BigLaw doesn't just run on policies and handbooks. It runs on unwritten rules that quietly shape staffing, advancement, workload, and opportunity.

In this episode of Big Law Life, I break down three of the most powerful unwritten systems inside large law firms that every associate and partner needs to understand to navigate their career strategically. We explore why staffing is one of the main currencies firms use to allocate value, how becoming the "reliable solution" lawyer can actually stall advancement, and why institutional memory in BigLaw fades faster than most lawyers expect.

I also explain the critical gap between written firm policies and real firm culture, including how flexible work, remote arrangements, and leave policies are technically allowed but often carry unspoken career consequences depending on who uses them and when.

If you want to understand how BigLaw actually operates beneath the surface and how to position yourself for growth, visibility, and long-term success, this episode gives you a clear framework for reading the system and responding strategically.

At a Glance
01:20 Why BigLaw runs on unwritten rules, not just formal policies
01:46 Staffing as currency and how lawyers are quietly "traded"
02:11 Why being constantly busy can actually stall advancement
03:06 How becoming the reliable solution associate turns into a trap
04:02 Why firms reuse high performers instead of protecting them
04:49 The real difference between being needed and being valued
05:15 Why constant work without development signals optimization, not growth
05:41 How institutional memory fades faster than lawyers expect
06:11 Why BigLaw operates on recency, not career-long performance
07:26 How visibility determines staffing, reviews, and promotion narratives
08:40 Why your firm's story about you is only a snapshot unless you shape it
09:32 How to refresh your value through outcomes, not effort
10:29 Why written policies matter less than lived culture
11:22 How flexibility and remote work quietly carry career consequences
12:29 What culture actually rewards versus what policies technically allow
13:26 How perceptions form and quietly limit opportunities
14:48 Why smart lawyers study who uses policies safely, not what's permitted
15:34 What BigLaw's unwritten rules are really incentivizing

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts & Spotify
Do you enjoy listening to Big Law Life? Please consider rating and reviewing the show! This helps support and reach more people like you who want to grow a career in Big Law.

For Apple Podcasts, click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "Write a Review." Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode! Also, if you haven't done so already, follow the podcast here!

For Spotify, tap here on your mobile phone, follow the podcast, listen to the show, then find the rating icon below the description, and tap to rate with five stars.

Interested in doing 1-2-1 coaching with Laura Terrell? Or learning more about her work coaching and consulting?

Here are ways to reach out to her:

www.lauraterrell.com

laura@lauraterrell.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauralterrell/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraterrellcoaching/

Show notes: https://www.lauraterrell.com/podcast

If you work in BigLaw, you already expect weekends to be part of the job. But you find that not all weekend work is created equal. In this episode, I walk through the difference between healthy, role-appropriate weekend demands and the kind of constant disruption that signals deeper management and culture problems inside a firm. I explain the three traits that define normal weekend work: a real reason tied to client reality, a clearly scoped task, and a true endpoint. We then unpack what dysfunctional weekend work looks like in practice, including poor planning disguised as urgency, perpetual low-grade emergencies, and being kept mentally on call even when no real deadline exists.

I break down how these patterns show up differently in transactional versus litigation practices and why weekend culture is one of the strongest predictors of burnout and reactive exits. Finally, I share concrete strategies for setting boundaries that actually work in BigLaw by shaping timelines, preempting chaos earlier in the week, and using seniority to delegate rather than absorb endless work.

At a Glance
01:20 Why the real issue isn't working weekends but how and how often
02:09 The three traits that define normal weekend work in BigLaw
02:41 Why real deadlines feel different from anxiety-driven urgency
03:10 How scoped tasks and clear endpoints protect your time and sanity
04:03 How poor planning gets passed down as "emergencies"
05:16 What perpetual urgency without deadlines actually signals
05:46 When firms stop buying labor and start renting your nervous system
06:13 Why constant weekend work becomes a structural problem
06:38 How weekend chaos at senior levels signals stagnation, not growth
07:11 How transactional and litigation practices show dysfunction differently
08:25 Why weekend culture predicts burnout and rushed exits
09:35 The clear difference between purposeful intensity and endless chaos
10:24 Why the goal isn't fewer weekends but fewer bad weekends
10:51 How structured availability reshapes expectations without backlash
11:21 How anticipatory communication prevents most weekend emergencies
12:22 Why reliability during real crises earns boundary credibility
12:53 How delegation becomes the senior lawyer's real boundary tool
13:17 How to read firm reactions to boundaries as cultural data

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts & Spotify
Do you enjoy listening to Big Law Life? Please consider rating and reviewing the show! This helps support and reach more people like you who want to grow a career in Big Law.

For Apple Podcasts, click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "Write a Review." Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode! Also, if you haven't done so already, follow the podcast here!

For Spotify, tap here on your mobile phone, follow the podcast, listen to the show, then find the rating icon below the description, and tap to rate with five stars.

Interested in doing 1-2-1 coaching with Laura Terrell? Or learning more about her work coaching and consulting?

Here are ways to reach out to her:

www.lauraterrell.com

laura@lauraterrell.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauralterrell/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraterrellcoaching/

Show notes: https://www.lauraterrell.com/podcast

By the time you reach mid-level or senior associate status, the Cravath Scale often stops feeling like a promise and more like a moving target. In this episode, I break down what the scale actually governs, what it never covered, and how discretion quietly replaces transparency as you become more experienced. I explain why base salary uniformity masks wide variation in bonuses, timing, and opportunity, and how firms use the language of "market" and "culture" to justify outcomes that feel inconsistent year to year and group to group. We walk through concrete bonus scenarios, how hour thresholds quietly drift upward, and why performance reviews are comparative rather than absolute.

I also unpack the role of discretionary and special bonuses, including when they signal genuine investment versus when they function as golden handcuffs. Finally, I explain why salary compression at the senior level is structural, not accidental, and how to assess whether staying on scale still makes sense given your responsibilities, leverage, and future prospects.

At a Glance
01:20 Why the Cravath Scale feels predictable early and flexible later
02:37 What the scale actually standardizes and what it never promised
03:35 How discretion replaces transparency for mid- and senior-level associates
04:02 Why bonuses are the first place cracks appear
04:32 How billable hour thresholds quietly move beyond the stated minimum
05:43 Why performance ratings are comparative, not absolute
06:31 How practice group and firm overlays affect identical profiles differently
07:53 How firms "shade around" the scale without openly breaking from it
09:41 When bonuses become forward-looking signals, not rewards
10:42 How to tell reward bonuses from golden handcuffs
12:22 Why senior-level salary compression is structural
13:22 Why waiting without clarity is no longer neutral
14:16 How comp reveals if the firm sees a future partner or a long-term senior associate
14:47 How to assess your effective compensation and leverage over time
15:47 The real question long-tenured associates need to ask themselves

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts & Spotify
Do you enjoy listening to Big Law Life? Please consider rating and reviewing the show! This helps support and reach more people like you who want to grow a career in Big Law.

For Apple Podcasts, click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "Write a Review." Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode! Also, if you haven't done so already, follow the podcast here!

For Spotify, tap here on your mobile phone, follow the podcast, listen to the show, then find the rating icon below the description, and tap to rate with five stars.

Interested in doing 1-2-1 coaching with Laura Terrell? Or learning more about her work coaching and consulting?

Here are ways to reach out to her:

www.lauraterrell.com

laura@lauraterrell.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauralterrell/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraterrellcoaching/

Show notes: https://www.lauraterrell.com/podcast