This is the second half of my conversation with Sarah Cottrell on her podcast, The Former Lawyer Podcast.

Sarah worked as a lawyer for 10 years, first as a Biglaw litigator, then in publishing and finally as an appellate court staff attorney. During that decade she and her husband paid off $400k in debt (mostly student loans) and now she’s doing what she loves, helping other lawyers find clarity and support in their lives outside of practicing law.

During round two of the deep dive of my journey we talk lots about lawyers, finances, money and student loans that consume a lot of lives.

By the time I actually got the SEC and had a minute to take a breath, I looked back and was shocked thinking about how I had gotten there in the first place! The financial industry was never something I saw myself doing, let alone regulating.

Eventually that same unfulfilling feeling started creeping up. That’s when I started to get real about not being a lawyer and making a plan. I got bit by the financial independence bug, met my husband and was able to shorten my Biglaw exit plan from 10 to JUST FIVE YEARS.

During the course of this episode you can hear me share about:

Two of the best things about leaving Biglaw
Realizing I DO have other passions (and they involved spreadsheets)
How I developed my long-term plan to leave the law
Becoming an accredited financial counselor vs a career counselor
Why support from people who aren’t lawyers is really beneficial
A few reasons lawyers in Biglaw have very different financials needs

Part 2 of our conversation can be found at: www.formerlawyer.com/060

If you know you don’t want to be in Biglaw for the rest of your career, I can help you get the money piece in order so you can comfortably move forward with whatever your next steps may be. Schedule a no-hassle, free chat. www.jessicamedinallc.com/scheduling