Think Like a Lawyer About Your Acting Career: A Five-Step Way to Make Big Decisions
Think Like a Lawyer About Your Acting Career: A Five-Step Way to Make Big Decisions
Every actor hits the big questions sooner or later. Should I move to a bigger market? Should I sign with this agent? Should I take the unpaid project with the great director? Should I quit the day job?
These decisions usually get made at 2 a.m., mixed up with fear, excitement and whatever a friend said last week. There is a better way, and it comes from a surprising place: law school.
Kim Wehle's book How to Think Like a Lawyer, and Why (2022) is written for everyone, not just lawyers. Its core method is simple enough to use on your next career decision.
Step zero: stop glomming
Wehle's first warning is about a habit she calls glomming:
"When problems or issues are all glommed together into one big wad of confusion, it's very hard to address the questions individually, and important nuances get lost."
(Kim Wehle, How to Think Like a Lawyer, ch. 1)
"Should I move to Los Angeles?" is not one question. It is several: Can I afford it? Is there more work for my type there? Do I need an agent before I go? What happens to my current relationships and income? When they are all tangled together, the decision feels impossible. Pulled apart, each one becomes something you can actually answer.
The five steps
Wehle sums up her method in five parts:
"Break the problem down. Identify your values and your aim. Collect lots of knowledge. Argue both sides of each point. Tolerate the fact that people will disagree with your choice."
(How to Think Like a Lawyer, Introduction)
Here is what each step looks like for an actor.
1. Break the problem down
Write the big question at the top of a page. Underneath, list every smaller question inside it. For "Should I sign with this agent?" that might be: What kind of work do they book? How many clients like me do they have? What does the agreement say? What happens if it does not work out?
2. Identify your values and your aim
What do you actually want from your career in the next two to three years? More on-camera work? Theater? Steady income from commercials? Be specific. A choice that looks great for someone chasing series regular roles might be wrong for someone who wants a stable commercial career.
3. Collect lots of knowledge
Replace guesses with facts. Talk to actors who made the same move. Ask the agent direct questions. Read the actual agreement, and for anything contractual, talk to someone qualified, such as your union or an entertainment attorney. The goal is to decide based on what is true, not on what you are afraid of.
4. Argue both sides of each point
For each small question, write the best case for yes and the best case for no, as if you were a lawyer arguing each side. This is the step most actors skip. It is also the one that catches the reasons you were ignoring because you had already made up your mind.
5. Tolerate disagreement
Once you decide, some people will think you are wrong. A parent, a friend, a teacher. That is normal. If you worked through the first four steps honestly, you made a considered decision, and you can accept that others would have chosen differently.
A quick worksheet
Try this on the next decision that is keeping you up at night:
- The big question: one sentence.
- The smaller questions inside it: three to six.
- What I want most right now: one or two sentences.
- Facts I still need, and who can tell me: a short list.
- Best case for yes / best case for no: for each smaller question.
- My decision, and when I will review it: one line.
Where ActorLab fits
Big decisions go better when your craft is ready for whatever comes next. ActorLab's Scene Partner helps you keep your skills sharp while you work through the business side, so that when the new market, agent or project arrives, you are prepared to show up well.
Quotes are from Kim Wehle, How to Think Like a Lawyer, and Why (2022), Introduction and chapter 1. This post is general career advice. For contract or legal questions, talk to your union or a qualified attorney.
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