The 3^rd and 4^th years of an associate’s legal career are of paramount significance.

Our unique Make Your Mark coaching program helps law firm leaders and associates critically assess their contributions in the firm and begin implementing a plan for the future.

From the Law Firm’s Lens

After a smooth entry into the law firm as a newly minted lawyer, the game starts to change by the third and fourth years of an associate’s career. Associates are increasingly under the microscope as their performance and work product is more critically observed by colleagues, partners and law firm management. This is the time when associates start to build a reputation and differentiate themselves. Partners will start to identify associates as “go-to” colleagues who consistently deliver quality work and contribute productively to the life of the firm—or not.

The firms themselves also have some important decisions to make about how to keep high performers engaged and productive so they don’t lose them to a competitor, and how—or how much—to invest in average or lower performers to help turn around their performance. It’s a time of careful management of the firm’s substantial investment in its associates.

From the Associates’ Lens

At the same time that these internal observations are taking shape, the associates themselves begin to form their own opinions about their work, the law firm environment, and their professional future. High-performing associates may be having thoughts about working elsewhere; lower performers may not recognize there is anything wrong and merely “stay the course” in oblivion.

At this juncture, coaching is critical to help facilitate meaningful conversations between firm and associate and to open up dialogue with associates to help them take an honest look at their performance and their career, set goals, and put them into action.

For law firms:
Advantages to law firm leaders who invest in the Make Your Mark associate coaching program include:

• Department chairs and practice leaders are involved from the beginning. We start with an honest conversation—based on data and observations—to assess the associate’s strengths, weaknesses and the firm’s needs. Together we formulate a strategy.
• We help open up a more productive feedback process. If feedback on performance is withheld, associates assume everything is okay when often it is not. And, often there are generational differences in how feedback is received. For Generation X and Y, “no news is good news.” For Milennials, however, “no news is bad news.” We help associates digest feedback and take immediate, practical steps to respond.
• Firm management is kept appraised through all phases of the engagement, including a midpoint progress report and an end-of-engagement summary.

For associates:
Associates who participate in our Make Your Mark coaching program will:

• Gain a fuller understanding of their professional strengths and areas for improvement, and an action plan for playing to those strengths or addresses weaknesses.
• Wrestle with their questions about their professional future.
  
• Articulate their professional brand and take steps to build it within the firm.