For many senior lawyers, leaving a firm brings an unexpected question: if my title and firm are no longer at the centre, what comes next?After years—often decades—of advising clients through difficult decisions, transactions, disputes and change, it can be tempting to look for a role that resembles the one just left: a senior in-house position, for example, a consultancy of one’s own, or perhaps another legal title in a different setting.
Those can be good options. But they are not the only ones.
A long legal career creates experience that reaches well beyond technical legal expertise. It develops solid judgment, commercial perspective, discretion and an ability to help people think clearly when the stakes are high. The important next step is not simply recognising those qualities. It is deciding where they can make the most meaningful contribution—and then making that move with intention, taking into account the personal needs that were often set aside during the years that came before.
The Skills Behind the Role
Taking a deliberate approach to the next step means recognizing these skills, weighing their actual impact, and connecting them to your own interests and network—and then seeing where that leads.
This includes, for example:
- Legal expertise: Holding deep, specialised knowledge of a particular area of law, sharpened through years of complex mandates.
- Industry insight: Understanding how a sector truly operates—its players, pressures and unwritten rules.
- Strategic judgment: Knowing how to weigh competing priorities and make progress when certainty is impossible.
- Commercial expertise: Seeing the underlying business objective, the people involved and the wider context—not simply the transaction documents or legal issue.
- Clarity in complexity: Helping decision-makers understand what matters, what can wait and what needs to happen next.
- Stakeholder management: Working constructively with executives, shareholders, regulators, advisers and counterparties without compromising independence.
- Resilience and Discretion:Remaining calm and trustworthy even in sensitive, personal, or high-pressure situations.
The following table shows how these skills can be applied to other areas of work:
| Transferable Skills | Supervisory Board, Advisory Board, and Non-Executive Director Roles | Strategic Consulting | Family Businesses & Succession | Mentoring & Coaching |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal Expertise | Grounds supervisory board decisions in a precise assessment of legal risks and liability issues | Identifies legal risks that shape the overall strategic picture | Structures succession planning in a way that withstands legal and regulatory scrutiny | Helps executives recognize the legal implications of a decision |
| Industry Knowledge | Brings industry-specific context to strategy and risk discussions | Evaluates decisions based on how the industry actually works | Understands the competitive and regulatory dynamics that shape the family business | Helps executives correctly interpret market-specific signals |
| Strategic Judgment | Evaluates key decisions, M&A initiatives, and risk tolerance | Supports leadership teams in making high-stakes decisions | Advises on the timing and structure of succession | Helps executives deal with uncertainty and ambiguity |
| Commercial Expertise | Identifies strategic and market-related risks in meeting materials | Identifies recurring business challenges | Understands family dynamics related to corporate value and ownership | Helps executives identify blind spots |
| Clarity in Complex Situations | Organizes complex issues to facilitate decision-making on the supervisory board or advisory board | Condenses issues involving multiple stakeholders into actionable options | Explains legal and tax complexities in an understandable way | Condenses a leader’s challenges into a practical focus |
| Stakeholder Management | Facilitates relationships between the board, management, and shareholders | Brings together leadership teams, investors, and advisors | Facilitates communication between generations and family branches | Builds trusting, confidential relationships |
| Resilience and Discretion | Ensures stability and calm in crisis situations | Handles confidential and sensitive cases | Facilitates emotionally charged family discussions | Creates a safe space for difficult reflection |
Start with the setting, not the title
It can be helpful to begin by asking less about the next title and more about the kind of contribution that feels worthwhile. For example, a lawyer who wants to work closer to a personal cause may find that a nonprofit offers a meaningful route. The most credible moves usually start with genuine interest and a specific contribution—perhaps governance, strategy, regulatory insight, fundraising or stakeholder engagement. A committee role, project or advisory position can be a thoughtful first step before taking on a formal trustee or board role.
For someone drawn to board work, the question is not simply whether they have enough seniority. It is what they would bring to a particular board. That might be experience with growth, transactions, governance, succession or regulation in a relevant sector. Board credibility often develops over time, through industry relationships, advisory roles, committees and exposure to the commercial and operational realities of the organisations involved.
A smaller or founder-led business can offer another compelling route. Founders and chief executives often value an experienced person who can help them think through investment, expansion, succession, governance or a difficult stakeholder decision. The role may begin with a contained project and evolve into a longer-term advisory, chair or non-executive relationship. What matters is being clear about the contribution: not simply legal advice, but sound judgment at a moment of change.
Build the transition gradually
The strongest transitions rarely begin with a dramatic announcement. More often, they take shape through a series of conversations, experiments and focused commitments.
- 1. Be honest about what is wanted next
The first question isn’t just, “What could I do?” but also, “What do I want right now—and what are my needs and priorities?” These might include meaning, autonomy, intellectual challenge, commercial engagement, flexibility, income, time, or some other kind of fulfillment.
- Talk openly about it—and enjoy the conversation
After years of always having a clear answer to the question “What do you do for a living?”, it can feel vulnerable to be open about your own uncertainty. But talking openly with former colleagues, clients, and close friends about your own transition phase is often exactly what leads to the conversations, recommendations, and opportunities that really matter. Most people react with surprising warmth and openness—some are quietly going through a similar transition themselves, others are simply understanding, and many see this openness as a sign of trust.
- Focus on the initial exploration
It’s easier for people you’re talking to help you if you provide a specific direction. “Open to possibilities” offers few points of reference. A clearly defined interest—such as in specific sectors, startups, succession planning in family businesses, or a particular social cause—provides a helpful starting point for conversations.
- Test before finalizing
It is precisely these conversations that can also reveal where experience is actually needed. A limited consulting engagement, a committee role, or selective pro bono work can provide practical insights without immediately requiring an all-or-nothing decision.
- Develop a Forward-Looking Narrative
The most helpful self-presentation is not a summary of one’s legal career. Rather, it explains the value the person hopes to bring in the future. It should link past experiences to the decisions, challenges, and contexts in which this person can provide effective support.
- Craft your portfolio thoughtfully
A role on a nonprofit board, a consulting engagement, a non-executive position, or even mentoring and coaching assignments can complement one another effectively. The goal is not to accumulate as many impressive titles as possible. It’s about creating a combination of roles that is intellectually stimulating, personally fulfilling, and appropriate for this stage of life.
The story you tell—and the questions behind it
There is no reason to downplay a successful legal career in order to move beyond it. The challenge is to frame that career in a way that makes it understandable and relevant in a new context.
“I was a partner at a leading law firm” describes an important professional background. However, it does not tell a board of directors, a founder, or an executive at a nonprofit organization what benefits they would gain today from working with that person.
A stronger starting point might be: “I support supervisory and advisory boards, founders, and executive teams in making well-informed decisions when growth, governance, and complex stakeholder interests intersect—whether as a consultant, coach, or mentor.”
This is not a departure from legal experience. It is the translation of that experience into lasting value.
The next chapter becomes clearer—with a few honest questions:
- Where can my judgment, my perspective, and my skills make a valuable contribution right now?
- Which parts of my story do I want to take with me—and which am I willing to leave behind?
- Who do I know I could talk to?
- What’s holding me back?
SEO Information (unchanged from Marie’s draft—still awaiting confirmation from Marie)
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