Why Unhappiness is a Puzzle and How Lawyers Can Solve It featuring Becky Morrison

Becky Morrison explains why she stopped practicing law to obtain an LLM in tax and become an executive coach and the importance of doing what makes you happy now.

In this episode, Becky Morrison, a 2002 Georgetown University Law Center graduate, explains why she stopped being a litigator to follow her passion of helping others and the importance of coaching others to become successful.

Why Unhappiness is a Puzzle and How Lawyers Can Solve It featuring Becky Morrison

About This Episode

After working in entrepreneurial finance and Big Law for more than 20 years, Becky Morrison asked herself what would make her truly happy. Becky worked as a litigator, before moving into a management role where she oversaw attorneys, litigation support staff and non-attorneys professionals. This role reminded Becky that she really enjoyed managing people.

During a time of transition, Becky worked with a career coach to narrow down her interests. Her experiences with this coach motivated Becky to become an executive coach. Becky is adamant that coaching is not being a therapist, but analyzing in a similar way that a lawyer would review facts.

The skills that Becky honed in law school, such as analyzing case law, researching and issue spotting, were a wonderful foundation for working as an executive coach. In this role, Becky works with legal and non-legal professionals to bring ideas to action, bring focus to a participants life, and address work-life integration issues. Becky teaches her coaching participants that life is about more than simply chasing the next thing.

Currently earning an LLM in taxation, Becky finds that being a law school graduate allows her to be confident in creating Grantley Coaching and becoming an entrepreneur because legal background offers her familiarity with business formation activities.

Becky Morrison is licensed in Virginia and Washington D.C. Follow Becky Morrison on Instagram @the.butterfly.society, connect with Becky Morrison on LinkedIn, and visit her website, grantleycoaching.com to request a consultation.

Follow the You Are A Lawyer podcast on Twitter @YouAreA_Lawyer, Instagram @youarealawyer and on LinkedIn. Follow the podcast host, Kyla Denanyoh, on Instagram @kjd796.

Recent Episodes

Building Confidence and Clarity as a Lawyer (August 2023)

Laura Terrell is an executive coach, general counsel, and former special assistant to the president who has built a career across government, private practice, and nonprofit leadership. In this episode, she shares how coaching helps lawyers advocate for themselves, embrace career pivots, and find clarity in uncertain times.

Read and listen here

How To Grow Your Law Firm with Informal Networking feat. Brent Nelson

Brent Nelson is an international tax and estate lawyer based in Arizona, specializing in working with high-income international families. What he comically calls “rich people law,” Brent found his niche in tax law during law school and focuses on developing meaningful connections through informal networking and social media.

Read and listen here

How Mindset Impacts the Bar Exam feat. Yohanna Romero Baca

Yohanna Romero Baca, a bar exam coach and former immigration attorney, shares her personal experience of not passing the bar exam and how it inspired her to help others succeed. She discusses her unique approach to bar exam preparation, emphasizing the importance of mindset and effective writing skills. Listen as Yohanna explains how passing the bar exam can open doors to career opportunities.

Read and listen here

How Authenticity Impacts Your Legal Career feat. Bianca Jordan

Bianca Jordan applied to 500 jobs before opening her law firm IN 2014. Now, MANY law firm wants to hire Bianca, but she's found great success helping families and business owners with their immigration paperwork. Bianca has also begun coaching lawyers to become better business owners. Learn about the brazen power of Bianca Jordan on the You Are A Lawyer Podcast.

Read and listen here

How To Stay Motivated in Your Legal Career feat. Luis Scott

Luis Scott, managing partner of Bader Scott Injury Lawyers, an eight-figure law firm based in Atlanta, Georgia, shares his journey from growing up in a poor family to becoming a successful lawyer and business owner. He discusses the importance of making a massive contribution to his family and how his firm's commitment to excellence has led to its success. Tune in to hear more about his story and his unique perspective on life.

Read and listen here

How Clerkship Transparency Creates Stronger Lawyers feat. Aliza Shatzman

Aliza Shatzman is a judicial clerkship advocate. After a poor clerkship experience, Aliza created the Legal Accountability Project to bring transparency and accountability to the federal clerkship process. Find out how this pioneer and founder ensures the next generation of clerks is protected from bad judges.

Read and listen here

How to Negotiate Like a Disruptive Lawyer feat. Bill Mitchell (June 2023)

Bill Mitchell is a veteran litigator, negotiation strategist, and the author of The Disruptive Lawyer’s Little Black Book of Litigation Management. With three decades of experience, Bill has a bold message for lawyers: less litigation, more resolution. In this episode, he shares how he became a top 1% dealmaker by helping clients resolve cases faster and cheaper, without sacrificing strategy or results.

Read and listen here

How To Be an Exceptional Lawyer feat. Marco Brown

Marco Brown earns a lot of money and enjoys being a lawyer. But the truth is, Marco didn’t become an exceptional lawyer until he forced clients to pay for the exceptional work completed by his law firm. In Episode 92, Marco Brown discusses the power of communication and why he uses money to create an exceptional law firm.

Read and listen here

How To Revitalize Your Legal Career with Coaching feat. Whitney Harvey

Whitney wants women lawyers to STAY in the law by considering different practice areas, editing their resumes, and improving their soft skills to create their own success.

Read and listen here

How to Advocate as a Board Membership feat. Samora Legros

Samora Legros sits on the Board of the Max Cadet Foundation, an organization created to celebrate his grandfather, a lawyer, judge, and dentist. Created with a dental clinic based in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, the Max Cadet Foundation serves children and adults living n Haiti by providing them with better dental care access.

Read and listen here

How To Skip the Boring Stuff in Podcasting feat. Kyla Denanyoh

Ready to clear your to-do list? Skip the boring stuff and stop editing your podcast, uploading content at the last minute, and sitting on content. Work with KD Creative to hire a podcast manager so you can create faster and skip the boring stuff. Visit skiptheboringstuff.com for more details. You’re the talent! Go back to recording and skip the boring stuff.

Read and listen here

How Social Work Impacts the Lawyer Mental Health Crisis feat. Sara Ellis

Sara Ellis, a Lawyers Depression Project board member and social work student, explains why the legal community must create better messaging and more empathy for mental health issues.

Read and listen here