LAW FIRM COACHING FROM THE LAWYER'S PERSPECTIVE

Getting lawyers to attend coaching sessions is almost an impossible feat. Unless participation is looked on favorably at review time, lawyers will always use “client business” as a justification for not participating.  

In addition to the obvious reasons, you also need to consider the role of personality traits in lawyers. They are independent thinkers and they believe that they know what is best in every situation, including management of the “business” of practicing law.

The lawyers with the “perfectionist” tendencies will feel extreme anxiety in putting themselves into situations where they are afraid to “get it wrong”. This means lawyers can present a rather passive-aggressive audience, who are hard to cajole into experimenting with new behaviors in front of their peers. Instead, they are much more likely to resist the trainer and seek to find fault in the content of the session. 

The challenge therefore is to find a training intervention that offers lawyers:

- a low-risk environment for learning;

- a format that can be delivered flexibly around the day job; and

- that is effective in facilitating real progress towards learning objectives.

What makes coaching attractive?

1. Coaching allows lawyers to remain in control and set direction. It is the job of the coach to facilitate learning. At the start of an assignment, it is the coach who decides what the focus of the coaching will be. Lawyers tend to implement their own solutions much more readily than those that are thrust upon them by others.

2. Coaching is focused - The lawyers only need attend to matters that are important to them, and the learning happens at a pace they are comfortable with. This means time set aside for coaching tends to be used more efficiently than a group training session, where the trainer may feel obliged to try and satisfy disparate individual learning goals and go at the pace of the slowest lawyer. Attendance rates for coaching tend to be much higher than for other training. 

3. Coaching is structured – Lawyers tend to respond positively to the formal structure of coaching. You can appeal to their natural competitiveness and desire to exceed by setting goal and works toward them.

4. Coaching aids experimentation – The content of coaching remains confidential. This allows lawyers a safe environment to disclose any concerns they may have and to experiment with new behaviors or approaches to their work. The importance of confidentiality should not be underestimated.

The positive effects of coaching have also been found by looking at the link between coach and the lawyer. Feedback and objective metrics such as organizational KPI’s allow for the best feedback.

Coaching is a solution to meeting developmental needs in law firms, and it is a catalyst for change, even amongst lawyers.

With the right coach, give it a try! You may be pleasantly surprised.

Please contact our office at 1-813-340-9569 to set up a consultation to discuss your firm's coaching and/or administrative needs.

Or email me at liz.managementconsultant@gmail.com.

Read my recommendations on Facebook on my page, From Lawyer to Law Firm, and the testimonials on my website.

Check out my website at: www.fromlawyertolawfirm.com.