Why I Quit Law School After 3 Years (And What I Do Now)

Why would someone spend three years in law school, intern at top firms, and work on a major airline launch... only to walk away? Because the skills I gained there became more valuable outside the courtroom than in it.

I stayed in law school for three full years (out of five). From the first year, I secured internships. Went to uni in the morning from 7am until around 12 PM, then, internship from 1pm until 8 PM. No coffee-fetching, though, I was on my feet all day: in and out of courthouses, shadowing lawyers, delivering case folders, sitting through long procedural silences. The real thing. I knew this life wasn’t for me (but I kept going anyway, because apparently self-awareness and good decision-making don’t always share a calendar).

Boredom Ad Nauseam: Interning at a Top Brazilian Law Firm

Interning at one of Brazil's top law firms during my first year, I shadowed a junior lawyer on British American Tobacco cases, a client undefeated in Brazil. The pressure was intense and I learned to scrutinize details, but honestly, the boredom was crushing. The cases rarely moved, so I read endlessly to stay sane.

Then Came the (Jet)Blues: Working on Azul Airlines' Launch

The second firm changed everything. Hello, corporate law: M&A, project finance, corporate structuring, board matters. Then they picked me, one of just two interns, to work on the founding of David Gary Neeleman's (JetBlue) Azul Airlines in Brazil.

Yes, my fluent English was key, but it was also because I wasn’t afraid to ask questions, to speak up in rooms full of executives, to talk to the big guns like I belonged there. I was curious, communicative, and warm.

I was fearless, too. I mean, those were "just" humans, after all.

Next thing I know, I was in charge of showing them Rio, taking a group of 40-year-old American executives out on a Friday night. One for the books,... That airline case marked my first (and only) office all-nighter. At 20, formatting shareholders' agreements until 4 AM felt absurd. Yet those moments built something lasting: precision under fire, the thrill of high-stakes contribution. I left soon after Azul went live.

'Risk Is Our Business': What I Do Now After Quitting Law School

That legal lens trained me to think relentlessly about risk and integrity. I half-jokingly call myself a prophet of chaos because I’m always scanning for failure points and pressure cracks. Worst-case scenarios come naturally. I know how to draft contracts and read them with intent. Service agreements, sponsorships, talent contracts, terms and conditions. I’m trained to see what’s written, what’s implied, and what’s conveniently left out. Disclaimer: I have trust issues with anyone who says “standard contract.” lol.

Not my best year, but I learned a lot...

This is what I've done:

• Draft contracts, Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policies, the legal safeguards most brands ignore until it’s too late

• Analyze crises the way I used to dissect legal cases, precisely, without panic

• Work directly with founders to make sure they’re not about to do something that violates a contract or tanks their reputation

• Vet representatives and partners before they become reputational disasters

• Curate what goes to the press, media kits, image selection, the whole narrative

• Social Listening to monitor brand perception constantly so I know exactly what’s being said and can catch problems before they explode

I'm genuinely glad law was my first professional environment, even though I chose to quit law school before graduating. It toughened me early, sharpened my judgment, and gave me a foundation most people only develop much later.