Cassandra Heilbronn’s plan has always been to move into an executive position, or role with “chief” in the title, at some stage. She just didn’t anticipate it happening by the age of 37.

Earlier last year, she received an offer to work as the chief of staff for a private family office in Saudi Arabia, overseeing the strategic oversight, governance, investment matters, and day-to-day operations of that family’s various interests.

Although it is a role that she cannot see anyone without a legal background undertaking, opting to go down this vocational path did involve what she calls the “hardest decision” of her career: no longer being a lawyer, something she had worked for her entire life, she said.

Speaking recently on The Lawyers Weekly Show, Ms Heilbronn reflected on the idea of leaving the “lawyer” title behind and what this means, both personally and professionally.

Through that process of job change, Ms Heilbronn noted, she realised that “my identity comes from my career”.

“I’ve got the brand ‘Lawyer Cas’, which I’ve had for a decade, so having to change my social media accounts [brought with it] inner turmoil that I had to face for what should have been a relatively easy decision, a career move, which was always on my path. It’s been an interesting couple of months, that’s for sure,” she said.

Expanding on the idea that leaving behind the “lawyer” title is not as simple as it might sound, Ms Heilbronn explained that recognition as a lawyer is much more than one’s job title.

It also involves, she said, acknowledgement that one undertook the arduous requisite tertiary qualifications, then attained a practising certificate, annually maintained that certificate, which is all subsequently coupled with an internal sense of pride at those accomplishments, and an awareness that the work one does as a lawyer is a necessary cog in the machine of society.

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There is no inherent arrogance to this, Ms Heilbronn argued.

“I don’t think it’s about lawyers saying that they’re impressive and that the title takes us to an upper echelon in society. It’s an internal sense of pride and achievement, particularly because we are bound by legal professional privilege and we largely cannot talk about what we’re doing and what matters or clients we have,” she said.

“It’s that internal dialogue, saying, ‘I did that’, and ‘I have that title’. It’s not an achievement that teaches those of others, [but instead recognises that] we are so lucky, particularly in Australia, to be able to study law, no matter your background, no matter what family history you have.”

Part of one’s thinking, in deciding whether or not to explore other vocational pathways, Ms Heilbronn detailed, is thinking more broadly about who one is.

“I have an idea in mind and what I want to achieve, and this period has been an opportunity for me to look at who I am as opposed to what I do as a career and separating those two things out,” she proclaimed.

“For me, everything comes back to my core values and purpose, and that guides all of my decision-making processes.”

Moreover, keeping one’s options open is fundamental, she added, noting that she had submitted her qualifications to the New York State bar and was recently accepted, meaning that she can now take the bar exam in that US-based state.

“I still want to do that [even though I have accepted this new role], particularly because I have a lot of focus or a lot of work in America now, just so I can have that because who knows what the future will hold,” Ms Heilbronn outlined.

“As I said, I’ve always wanted to be in a CEO or chief role. It’s unlikely at this stage that I would move straight back into legal practice, but I’m certainly not closing off that door completely. Because I’m still a lawyer at heart. I don’t think I want to give up that entirely just yet.”

One thing that has made the transition away from legal practice is a realisation that a new vocational pathway offers one new opportunities to craft goals and targets that are purposeful moving forward, Ms Heilbronn noted.

Setting such goals, she said, can also help redefine what it means to be a lawyer in this day and age.

“In a sense, [my new role] is just an extension of what I was doing in private practice as a lawyer. I don’t know if you’d call that the new age of legal thinking or legal operations, but I truly believe that lawyers aren’t there just to provide the straight black letter legal advice. I mean, I love those lawyers, because that’s not me,” she reflected.

“I’ve found a way to do it without clocking my billables, which I do miss, by the way. I’m not going to lie about that. Maybe it’s just ingrained, that mentality that we’ve had since admission. But this new role is just a way of extending what I was doing in private practice, but for the greater benefit of my new employer, which is essentially a client if we’re talking about it like that, but also my development as a leader and then in the corporate world.”

As such, she surmised, perhaps we all need to re-examine what it means to be an Australian legal professional.

“If lawyers can adapt their ways of thinking to start also offering services that have traditionally been the realm of the big four [accounting firms], and not just doing straight legal work, I would love to see that.

“I wouldn’t want lawyers to completely move away from the black letter law – the legal advice, the courts, the litigation – as I think that very much must remain the core practice of a lawyer, but if they can offer more to their clients, there’ll be repeat business. There’ll be that relationship and ultimately a better outcome for everyone,” she posited.

As for her social media handles, the “Lawyer Cas” chapter has closed for now (although she did secure the moniker as a spare email address, in case she ever wants to go back to it).

“I think in a couple of months to a year’s time, I’ll completely get rid of that, but I didn’t want to just yet. Perhaps I am hanging on. It’s a lingering breakup, perhaps.”

Last year, Ms Heilbronn also appeared on The Corporate Counsel Show to discuss “Networking 101” in a new-look marketplace and shared some secrets for successful networking.

The transcript of this podcast episode was slightly edited for publishing purposes. To listen to the full conversation with Cassandra Heilbronn, click below: