How to be more like Cate Hall

For new lawyers in a new era

Cate Hall is, as a person, a masterclass in sharp thinking, self-awareness, and practical wisdom. In her writing, she theorizes about taking control of one’s life, and demonstrates it, weaving together personal anecdotes, strategic insights, and a refreshingly unsentimental view of success. Her essay on agency is neither a hollow pep talk nor a rehash of corporate self-help clichés. Instead, it’s a brutally honest, often funny, and deeply useful guide to making things happen, whether in law, poker, startups, or any field where conventional wisdom falls short. If agency is about spotting and seizing overlooked advantages, Hall does exactly that, not just in her career, but in the way she thinks and writes.

The legal profession is changing fast. Among other stressors, AI is automating research, contracts, and even case strategies. The safest career strategy isn’t working harder or following the traditional law firm conveyor belt, it’s being ready for change, thinking about change, and being proactive and leveraging their agency to make the most of it. Like (42-year-old former attorney)

Cate Hall

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A Person with Agency? Not Cate Hall. Credit: Dall-e.

This isn’t an innate trait. It’s not reserved for those with connections or charisma. It’s something you build by cultivating, living, and working among people who treat change as a feature, not a threat.

The best lawyers of the next decade will be the ones who have the individual emotional and social ability to actively shape the world instead of hiding from change. Here’s how; thanks to Hall:

1. Find Real Edges—What Are You Willing to Do That Others Aren’t?

Most young lawyers think they’ll get ahead by working harder. But in a world where AI will grind through legal research faster than any associate, brute force is a losing game. Real agency means spotting neglected opportunities: things that are valuable but avoided because they’re uncomfortable, inconvenient, or non-obvious.

In poker, professionals ignored physical ‘reads’ because they preferred the cutting-edge mathematical models. Hall exploited that edge and dominated.

In law, emerging fields like AI risk governance, platform liability, and cross-border data regulations are valuable but underdeveloped. Learn them before they become mainstream. If most lawyers in your firm resist learning technical skills, mastering AI-assisted legal work could make you indispensable.

2. Court Rejection—If You’re Not Failing, You’re Playing Too Small

If you only apply for jobs, projects, and roles where you feel qualified, you’re limiting your career. Get rejected on purpose. Apply for positions beyond your comfort zone. If you’re early in your career, you should be getting turned down for most of what you apply for.

Make unreasonable asks. A law firm won’t create an AI-specialist position just because you’re interested? Pitch them on why they need one. The worst they can say is no.

Don’t mistake rejection for a bad move. The real mistake is never putting yourself in situations where rejection is even possible.

3. Seek Brutally Honest Feedback—Don’t Cook Without Tasting the Food

Most lawyers get vague, useless feedback like “doing well, keep it up”. That’s a waste of time. If you want to improve, force people to give you uncomfortable feedback. Instead of “How am I doing?” ask, “What’s the one thing holding me back from making partner material?”

Anonymous feedback is often more honest. If you manage a supporting team, give them a way to critique you without fear of backlash.

Expect gut-punch moments. The most useful feedback will be the hardest to hear, but that’s also what makes it valuable.

4. Increase Your Surface Area for Luck—Meet More People, Even Randomly

The biggest opportunities in your career won’t come from planned, obvious sources. They’ll come from unexpected, interesting conversations.

Talk to technologists, policymakers, and business leaders, don’t just stay in legal circles. Book calls with people you’re interested in even when you don’t see an immediate reason. They will at least recognize your interest, and some of the most valuable career moves start from random connections. If you only have conversations that seem relevant in advance, you’ll miss the ones you couldn’t have anticipated that will change your mind or your career.

5. Assume Everything Learned By Someone Is Learnable By You

Lawyers tend to believe that certain traits – charisma, negotiation skills, strategic thinking – are innate. They’re not. Charisma can be learned by studying people who have it and mimicking their habits. Same for negotiations and strategic thinking. It’s just more deliberate and harder for some than for others.

AI is the latest thing that might give you superpowers or stand in your way, and it can be learned. But if you set out to “give it a try”, you’ll guarantee that you never learn it. AI is the definition of something no one innately gets, and a failed attempt will satisfy the minimum definition of “giving it a try”. If you treat learning it like a puzzle to solve rather than a test of your natural ability to get things right on the first attempt, you’ll gain skills - like an intuition for AI - that most lawyers assume they can’t.

6. Love the Moat of Low Status, Being Bad at Something is the First Step

Relatedly, when learning something new, whether it’s public speaking, AI, or a new practice area, you will initially suck at it. That’s the moat of low status.

Most people hate this phase and avoid learning new things because they don’t want to look bad. But if you embrace it, you gain a huge advantage, because most people won’t push through.

Lawyers often try to “quietly” learn new skills by reading a book about it when everyone else has gone home, so they don’t embarrass themselves. That’s the slowest way to get better. Ask questions. Collaborate. Be willing to look stupid for a while in front of everyone else.

7. Don’t Work Too Hard—Burnout Kills Agency

Grinding out more hours doesn’t make you better, it just makes you exhausted. The best lawyers of the future won’t be the ones who outwork everyone. They’ll be the ones who outthink everyone.

Set boundaries. Overwork narrows thinking and reduces creativity. Take real breaks. Hall sets a strict “no effort” rule on Sundays. Find what works for you.

And never take career advice from someone who has never burned out. They don’t know what they’re talking about.

Lawyers who rely on traditional career paths will find themselves terrified and outpaced by AI and automation. The ones who learn to enjoy taking control, learning new skills, making bold moves, and adapting faster than the industry, will have the opportunity to thrive. Agency isn’t innate. It’s not something you either have or don’t. It’s a skill. And the sooner you feel ridiculous by starting to develop it with your peers, in public, the more of a competitive advantage you’ll have.