Leaving Biglaw to Become a Sex and Relationship Coach with Amy Terwilleger

On paper, Amy Terwilleger’s life as a lawyer looked great. Partner at a regional firm in Florida. Deputy general counsel. Thirteen years of business litigation. Married with two kids. And the whole time, a constant restless feeling she could not shake. What Amy eventually figured out was that she was living somebody else's perfect life. The things that mattered to her, her values, the way she thought, and who she actually was as a person were not showing up in the life she was actually living. In this episode of The Former Lawyer Podcast, Sarah Cottrell talks with Amy about what it looked like to be a Biglaw partner whose values did not match her job, why being a free thinker is not rewarded at a big firm, what finally moved her to make a change, and how she ended up working as a sex and relationship coach while still practicing law on her own terms. 1:34 - Why Amy went to law school after restaurant management and the LSAT-as-decision-maker pattern 2:33 - Wanting to help people through law and how recruiting funneled her into business litigation instead 4:51 - The conveyor belt and why the realities of practice diverge from what brings people to law school 7:48 - Why being a free thinker is not rewarded at a big firm 8:48 - On paper everything looked perfect, partner, deputy general counsel, two kids, and the constant restless feeling underneath 9:54 - Neurodivergence, the strong sense of justice, and why these traits do not get rewarded in big firms 13:16 - Where Amy's values clashed with the actual work of business litigation 18:06 - Why "just don't care" is not actually possible when someone is being rude and disrespectful 20:19 - Pleasure as the body's antidote to stress and how it resets the nervous system 22:43 - The early seed of wanting to be a sex coach and why Amy tucked it away for years 25:38 - The reactions Amy got from colleagues, friends, and family when leaving Biglaw 29:16 - You do not have to leave law entirely, you can find a way to practice that aligns with your values 33:22 - What Amy recommends if you are curious about coaching as a career 34:00 - What sex and relationship coaching actually is and who Amy works with Mentioned In Leaving Biglaw to Become a Sex and Relationship Coach with Amy Terwilleger Amy Terwilleger's Website | Linktree Amy Terwilleger on Instagram (@millennialdrruth) First Steps to Leaving the Law The Former Lawyer Collaborative