Senior Lawyers and Law Firm Founders

Insight and strategic support for law firm leaders

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

As a senior lawyer, you may have successfully established a profitable legal practice and are now shifting your focus to succession planning.

You might be thinking about dialing back your practice 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

What People Say

Here’s what some of our coaching clients past and present have said about their experience

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.

Monique Shebbeare, Wills, Estates, and Reproductive Law

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.

Danielle Lewchuk

“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.”

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.

Ellen Vandergrift, Vandergrift Law

“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.”

“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”.

“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].”

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.

Michelle Yung

“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.”

Darlene W. Scott, KC, Senior Counsel, Dentons Canada LLP, and President of the Law Society of Alberta (2021-22)

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

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

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

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

“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.”

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.

Mark Tweedy, C. Med.

“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 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.”

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.

Curtis E. Marble, Partner

“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.”

Jordan Furlong, Principal Lawyer

“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.”

Are you curious to learn more about coaching?

Contact The Lawyer Coach team to find out more about our coaching program and how it can help you achieve your goals.
Contact Allison