When your whole team disappears overnight
“A woman is like a tea bag - you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.”
I want to tell you a story I’ve never shared before.
When I returned from maternity leave after having my first child, I had been off for a full 12 months, and I had absolutely loved it. It was wonderful and challenging in all the ways new motherhood is. But as my return date approached, the nerves started to set in.
Could I still draft an ET3 response to a whistleblowing claim?
Would I be able to speak coherently in a meeting?
Would I remember… anything?
I was feeling slightly more reassured because I’d decided to come back part-time. This was in the days before Zoom existed, when “working from home” really wasn’t a thing, and I lived a decent commute away. If I’d returned full-time, I would have only seen my son at weekends. So part-time felt like a good balance.
And honestly, I was looking forward to putting on smart clothes again and not being covered in sick or carrying nappies everywhere.
But what I wasn’t prepared for was this:
My entire immediate team had moved to another firm… and no one had told me.
I walked back into the office, already feeling really nervous, and discovered that almost everyone I worked closely with had left.
To say I was surprised was the understatement of the year.
They had handled things in their own way, for their own reasons. And some of those people are still on my mailing list today, so I want to be clear: I hold no hard feelings. Truly. I wish them all well.
But in the moment, I didn’t know what to think.
Or what to feel.
Or what to do.
Suddenly, the things I’d been scared about, remembering how to do the work, weren’t scary at all. They came back instantly.
But what was terrifying was having to rebuild an entire team.
I began working closely with a partner on a plan to reconsolidate clients, rebuild workflows, and start again. And then, a few months later, that partner also left to join my former colleagues!
I remember thinking:
Is it just me?
Why wasn’t I included?
How do I do this alone?
It was hard not to take it personally.
It was destabilising.
It was lonely.
But here’s what I learned, and what I wish someone had told me at the time:
Even when the rug gets completely pulled out from under you, you will be ok.
You will adapt.
You will find resilience you didn’t know you had.
The few people who remained in the department pulled together.
We carried on.
And I grew, professionally and personally, in ways that shaped the rest of my career.
But looking back, what I really wish I’d had was this:
A toolkit for setbacks.
Ways to process shocks, losses, difficult people, mistakes, and the unpredictable chaos of legal work.
A way to feel supported, grounded, and confident no matter what the job threw at me.
Because things will go wrong in a legal career.
You will make mistakes.
You will lose cases.
You will probably work with difficult people.
Some of you will experience bullying or harassment.
And all of us, at some point, feel knocked off balance.
That experience, and the many challenges that followed in my 20+ years in law, are why I poured so much into the Resilience module of my course, The Successful Lawyer.
Inside the Resilience module, I teach you:
✨ How to build your own Crisis Kit
So you already have grounding tools, supportive words, and confidence-boosting resources ready before a setback hits.
✨ How to reset quickly after challenges
Using practical exercises to release self-criticism, learn from mistakes, and move forward without spiralling.
✨ How to navigate difficult people and situations
So their behaviour doesn’t derail your wellbeing, confidence, or performance.
✨ How to create daily high-performance habits
Simple practices like meditation, gratitude and visualisation that strengthen emotional resilience and help you feel grounded even in high-pressure legal work.
But resilience is only one part of the course.
The full C.R.O.W.N. framework gives you an instant upgrade to your mindset and your career:
Confidence: how to believe in yourself even after time away or a knock
Resilience: everything above
Ownership: taking control of your career and planning with strategic clarity
Wealth: building financial freedom as you build your legal career
Network: growing a book of business and a wide network, even if you’re introverted like me
I poured my heart into this course because it’s what I wish I’d had 20 years ago.
It’s practical.
It’s bite-sized.
It’s doable even for the busiest lawyer.
Here’s what will change for you
By the end of this course, you will:
✔ Feel more confident walking into rooms and speaking up
✔ Know exactly how to recover from setbacks without beating yourself up
✔ Have a clear plan for where your career is heading (and how you’ll get there)
✔ Set better boundaries so work stops taking over your life
✔ Understand your value, and communicate it with confidence
✔ Build relationships that bring you work, opportunities, and support
✔ Finally feel like you are in charge of your career, not the other way around
In short:
You’ll feel more like the successful lawyer everyone else can already see.
If you’re in a season that feels uncertain or overwhelming, I hope this story reminds you that you’ll find your footing again. You’re stronger than the challenge you’re facing.
The Successful Lawyer was created to support you through exactly these moments - to help you move forward with clarity and confidence.
Discover the course here:
You deserve a career that feels good.
Enjoy the rest of your week.
Rachel