From BigLaw to Books: The Case for a Literary Life
Why I traded my billable hours for book deals
For twenty-one years, I had the privilege of working at the world's two largest, most prestigious law firms as an environmental attorney. I billed my life in six-minute increments on M&A deals and international project financing, mostly energy and natural resources. I worked in Washington DC for a decade, then Chicago, with stints in Houston, often traveling between San Francisco, New York, London and Paris. I met thousands of interesting colleagues and clients and fellow attorneys, and built a network of lovely professionals who still support me.
Looking back, it’s difficult to fathom how truly amazing my experiences were, especially for a little girl who grew up in East Peoria, Illinois. But that little girl also wanted to be a writer in addition to a lawyer, a fashion designer, and an animal advocate. I checked the box on lawyering, fashion (purchasing), and animals (adopting), so here we are!
My favorite form of stress-reduction as a lawyer: designer shopping with my beloved dog!
When I tell people I “retired” from law, no one asks me why—it’s pretty self-explanatory that trading a life of wholly-consuming stress and aggression and billable hours for a life of reading and writing is likely more fun, more peaceful, better for one’s soul, especially if one need not worry about financial security having saved a bunch over the years. But I also do not regret for one second my life in BigLaw, and I still miss it some aspects (like working with friends! buying whatever I wanted!) some/most days.
But the real why? The pandemic. Switching firms and then, later, a combination of burnout, global instability, and some health wake-up calls made me realize that if I didn't make a change soon, I might never get the chance to do all the other things I wanted to do when I was a little girl.
So I made the most expensive decision of my career to date: I stopped the clock and resigned from my partnership at the world’s richest law firm.
But at first, it was only a sabbatical. Time to let my brain recover from 21+ years of non-stop stress. I listened to every single podcast about career pivots and burnout while knocking out 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzles every couple of days. I still read the legal news. I still expected I would return to law eventually.
My gateway drug: the 1,000 piece Ravensburger Puzzle that led to 200 more!
Sadly, you can only assemble so many puzzles before your brain starts to blur, and my lawyer mind needed a new mountain to climb. So I did what any reasonable person would do: I signed up for a creative writing class through Harvard Extension School.
And I got hooked! Not just on writing, but on learning again—both the craft and the industry. With each writing class and hours spent drafting a novel, short stories and essays, the embers of my long-dormant ambition re-ignited. And I realized, this wasn't just a hobby or a sabbatical activity: writing was what I was supposed to be doing all along.
In January 2024, I decided to treat it like the profession it is. I write every day. I learn about craft or the business of writing. I work on business-related things every day (who knew being a writer meant also being an entrepreneur??) I am trying to make myself get into “social media” after not being on it for several years though it still feels so “cringe” as the kids say.
I've made zero dollars thus far (and spent thousands on writing classes, software, craft books, a website, etc.) but it’s with the hope/faith I will sell books one day and support myself!
And I’m appreciative of several things that made this leap possible: first, BigLaw salaries and bonuses! I love them and miss them! Second, I've been single and childfree by design, which means my financial responsibilities and life choices are entirely my own. I’m super grateful for this freedom! Third, I SIGNIFICANTLY cut back my spending (including on my kryptonite, fine jewelry and luxury goods, please see above) and I bought a house well below my price range during the pandemic. Accordingly, leaving behind my BigLaw salary, while still a little terrifying, wasn’t the biggest leap. I have never been worried about affording groceries and insurance and vet bills. I am lucky. Finally, my people! My family and friends all support me every day, and I love running into an old colleague or long-lost college friend and saying out loud I am an author now.
But I’m still a lawyer, even if I’m not practicing law. I have finally learned to accept all parts of my identity and integrate the two so I can leverage my BigLaw life as a writer, and not try to rid myself of everything in an effort to start fresh. Like my memories: for the first year or so after retiring, I didn’t want to think/look/say/identify with anything law-related! I needed a cleanse. Now, I am dipping back into my memories and appreciating the both my career and the actual expeirence of BigLaw stress —it really helps put any “stress” I feel as a writer (e.g., rejections from literary magazines and contests, querying agents, finding a publisher, or negative reviews on Goodreads) into perspective!
And my memory bank is FULL of inspiration! For example, I am currently querying literary agents to represent me on my current novel, featuring a scrappy female founder who is caught between her bohemian best friend and their billionaire angel investor as they race to build a global jewelry brand.
Women navigating power, ambition, and impossible choices in a sparkling high-stakes world plus . . . can't imagine where that came from. :)
The most surprising plot twist of this entire career pivot? Turns out I still track my time (!!) Like when I was a lawyer, I still love the satisfaction of looking at my time entries and seeing how hard I am trying! Hard work is no substitute for actual talent, of course, but pride in the effort goes a long way toward making this feel like it could be real.
Toggl Trackr for the win, baby. My time reports for 2024 and YTD 2025. This pace is perfect compared to 3000 billable hour years!
In future posts, I will explore:
What I gained by leaving BigLaw (and what it cost me)
How I went about this drastic life change
How I structure my days as a novelist versus a partner
The parallels and differences between BigLaw and publishing
What I miss about BigLaw (besides the obvious: money!)
Managing the psychological challenges of changing professional identities when work has always been everything
How I changed my spending and savings for this new (negative income) period
How I'm trying to prioritize balance
How I recovered from BigLaw burnout (multiple times)
Applying BigLaw training to writing and building an author brand business
Finding motivation and accountability in an entirely autonomous job
If there are any topics you’d be interested in reading, let me know in the comments!
And thank you for reading this post, first in my BigLaw to Books series (both on the blog and on Substack!)
If you're simply curious about what happens when someone throws caution to the wind and chases a dream in a rapidly declining industry during end times when everyone is too burned out to even pick up a book—well, stick around! We’ll find out together!
And if you're a fellow lawyer turned writer, or someone who maybe wants to leave law for writing, or someone who has contemplated switching careers, I want to hear from you! (There are so many of us -- I have a framed picture of Kristin Hannah hanging above my desk for a reason. Goals!)
The GOAT lawyer-turned-womens-fiction-writer, Kristin Hannah
