The secret to law practice development? Successful attorneys are using coaches; experts like Amy who know the legal industry inside and out. From law practice partner, to legal educator, to Apochromatik, over a cup of coffee Amy can offer her fellow attorneys expertise it’d take decades for them to learn from books. Which is why her lawyer clients call her their ‘secret weapon.’
Developing Your Law Practice with Actionable Goals:
- Driving employee engagement without a traditional office setup (5:44)
- Goals you can measure and where attorneys trip up (14:34)
- Where do you want to end up? (21:24)
- What Amy Gardner wants to see changed in the business of law (35:23)
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For a long-term career, take control with purpose and develop a law practice you love.
“One law firm partner told us not too long ago, ‘My team needs more than just another happy hour.’ And so it really is about making sure that teams have the time to spend together. And that [this time is spent] building relationships, rather than just getting things done.”
“I see lawyers all the time will say things like I want to bring in more business. Well, that’s a great aspiration. But that’s not really a goal, right? You got to have measurements so that you know whether or not you’ve achieved your goal.”
“The people who work for [a law firm] really want feedback, and they want mentoring….They feel like the maybe the firm will teach them how to write a brief. But that doesn’t mean that they feel like they’re always getting as much guidance as they want in terms of how to present arguments and things like that.”
CONNECT WITH AMY GARDNER, Law Practice Development Coach
Amy M. Gardner is a certified Career and Career Transitions Coach and Team Development and Leadership Consultant with Apochromatik. She coaches attorneys and other professionals one-on-one, in small group “Future in Focus” attorney masterminds, and delivers workshops for law firms and other employers.
Her work draws on her unique experience as dean of students at the University of Chicago Law School and a successful career practicing law, first as a Skadden litigation associate and later as an associate and then partner at a mid-size Chicago firm. Her career and goal achievement advice has been featured in media including ABA publications, Bustle, Corporette, Glassdoor, Health, Monster, NBC, and Women’s Running magazine.
Amy’s LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/amygardner
Apochromatik: www.apochromatik.com
Blog: https://www.apochromatik.com/blog
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/apochromatik
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/apochromatik
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_apochromatik/
More Law Practice Development Blogs
- Leslee Cohen, “Apochromatik” The Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law Newsletter (Winter 2020)
https://storage.memberplanet.com/groups/docustore/92295d87a6f326d3a3e8a1daad9827c9f85f6b29641197a62cd4fc1d451ba902/Coalition-Newsletter—December-2020—FINAL—12-22-20.pdf - Amy M. Gardner & Keith R. Sbiral, “Goals Only Go So Far: Why Engagement Should Top Your To-Do List in 2021” The Bottom Line: The newsletter of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Law Office Management and Economics (Winter 2021)
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57d5ada959cc684a2334324f/t/602577826a0e1879eebd3fce/1613068162399/Law+Office+Management+and+Economics%2C+Standing+Committee+on+February+2021.pdf - “Lawyering And Parenting? Legal Support Services Help Lawyer Moms Do Both” Amata Blog (11 February, 2021)
https://ablog.amatacorp.com/blog/posts/legal-support-services-lawyer-moms/
Have comments, questions, or concerns? Contact us at feedback@1958lawyer.com
“The 1958 Lawyer and his 1938 Dollar” still defines the business of law…
It’s time for a change.
If you’re a lawyer, you’re familiar with the ABA article “The 1958 Lawyer and his 1938 Dollar” which gives our podcast its title, and its inspiration. That article was the start of the billable hour for law firms…And the last major change to the business of law, 70+ years ago now. Well, it’s past time for another change.
This podcast is all about bucking the status quo of the business of law. Your hosts Ron Bockstahler and Kirsten Mayfield run Amata Law Office Suites, providing law firms an alternative to the traditional fixed-cost business model that places unwanted stress on attorneys to work long hours that often-times lead to burn out, broken relationships and in many cases substance abuse. Each week they’ll discuss alternatives to the 12 hours days, endless rotation of clerks and paralegals, and the expensive offices leased to impress clients who rarely show up in person anymore. They’ll interview successful lawyers who are doing law differently, and finding a work-life balance while still running a successful firm.
Do you want to find a better way to run your law firm? It’s time for the next big change in the business of law, and you’ll get it here on The 1958 Lawyer.