There are two very different situations a lawyer can be in when they start thinking about leaving. One is a job that is actively damaging their mental, physical, and emotional health. The other is a job that is just not the long-term answer. What you do to tolerate either one while you're preparing to leave is going to look pretty different.

The lawyers who come to Sarah after making a move that did not work out are usually the ones who waited until they were close to leaving to start thinking about what they actually wanted to do next. By then, there is not much time left for the reflection that process requires.

In this episode of The Former Lawyer Podcast, Sarah Cottrell talks about how to tell which situation you're in, why a bridge job is often the right move if your environment is genuinely toxic, and what lawyers in less extreme situations can be doing right now to make the time they're still there feel useful instead of stuck.

0:56 - What a bridge job actually does when you're in a toxic environment

2:23 - Why "tolerating" your job never means staying somewhere that's damaging you

3:24 - Being realistic about your timeline and what the work actually looks like

4:11 - How long the Collab framework typically takes when you give it a couple hours a week

5:16 - Why the day you can leave is not the day to start figuring out what's next

6:14 - What makes tolerating your job easier while you're preparing to leave

7:40 - What to do if you see yourself leaving eventually but not soon

9:15 - Why giving yourself time instead of rushing is one of the best uses of your time in a lawyer job

Mentioned In Tolerating Your Lawyer Job While You're Preparing to Leave

Do You Need a Bridge Job? Key Questions for Lawyers in Transition

First Steps to Leaving the Law

The Former Lawyer Collaborative