For two Western Australia-based professionals, a vocational epiphany comes to those who come to realise that being happy and fulfilled in one’s work as a lawyer isn’t an indulgence.
In conversation with Lawyers Weekly, Kate Offer – the deputy head of school (learning and teaching) at UWA Law School – and Shayla Strapps – the former chief executive and director of Ruah Legal Services and Mental Health Law Centre, now a consultant and coach – said there is an “unspoken rule” in the legal profession, whereby success constitutes climbing from junior lawyer to partner in a big firm or from the Bar to the judiciary.
Anything that is separate to this, the pair said, is perceived as “somehow failing”.
As a result, the pair both found themselves asking what would happen if they didn’t actually want what they’d been told they should want?
For Strapps, the breaking point came when she hit burnout, and for Offer, it meant having to interrogate whether a “big opportunity” was actually the right step for her.
“We connected while asking the same unsettling question: what if the version of success we’ve been sold isn’t the one we want,” the pair said.
Strapps and Offer are continuing this conversation on their new podcast, Outlaws, a show through which the pair have discovered there are many other legal professionals who quietly undergo the same thought processes.
Challenges and lessons
For both Strapps and Offer, the “biggest realisation” was coming to appreciate that wanting to feel happy and fulfilled in one’s work wasn’t an indulgence.
“When you enjoy what you’re doing, you’re naturally more motivated, you stick with it longer, and you want to improve. It’s not about lowering standards; it’s about aligning your work with who you actually are,” the pair said.
“It’s also about learning to listen to your intuition – those gentle taps on the shoulder that tell you something isn’t right. And asking the simple question when opportunities arise: ‘Do I want to do this?’, rather than just ‘Should I do this?’”
“It’s astounding how rarely we give ourselves permission to use what we actually want as a legitimate consideration.”
This said, there are also numerous challenges that arise when attempting to forge one’s own path, Strapps and Offer noted, ranging from emotional to practical.
“There can be real grief in letting go of the lawyer identity – it’s such a clear, socially acceptable answer to the ‘And what do you do?’ question. Walking away from that can feel like losing part of yourself. You are also facing the concern that ‘I’ve invested so much time and money in this qualification, I can’t waste it now.’ That’s the sunk cost fallacy at work,” they said.
“It’s a fallacy, for sure, but it can really hold us back.”
“When you step off the traditional path, there’s no roadmap. You know you can’t stay where you are, but you can’t necessarily see which way leads out. The uncertainty can be paralysing, especially for those of us conditioned to follow clear, hierarchical structures,” the pair continued.
“The key to overcoming these challenges, we think, is community as well as making incremental changes. First, find your people: those who are also questioning traditional definitions of success. Invest in coaching or mentoring (or listen to a great podcast about career change!). Don’t try to figure it out without help.”
Moreover, Strapps and Offer stressed that lawyers should not feel like they have to make changes overnight.
“Give yourself permission to experiment and fail small rather than betting everything on one big leap,” they said.
Most importantly, they added, “although hard for us A-types to internalise, is to learn to reframe ‘failure’ as data”.
“When things don’t work out as planned, it’s not a tragedy – it’s the universe closing one door so it can open another. There’s a saying (attributed to the Dalai Lama, but who really knows?!) ‘sometimes not getting what you think you want is a marvellous stroke of luck’, and we think that’s pretty accurate!” the pair said.
Guidance to others
When asked why now is a great time for lawyers to blaze their own trail and not be constrained by traditional norms, Strapps and Offer said the legal profession is “experiencing unprecedented disruption”, which creates enormous opportunity for those willing to embrace change.
“Technology is reshaping how legal services are delivered, creating entirely new career paths in legal operations, legal tech consulting, and hybrid roles that didn’t exist even five years ago. Progressive firms are looking for lawyers who can think differently, work collaboratively, and bring fresh perspectives to old problems,” the pair said.
“Perhaps most importantly, there’s now visible proof that alternative paths can work. Young lawyers can see examples of people who’ve built successful careers outside traditional structures, whether as freelance lawyers, legal entrepreneurs, policy advocates or in adjacent fields where legal skills are valuable.”
The pair also offered five-pronged advice to Lawyers Weekly’s readers, starting with the need to get “really clear on what success actually means to you – not what others have told you it should mean”.
“Success might be having time for long lunches with friends, or working seasonally, or building something that creates positive change in the profession. Define it for yourself before you start trying to achieve it,” they said.
“Second, don’t go it alone. Find people who are on similar paths and borrow their faith when yours wavers. Join communities of lawyers doing things differently. Get coaching – it’s not a luxury or an admission of failure, it’s smart professional development.”
“Third, remember that you don’t need to have everything figured out before you begin. Build skills incrementally, network outside your immediate professional circle, and look for small steps that move you in the right direction without requiring you to jump off a cliff.”
“Fourth, develop comfort with uncertainty. The traditional legal path offers the illusion of security through its clear progression, but it is an illusion. Learning to navigate ambiguity and make decisions with incomplete information is, we think, a more valuable skill in today’s environment.”
Finally, Strapps and Offer suggested, “remember that nothing you’ve done is wasted”.
“Your legal training, even if you don’t practice traditionally, gives you a unique way of thinking and a set of transferable skills that are valuable in many other contexts. You’re not throwing away your investment – you’re applying it differently,” they said.
“The legal profession needs people who are willing to question assumptions, challenge outdated practices, and create new ways of delivering justice and legal services. Your desire to do things differently isn’t a problem to be solved – we say it’s exactly what the profession needs.”
Jerome Doraisamy is the managing editor of Lawyers Weekly and HR Leader. He is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in New South Wales, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.
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