As you may know I began coaching lawyers on client development long ago when I was still practicing law. I have coached, mentored and taught younger lawyers my entire career. I have even coached lawyers who are older than I am.
Some lawyers have gotten a lot out of the coaching and others not so much. I simply cannot motivate the unmotivated. Based on my experience working with many, many lawyers, I have come up with these leading indicators for you to determine whether client development coaching is not for you:
You prefer to work on matters for other lawyers’ clients- You are content with where you are in your career and life
- You believe there is nothing left for you to learn
- When you go home at night you frequently ask yourself why you let dad talk you into going to law school
- You hate writing, speaking and getting out and meeting new people
- You do not want to spend more than your billable time on your career
- You spend more time planning your vacation than you do your career
- A senior lawyer in your firm told you that you “need” client development coaching
- You do not care to learn about your clients’ industry or company
- You are not really interested in building personal relationships with your clients