“I am currently working on becoming self-sufficient in my business development. My approach is noticeably different. Having someone who knows more about marketing, targeting people, and how to approach people has been helpful. I’m learning how to do this from my “authentic self”.

Janiene is a fantastic coach. She is warm, compassionate, kind, patient, empathetic and insightful. She gave me tips and tools that I could incorporate into my family law practice right away. Her suggestions are extremely useful and practical. Her legal background allowed her to draw on her own experience to help guide me through my professional challenges. She is also able to put me at ease in assuring me that I am not alone in my insecurities and fears. Janiene is also very personable. I look forward to every meeting with her. She is always friendly, upbeat and motivating. What I love about coaching is the accountability element. Janiene regularly follows up with me on our action items and holds me accountable in a positive and motivating way. She genuinely cares about her clients and goes above and beyond to help. I can’t speak highly enough of Janiene.

“What a fantastic workshop! Karmen was great. I loved her energy and how she had us learning through a dialogue with her and with one another. I took a lot away from it.”

“The result has been a remarkable increase in my efficiency and productivity. This in turn has given me the confidence that I am in control of my career, a perspective I did not have prior to working with Allison.”

“In just three sessions together, Karmen helped me to identify the sources of my late-career malaise, to get my bearings about why and where to proceed from here, and to develop a framework for designing the optimal path forward for the subsequent stages of my working life. She has a knack for making the right suggestion or observation at the ideal time to trigger a revelation or kick-start the next stage of the journey. I would unequivocally recommend her services.”

“As a result of the coaching I’ve noticed I’m better able to work with and delegate to staff.”

Allison was instrumental in my transition to a practice devoted to mediation and arbitration. With her assistance, I was able to develop and then execute a plan going forward. I continue to use Allison’s services to keep me my marketing and business development work on track. I have no hesitation in recommending Allison as a coach and a marketing consultant.

“Karmen is fiercely intelligent and intuitive, with a heart of gold and amazing listening skills, always bringing clarity to the core of matters.”

Allison is my go to person for career advice. Whether I’m struggling with a new aspect of day to day practice or planning for the future, Allison is there for me. Allison takes the time to listen to and understand me: my goals, areas of challenge and personality. Allison then provides practical and useful advice that I have implemented time and time again. I really don’t know what I’d do without her.

Allison’s advice and guidance have been instrumental in helping me to develop a busy commercial litigation practice, while also prioritizing family and outside interests. Allison’s range of experience with lawyers in the United States, Canada and overseas allows her to offer a perspective to her clients that few others can. I highly recommend her services to lawyers looking to improve their practices and personal lives.

Janiene is a wonderful, caring and resourceful coach. She was instrumental in helping me, a junior lawyer, navigate the growing pains that come with articling, practice management, client management, personal development and career development. Her practical experience as a lawyer and legal assistant gives her an excellent, practice-motivated lens through which she views her clients’ situation. Overall, she is an effective, caring and resourceful mentor.

“The transition between articles and first year associate can be a daunting time. It is a time of change, learning and stress. Janiene listened to all of my complaints and helped me create strategies and solutions to deal with the various issues that arose. She not only provided skill building and coaching, but she was a pleasure to meet with and always willing to listen. I would highly recommend Janiene as a coach.”

“I am approaching practice development in a completely different way than I ever have before.”

“I am so glad Karmen was my first coach ever! By utilizing exceptional listening and critical thinking skills, a warm and non-judgmental approach, and her pure passion for helping others along with her integrity, I could open up and trust her.”

Coaching with Allison has been invaluable to me and my career. Allison is a dedicated, patient and effective coach. She has been both a practical resource for business development and a sounding board on the human and emotional level. She celebrates my successes, helps me generate ideas, and holds me accountable in moving forward, even when I am feeling uncertain or discouraged. She helps me build my resilience in dealing with all the challenges inherent in being a lawyer. She also has a very essential human touch I really appreciate.

I had attempted numerous methods in the past to improve the teamwork and productivity of our legal professionals and support staff, with very little success. However, when you explained the time management strategies during your BCLMA presentation and described how you always tailor the training programs for each individual, it made perfect sense and was vastly different from anything I had heard in the past.

Janiene, thank you for helping us develop a better understanding of each other and for sharing with us the time management skills and techniques we so desperately needed!

“I was surprised at how easy the process was and how well Karmen facilitated me through my thought process to get to where I wanted to go.”

“Karmen was fantastic – obviously very knowledgeable, and she has a calming presence and teaching style about her that made me feel comfortable/relaxed and engaged.”

Whether you’re confused about where your career is going or confident that your career has gone off the rails, reach out to Janiene

The path to creating a joyful and profitable legal practice is not paved with candy floss. And, judging by the rates of burn-out in our field, it is the path less taken. That’s why I’m so grateful for the support of lawyer coach extraordinaire Janiene Chand.

Over the last few years, Allison has become my ultimate professional–and sometimes personal–support. Her advice is strategic, action-oriented and practical. She will break down larger career goals into manageable steps that don’t feel overwhelming. I come away from our meetings reinvigorated about my career path–one that I own and have created. Ultimately, working with Allison is an investment I have made in myself and in my career. I cherish her wisdom, her sound advice and her friendship.

“The session on coaching skills for mentors led by Karmen Masson was really useful for me. Karmen is an experienced, engaging and informative instructor – I learned the importance of listening, clarifying and engaging with mentees in a thoughtful and effective way, without imposing my own beliefs and strategies on my mentee, but rather working with their own skills, beliefs and attitudes. I am definitely a better mentor for having attended this course.”

“I cannot recommend a coaching session with Janiene Chand enough. Her presentations were very thorough, and she frequently paused to ensure I understood the topic. I especially appreciated that she tailored the sessions to me by encouraging me to think of personal examples that we could work through together to find solutions. After our coaching sessions, I have become more efficient in completing tasks and adjusting my focus. My method of approaching tasks has also improved, which helps me plan out each assignment, day, and week effectively. Starting any new job can be overwhelming, but Janiene made the process seem approachable and manageable through her coaching sessions.”

Allison has provided invaluable counsel to me for many years, and I now have more control and satisfaction in my legal career than I thought possible. She has the experience to know “how it is” in law, but she also has a vision for how much better it could be, and the training to help clients discover and chart their own paths.

“I think this was extremely valuable… I feel every mentor should have an opportunity to take this course [Coaching Skills for Law Society of Alberta Mentors].”

“I started (and most importantly, stuck with!) a personalized professional development plan that works for me. Making a plan, and continuing to put that plan into place. Without question, coaching helped shape the direction of my practice, and shifted my approach to client development.”