by Kathleen Bradley

Law schools teach lawyers the law but they do little, if anything, to teach the skills needed to become an outstanding practitioner.  Many lawyers, therefore, turn to coaches to help them acquire and develop the essential skills needed over the course of their careers.  Among the reasons that lawyers turn to coaches are the following:

• They are seeking to expand their business development effectiveness.
• They want to define their career objectives and develop an action plan for achieving their goals.
• They need to enhance their skills in a particular area, such as presentation, networking, communication, time management, stress management, and so on.
• They are called upon to manage teams of lawyers or to step up into a practice group or executive role and are looking for guidance and support as they develop the leadership skills needed to maximize their effectiveness.
• They have just made partner with the increased expectations and obligations that that entails.
• They are integrating into a new work environment, whether as the result of a lateral move or a move from one industry segment into another.
• They are transitioning into a new career.
• They want tools for sustaining their careers through midlife.
• They are looking for better ways to balance their professional and personal lives.

Although lawyers hire coaches for a variety of reasons, they all have several things in common – – they are talented, focused and results-oriented individuals who use coaching as a tool for taking control of their professional and personal lives in order to achieve high performance and career satisfaction.