OUR PRACTICE
FOR PRIVATE PRACTICE
Although coaching or mentoring can be beneficial at any stage of a lawyer's career, there are five phases in the life cycle of a lawyer when coaching and mentoring can be of particular use, both for the development of the individual and for the firm trying to ensure its people reach their potential.
These five phases are:
1. The run up to partnership, from years 5-8 PQE. It is during this stage that most associates need to broaden their focus from purely transactional work and billable hours. This usually requires more time spent developing soft skills, for which coaching can be very relevant.
2. The transition to partner. To prepare successfully for partnership, which entails a whole new set of skills and responsibilities, ideally should take place over years rather than months. The key to being a successful partner entails the individual finding his or her own voice and style, as much as the management skills that comes with the greater responsibility. This requires concentrating on the individual’s strengths and weaknesses, a process for which one-to-one coaching is especially suited.
3. Change of responsibility. This could be, for example, being elected to a managing partner role, or becoming head of a group or department. This puts the onus on leadership and management. Management skills often need to be imbued or drawn out of the individual, a process for which coaching is ideally suited.
4. Lateral hires. The confidential nature of external coaching can be utilised in situations where people are being hired laterally, particularly in the period when the lateral hire is integrating into the new firm and department.
5. Leaving the partnership. Partners who are coming to the end of their career, and intending either to retire or to seek alternative occupations, often benefit from outside mentoring. Planning is key, as is professional guidance on developing new skills. Our approach is to embark on group coaching anything up to five years before retirement. This can be followed up by one-to-one coaching, including, where needed, outplacement guidance. We also offer insight on how lawyers are perceived by business generally and how to counter misperceptions.
Coaching and/or mentoring can help identify realistic options and stimulate dialogue between the firm and the retiring partner.
FOR IN-HOUSE LAWYERS
There are a number of specific challenges in developing the careers of in-house lawyers. They (usually) have just one client, who is also because their employer. Many in-house lawyers work in small legal departments.
We believe that coaching and mentoring can be particularly helpful for in-house lawyers in the following areas:
1. helping a lawyer to take on non-legal work in addition to legal duties
2. dealing with taking on an additional legal function following a major acquisition or merger
3. planning for a large reduction in the legal department.
FOR PRIVATE PRACTICE
Although coaching or mentoring can be beneficial at any stage of a lawyer's career, there are five phases in the life cycle of a lawyer when coaching and mentoring can be of particular use, both for the development of the individual and for the firm trying to ensure its people reach their potential.
These five phases are:
1. The run up to partnership, from years 5-8 PQE. It is during this stage that most associates need to broaden their focus from purely transactional work and billable hours. This usually requires more time spent developing soft skills, for which coaching can be very relevant.
2. The transition to partner. To prepare successfully for partnership, which entails a whole new set of skills and responsibilities, ideally should take place over years rather than months. The key to being a successful partner entails the individual finding his or her own voice and style, as much as the management skills that comes with the greater responsibility. This requires concentrating on the individual’s strengths and weaknesses, a process for which one-to-one coaching is especially suited.
3. Change of responsibility. This could be, for example, being elected to a managing partner role, or becoming head of a group or department. This puts the onus on leadership and management. Management skills often need to be imbued or drawn out of the individual, a process for which coaching is ideally suited.
4. Lateral hires. The confidential nature of external coaching can be utilised in situations where people are being hired laterally, particularly in the period when the lateral hire is integrating into the new firm and department.
5. Leaving the partnership. Partners who are coming to the end of their career, and intending either to retire or to seek alternative occupations, often benefit from outside mentoring. Planning is key, as is professional guidance on developing new skills. Our approach is to embark on group coaching anything up to five years before retirement. This can be followed up by one-to-one coaching, including, where needed, outplacement guidance. We also offer insight on how lawyers are perceived by business generally and how to counter misperceptions.
Coaching and/or mentoring can help identify realistic options and stimulate dialogue between the firm and the retiring partner.
FOR IN-HOUSE LAWYERS
There are a number of specific challenges in developing the careers of in-house lawyers. They (usually) have just one client, who is also because their employer. Many in-house lawyers work in small legal departments.
We believe that coaching and mentoring can be particularly helpful for in-house lawyers in the following areas:
1. helping a lawyer to take on non-legal work in addition to legal duties
2. dealing with taking on an additional legal function following a major acquisition or merger
3. planning for a large reduction in the legal department.
What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself
