Uploaded February 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
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Almost a decade ago, I quit my 6-figure job as a lawyer. I worked as a big-firm lawyer for 8 years. I remember walking out of the office on my last day. It just felt like any other day, like I would walk back into it the next day. But I never did. I haven’t practiced law since then and I don’t miss it.
I’ve never spoken publicly about why I left law. But I wanted to make this video for those that feel stuck in their law career yet bound by golden shackles. And for students who are considering going into law. This is the video I wish someone else had made a decade ago.
This is not a law industry-bashing video. I grew a lot as a person when I was a lawyer, I worked with amazing people and learned valuable analytical and people skills. I also worked with some big-name clients, which was pretty cool. I’m glad I have that experience under my belt!
But when I decided to study law, and then later faced some challenges in my career, there weren’t many resources available to me to guide me. I also wasn’t close with anyone who left law and built a new career for themselves. Leaving law felt very scary. So hopefully sharing my experience and the reasons why I quit my job as a lawyer will be helpful to some of you out there!
00:00 Intro
01:55 Why I Studied Law
06:30 My Law Career
11:28 Reason 1: Burnout
17:03 Reason 2: Harmony
19:43 Reason 3: The Full Picture
20:55 Reason 4: Technology
23:42 Reason 5: It's Boring...
25:49 Obstacle 1: Money
27:20 Obstacle 2: Identity
29:54 Obstacle 3: Sunk Cost Fallacy
30:44 Obstacle 4: Guilt
32:14 Life After Law
– WHAT TO WATCH NEXT –
What Is Slow Living? | Slow Living For Beginners: youtu.be/jGuR9YXA7SU
– LINKS –
📚 Interesting books to read:
• Stoicism For Beginners: https://a.co/d/hPU8GTX
• Minimalism 101: https://a.co/d/bJkA6Lt
• Declutter Your Life: https://a.co/d/carqttB
DISCLAIMER: Some of the links are affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase, I may earn a commission, at no cost to you.
• 📝 Sign up for my newsletter: petercook.myflodesk.com/newsletter
• ☕️ Buy me a coffee: ko-fi.com/petercook
Almost a decade ago, I quit my 6-figure job as a lawyer. I worked as a big-firm lawyer for 8 years. I remember walking out of the office on my last day. It just felt like any other day, like I would walk back into it the next day. But I never did. I haven’t practiced law since then and I don’t miss it.
I’ve never spoken publicly about why I left law. But I wanted to make this video for those that feel stuck in their law career yet bound by golden shackles. And for students who are considering going into law. This is the video I wish someone else had made a decade ago.
This is not a law industry-bashing video. I grew a lot as a person when I was a lawyer, I worked with amazing people and learned valuable analytical and people skills. I also worked with some big-name clients, which was pretty cool. I’m glad I have that experience under my belt!
But when I decided to study law, and then later faced some challenges in my career, there weren’t many resources available to me to guide me. I also wasn’t close with anyone who left law and built a new career for themselves. Leaving law felt very scary. So hopefully sharing my experience and the reasons why I quit my job as a lawyer will be helpful to some of you out there!
00:00 Intro
01:55 Why I Studied Law
06:30 My Law Career
11:28 Reason 1: Burnout
17:03 Reason 2: Harmony
19:43 Reason 3: The Full Picture
20:55 Reason 4: Technology
23:42 Reason 5: It's Boring...
25:49 Obstacle 1: Money
27:20 Obstacle 2: Identity
29:54 Obstacle 3: Sunk Cost Fallacy
30:44 Obstacle 4: Guilt
32:14 Life After Law
– WHAT TO WATCH NEXT –
What Is Slow Living? | Slow Living For Beginners: youtu.be/jGuR9YXA7SU
– LINKS –
📚 Interesting books to read:
• Stoicism For Beginners: https://a.co/d/hPU8GTX
• Minimalism 101: https://a.co/d/bJkA6Lt
• Declutter Your Life: https://a.co/d/carqttB
DISCLAIMER: Some of the links are affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase, I may earn a commission, at no cost to you.
