YOUR GOALS: Where you are now? And where do you want to go?

REALITY CHECK: I’ll provide you with unbiased and straightforward feedback based about your situation and the challenges you are facing and the options and actions that are there for you to take.

FRESH PERSPECTIVE: Leave the call feeling positive and motivated with increased clarity about your situation and with steps to implement.

OBLIGATION FREE: I offer these free sessions because the only way to learn about coaching and to choose the right coach for you is to experience a coaching session. It also gives me a chance to learn how I can help.

The truth is everyone I meet with for a free session leaves with an enhanced sense of optimism and with greater clarity. It is always time well spent.

Are you a mid-career lawyer? A senior associate or junior partner? These are times of growth and opportunity. They are also when many of my clients are starting families. Coaching can help you maintain focus on your priorities and continue to advance these amid the day-to-day pressures.

My clients’ goals fall into four broad areas: practice management, business development; career development; and leadership.

For example, you may wish to work with a coach to:

• progress towards income or equity partnership
• hone your rainmaking skills
• become more efficient and productive at work
• develop your leadership skills – delegation, mentorship, and teamwork
• plan and take action to grow your legal practice
• make a successful transition to more fulfilling work
• have a thinking partner to bounce ideas off – confidentially – and hold you accountable

Coaching is valuable because of the forum it provides to discuss opportunities and challenges — completely supportive, 100% focused on your needs, and entirely confidential.

As one client recently commented: “I appreciate the way Allison can pick up on what’s bothering me and allow me to let it out. In law, we’re so restricted in terms of confidentiality, so it helps to be able to talk to someone.”

Are you a senior lawyer or the founder of a law firm?

As a senior lawyer, you may have successfully established a busy legal practice that has grown beyond your capacity to serve it. In some cases, a change in the make-up of your team has left you short-staffed, or it may be that you have been mostly going it alone.

You might be thinking about dialing back your practicing or transitioning to another related area of work. You are aware that it is time to make a change, and you are seeking coach support in gaining clarity on the change and how to carry it out.

As a senior lawyer you may also be wondering ‘what’s next?” Having grown your practice, built a client base and more, you may be feeling slightly adrift. Coaching can help you to explore this question and get recharged and refocused on new meaningful pursuits.

For law firm founders, launching and growing a law firm can be enormously rewarding and comes with many challenges. You are an entrepreneur and a lawyer. You balance the demands of leading the business and practicing law. In my work with law firm founders, we might discuss recruitment, business development, finances, and leadership all in one coaching session. More than anything, you need a thinking partner to help you strategically and swiftly navigate the challenges, make decisions, and plan practical steps forward. As your coach, I can be a confidential and trustworthy sounding board who will provide honest feedback and hold you accountable.

“Allison helps me work through the challenges of leading my growing firm. She provides guidance on leading the team, growing the practice, managing the clients and more. She also connects me with other advisors and resources as I need them. We meet twice a month and each time I have an agenda ready of the many points for us to discuss. I always come away with my questions answered and a plan to carry out.”

– Founder of a California employment law firm

Confidentiality in the client-coach relationship is paramount. As a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) and member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF) I am a signatory to their ethical requirements including the obligation of confidentiality. You can learn more about the ethical obligations of ICF Certified Coaches on their website.

The results of coaching arise from the effort and focus clients give the coaching process by setting goals, observing, planning, taking action, trying out new ideas and approaches and most importantly, learning throughout.

“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.”

“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.”

“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”.

“Coaching has ensured that I prioritize my time to focus on tasks that support my career goals.”

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

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