The Grace Period: Shining A Light on Lawyer Wellbeing
The Grace Period: Shining A Light on Lawyer Wellbeing
Episode 30: Reflections After Three Seasons of The Grace Period
Every lawyer in Big Law experiences that pivotal moment—usually around years three to five—when something shifts. It's not that your initial excitement shatters, but your perspective adjusts, like eyes adapting to a dimly lit room. You begin seeing the profession with greater clarity.
This season finale explores this transformation with candid reflection. When we first enter those gleaming offices with prestigious client names on the walls, everything feels bathed in possibility. But as we grow, we evolve into what might be called "company men" or "company women"—a term that's far more nuanced than it might initially sound.
The positive side? You develop an intuitive understanding of how the machine works. You anticipate needs, navigate challenges, and mentor others through their own journeys. The complicated side? You might catch yourself defending practices you once questioned, telling junior associates "that's just how it is in Big Law"—the very phrases that made you roll your eyes as a newcomer.
For some, this realization leads to an exit strategy. For others, it means staying but creating your own sustainable path. The secret lies in building professional credit through reliability, courage, and trustworthiness that you can later leverage to create flexibility within traditional structures. You can thrive in Big Law while maintaining your values if you consistently ask yourself: "Is this what I want?" and make adjustments accordingly.
Looking ahead to Season 4 (premiering May 2025), we'll continue exploring essential Big Law topics while weaving together threads from past seasons—revisiting billable hours, matter management, partner relationships, and lawyer well-being with fresh perspectives. Whether you're a law student, junior associate, or seasoned attorney, remember that growing up in Big Law doesn't mean losing your ideals. You can learn to work within the system while staying true to yourself.
Find out more at https://thegraceperiod.substack.com/.
Welcome to the Grace Period where we get real about attorney mental health and well-being and pull back the veil on the high-stakes world of big law. I'm your host, emily Logan Stedman. In this demanding profession, it is crucial that we don't lose ourselves in the hustle. For billable hours, honest conversations about finding consistency, minimizing chaos, developing coping strategies and de-stigmatizing mental health and well-being for lawyers. It's time to prioritize our shared humanity, to find our grace period. Welcome to episode 30 of the Grace Period. This is the final episode of season three. Usually on the 10th episode of a season, I recap the season and share what's to come next season. Today I want to do it a little differently, a little off-the-cuff reflection. Many of us have seen coming-of-age movies and there's always a moment when the main character realizes they're not the same person they were at the beginning of the movie, and that's a little bit about what I want to talk about today.
Speaker 1:Growing up in Big Law. After my three-year clerkship, I entered Big Law and it's all I've ever known. When I first walked through those doors, everything seemed bathed in possibility. There were prestigious client names on the lobby walls. There were corner offices high up, even in the clouds. My office was on the 28th floor, overlooking Lake Michigan, the polished conference rooms where deals were made. It was all new and exciting. My rose-colored glasses were firmly in place and why wouldn't they be? I'd worked hard to get there and I had a clean slate looking forward.
Speaker 1:But if you stay in Big Law, something happens. It's not that your rose-colored glasses shatter, but they do adjust, like your eyes adapting to a dimly lit room. You just start seeing things more clearly, not necessarily for better or for worse, just clearer. I think this usually happens around year three, four and five. For some. You become what I might call a company man, a company woman, what I might call a company man, a company woman. And here's the thing. It's not a negative stereotype, it's really more nuanced than that. On the positive side, you develop a deep understanding of how the machine works. You might even come to appreciate the big law machine, which for me makes my life in practice a lot easier. You know the unwritten rules, the subtle dynamics, the delicate balance of client relationships and firm politics. This knowledge gets embedded, it's instinctual. You come to anticipate the needs of clients and partners. You learn to navigate challenging situations. You mentor others as they go through their own big law journey.
Speaker 1:But there's another side of this transformation. Sometimes you catch yourself defending practices that you yourself once questioned. You might find yourself telling junior associates well, that's just how it is in big law. You know the very phrases that made you roll your eyes when you were a junior associate. All of this is normal. All of this is human nature. You grow and evolve as a human at the same time as you grow and evolve as an attorney.
Speaker 1:For some of you, this transformation will put you on a path to leaving big law. That is okay. That is okay. For others, like me, this transformation will put you on a path to staying in big law, and I genuinely hope that more of you will stay.
Speaker 1:I hope, if nothing else, you hear my story and my advice and realize you can do big law in your own way. You can make it sustainable. You can change it and make a difference within your own sphere of influence, no matter how small that sphere of influence is. There are traditions and hierarchies. You must work within traditions and hierarchies. You must work within. There will be tough managers and clients and things that will make you question whether this is what you want long term. Listen to that voice Always be asking yourself is this what I want? If you take those moments, if you learn from them, if you grow with them, you can thrive in the law and in big law. If you build your time, hit your hours, grow a reputation for being reasonably responsive, brave and trustworthy, you will build credit that you can bank on. With that credit, you can create your own path, even if on paper it looks like the traditional path. Your own path. Even if on paper it looks like the traditional path and mine does look that way on paper, you can put your own spin on it. I have, I will continue to do so, and I will continue helping others to do so too.
Speaker 1:This season, we've explored some aspects of that evolution from making partner to developing an entrepreneurial mindset, more about mastering the billable hour and building your professional brand. Each of these topics reflects a different facet of our growth in this profession. With this reflection, I'm excited to announce what's coming on season four, which will premiere in May of 2025. Like this season, season four will be a potpourri of essential big law topics that will weave in together threads from seasons one, two and three. We'll revisit some fundamental themes with fresh perspectives, including the ever-present billable hour, more about file ownership and matter management, partner relationships and navigating these waters effectively. We'll also blend in elements from season two's focus on lawyer well-being because, let's face it, that topic becomes more relevant with each passing year in the world and in the law.
Speaker 1:As we close season three, I want to thank you for growing with me in this journey. Whether you're a law student dreaming of entering the profession and entering big law, a junior associate in the thick of it or more seasoned attorney nodding along or looking to refocus your goals and perspectives, your presence and engagement make this podcast what it is and encourages me to keep going. Remember, growing up in the law and in big law doesn't mean losing your ideals. If you're like me, you might lose them for a moment, but you can come back to them. You can learn how to blend your ideals with the realities of the job and how to work within the system, while learning to stay true to yourself. Your rose-colored glasses might come off, but you might gain something more valuable clarity, wisdom and the ability to help others navigate this path.
Speaker 1:Thank you for joining me on this episode, number 30 of the Grace Period, the closing episode to season three. Remember, you don't have to sacrifice your well-being for career success. By prioritizing self-care, setting boundaries and seeking support, you can survive and even thrive in the law and in big law. Until next time, take care of yourselves and each other. That is the path to our grace period. Disclaimer this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. It does not constitute a professional advice of any kind, including a legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by listening to this podcast.
