#99: When Partnership Doesn’t Mean Control: How BigLaw’s Structure Can Limit Your Autonomy and What You Can Do About It
Big Law Life
In this episode, I tackle one of the most persistent myths inside BigLaw: that partnership guarantees freedom. After years of billing, grinding through deal cycles, and fighting for promotion, most lawyers expect partnership to mean finally having more control over clients, staffing, and schedules. But as I explain, the modern BigLaw firm operates much more like a global corporation than the old-school partnership many lawyers imagined as they were working their way towards becoming a partner in their firm. Centralized management, committees, client teams, centralized staffing, and internal...
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#98: Inside Your BigLaw Firm’s Different Measures of Profitability - And How They Affect You
Big Law Life
In this episode, I take a closer look at a topic that many BigLaw lawyers misunderstand: profitability. Most partners focus on the firm’s overall “profits per equity partner” (PEP), but that number tells only part of the story. There are other profitability numbers - internal, often unseen analyses that many attorneys don't focus on but in fact shape how practices and partners are viewed, rewarded, and resourced. I explain how these shadow numbers differ from the publicly announced firm metrics, how factors like leverage, write-offs, and politics distort perceptions of profitability, and...
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#97: The Biggest Mistakes BigLaw Attorneys Make in Business Development
Big Law Life
In this episode, I tackle one of the most common frustrations I hear from partners and senior associates: why business development efforts so often fail to produce consistent, meaningful client work. From my own years as a BigLaw partner and now as a coach, I’ve seen too many capable lawyers equate effort with results, attending conferences, posting on LinkedIn, and taking endless coffee meetings only to find their pipeline still flat a year later. In this episode, I break down the five most common reasons business development efforts stall: lack of focus, inconsistent systems,...
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#96: When Your BigLaw Firm Stops Valuing You: Signs Partners Often Miss
Big Law Life
In this episode, I tackle a critical question for many partners - how to tell when your firm no longer values you and what steps you should take next. I’ve seen too many strong, capable partners blindsided by subtle shifts that signal declining influence, reduced credit, and a fading role in firm strategy. Drawing from my own experience as a BigLaw partner mentoring and managing other partners, as well as serving on executive and other firm leadership committees, I walk through six clear warning signs, from being left out of key decisions to watching your client relationships being...
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#95: The BigLaw Blind Spot: What Many Partners Don’t Understand About PEP
Big Law Life
Most lawyers can recite their firm’s PEP number, but few truly understand what it measures, how their day-to-day actions affect it, or how it affects them (even if they are a non-eequity partner). In this episode, I explain why PEP is often misunderstood, the hidden levers that drive it, and what partners need to know about how it can broadly impact all attorneys across the firm. From billing and collections to leverage ratios, capital contributions, and distribution timing, I break down what really impacts profitability and what that means for both equity and non-equity partners. I...
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#94: How to Respond When Your Mentor Partner Pulls Back from You in BigLaw
Big Law Life
When you’ve spent years building trust with a partner who once championed your career, it can be deeply unsettling when they suddenly stop giving you work, exclude you from client calls, or even fail to support your partnership candidacy. I’ve seen this happen often in BigLaw. It’s painful, hard to understand, and often tough to find a way to move forward without that support. In this episode, I explain the structural, economic, and political reasons that drive this kind of behavior, and the concrete steps you can take to protect your career, your client relationships, and your...
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#93: Making Partner in BigLaw in the AI Era
Big Law Life
Today, the road to partnership involves more than billing hours and producing great work. It's also now about more than business development, firm economics, and client relationships. A new factor also driving advancement is artificial intelligence. AI is already reshaping research, diligence, drafting, and reporting. In addition, it compresses tasks that once justified entire teams of associates. That means the old BigLaw pyramid model is under pressure, and the skills firms now look for in future partners are shifting rapidly. In this episode, I walk through what partnership track...
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#92: What to Do When the Work Dries Up - Responding to Enforcement & Regulatory Downturns in BigLaw
Big Law Life
If you have built your BigLaw career around a thriving regulatory or enforcement practice, you know how difficult it can be for you and your practice when that work suddenly isn't there. One month you are buried in nvestigations motivated by government inquiries or merger reviews, and the next your phone goes quiet because enforcement priorities shifted, agency budgets got cut, or a new administration has redirected resources. It is unsettling, especially when your brand, reputation and and client base are tied to that flow of work. In this episode, I walk through the reality of what it can...
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#91: Why Collaboration Matters in BigLaw
Big Law Life
Collaboration can feel like a buzzword that doesn’t align with how law firms actually reward people. Hours and origination credit often outweigh teamwork, and silos, competition, and fee pressures make working together seem like an uphill battle. But here’s the truth: collaboration isn’t optional if you want to grow in BigLaw. Clients expect seamless service across firms and practices, and internally within your firm, collaboration expands your visibility, strengthens trust, and opens doors to opportunities might never get on your own. In this episode, I break down the real obstacles...
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#90: How to Handle Ambiguity in BigLaw Assignments
Big Law Life
One of the toughest parts of BigLaw life is dealing with unclear or contradictory instructions. Partners often send cryptic emails, clients can be vague, and deadlines shift without explanation. You can waste hours second-guessing what a partner really wants. Or you can get smart about how to deal with ambiguity and recognize that mastering it is part of the job in BigLaw. In this episode, I share the practical strategies you can use to navigate those moments, from clarifying vague assignments without pestering, to using timeboxing and judgment calls when no direction is available. I...
info_outlineIn today’s episode, I’m diving into how to stay strategic when the legal market slows or your practice area begins to shrink. These shifts are inevitable in any long-term legal career but how you respond can define your next chapter. I walk through how to assess whether you’re facing a temporary dip or a deeper structural change, and how to use that insight to proactively adapt.
Whether you’re exploring a pivot within your firm, aiming to future-proof your practice, or quietly preparing for a move, this episode gives you a clear roadmap to act with confidence rather than panic. I also cover how to show up visibly at your firm, deepen your network, and identify overlooked opportunities that can make you indispensable, even when work is light.
At a Glance:
00:00 Introduction and and why downturns are a critical moment to take strategic control of your career
01:20 How market slowdowns expose firm and practice vulnerabilities
03:02 Recognizing whether your practice decline is cyclical or structural—and how to respond
05:08 Pivoting within your firm: cross-training, lateral moves, and internal repositioning
07:22 Rebranding your skill set to meet evolving client and market needs
09:18 Staying valuable through client development, visibility, and strategic connections
11:10 Preparing your network and materials in case of a job search
13:14 Staying engaged and billable when work is light
15:15 Following firm economics and identifying growth opportunities
16:50 Evaluating whether to stay or go—and setting yourself up for the next move
17:56 Final thoughts on planning proactively instead of reacting to firm decisions
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Interested in doing 1-2-1 coaching with Laura Terrell? Or learning more about her work coaching and consulting?
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laura@lauraterrell.com
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Show notes: https://www.lauraterrell.com/podcast