Business Development and Executive Coaching and Consulting   back to top

We help attorneys become successful rainmakers, expand their books of business, increase their visibility, and create effective marketing plans. We also help our clients improve their marketability within the firm and to clients, better manage relationships with their clients and colleagues, and refine their communication and leadership skills. Our executive coaching practice is for experienced lawyers and, in particular, partners, senior associates, and solo or small-firm practitioners.

For example, our executive coaching clients include:

• Partners (equity and non-equity) who want to increase their business development efforts and target and refine their business development plan
• Senior associates positioning themselves for partnership and those who want to create a targeted and effective business development strategy
• Solo or small-firm practitioners who already participate in numerous business development activities but want to improve their results
• Professionals who want to become more comfortable and efficient at networking and client development, as well as asking for business
• Mid-level associates who want to lay the groundwork for future business development
• Those who already have a good business development and marketing plan but who realize that a coach can help them stay on track with their goals, focus their efforts, and maximize their effectiveness

To find out more about our business development and executive coaching, please contact Melissa McClenaghan Martin at melissa_martin@careerwomensinitiative.com.

Career Transition Coaching and Consulting   back to top

For those attorneys who are facing a job transition or who are uncertain as to their long-term career path, we help them clarify their goals and priorities and create effective action plans to move their careers forward.

For example, we work with clients who:

• Need to find a job after being laid off
• Want to figure out their long-term career goals (whether that be partnership, transitioning to the government, another practice area or sector, or leaving the law entirely)  
• Those who are retooling their practice and who need help with their job search

Our career transition coaching and consulting services include:

• How to find another legal position that will be a better fit for you
• Resume and cover letter review
• Interview preparation
• How to use networking to help your job search and get you the right connections
• How to utilize your law degree and market your legal skills when looking for a non-legal position
• Assessment tools and exercises to help you sort through numerous career options and position yourself for a competitive job process
• Introduction to recruiters where appropriate and identification of resources and networking opportunities to aid your transition

Because of the state of the legal market, we are currently offering a Career Transition Intensive, a package of four individual, hour-long coaching sessions to help attorneys in transition. Sessions typically include the following topics but are modified based upon each client’s goals:

• Clarifying your goals and areas of interest
• How to position yourself for a competitive job process
• Identifying job search strategies
• Resume and cover letter review
• Strategies for landing an interview
• Using networking to help your job search, creating your pitch, and pitching informational meetings

To find out more about our career transition services, please contact Melissa McClenaghan Martin at melissa_martin@careerwomensinitiative.com.

Coaching for Women Lawyers   back to top

CWI provides coaching to women lawyers on a variety of career issues. CWI was formed to help more women reach the top of the profession, and it is our goal to give women lawyers the support, professional development and mentoring they need to do that. In addition to providing women lawyers with professional development and networking opportunities through our CWI Women Lawyers Network, we provide coaching specifically targeted to help women lawyers achieve their career goals.

Our coaching services for women attorneys include:

• Taking your career to the next level (e.g., positioning yourself for partnership or for a change of employer)
• Creating your business development strategy and plan
• Increasing your visibility within the firm and to clients
• How to get more satisfaction and fulfillment out of your career
• Developing your advocacy style and refining your communication skills
• Becoming more comfortable with networking and business development (asking for the business, handling difficult networking situations, etc.)
• Managing difficult clients and colleagues and navigating office politics
• How to succeed on a part-time schedule
• How to navigate the competing demands of work and life
• Getting the mentors you need to succeed

To find out more about our coaching, please contact Melissa McClenaghan Martin at melissa_martin@careerwomensinitiative.com.

About Melissa McClenaghan Martin back to top

All of CWI’s coaching is conducted by Melissa McClenaghan Martin, the President of Career Women’s Initiative LLC and the Lawyers’ Career Initiative.

A former practicing attorney, Melissa is an executive coach, consultant and corporate trainer who has worked with hundreds of attorneys and other professionals, helping them become more successful rainmakers, increase their effectiveness as leaders, and achieve more challenging and rewarding professional lives. Melissa has worked with professionals at all stages of their careers, from entry-level associates to senior partners at Am Law 200 firms, from those who are just starting out to experienced solo practitioners and business owners.

Melissa has ten years of experience in the legal profession. Her coaching and consulting services are informed by her experience as a practicing attorney, her years as a consultant, corporate coach and trainer to law and other professional services firms, and her extensive research into issues related to attorneys’ development and advancement. She is a frequent speaker on diversity and professional development topics, has been a columnist on professional development issues and best practices for the New York Law Journal since 2006, and is a member of numerous bar associations, including the New York County Lawyers’ Association and the ABA Women Rainmakers.

Melissa founded Career Women’s Initiative in 2005 to help more attorneys find fulfillment and success in their careers and to help law firms better retain and promote top talent, especially women employees. Melissa is also the founder of the CWI Women Lawyers Network which provides networking and career development opportunities for women attorneys through in-person events, workshops and teleconferences. In January 2009, Melissa formally launched the Lawyers’ Career Initiative to help provide all attorneys with the development, support and mentoring they need to succeed.

Melissa began her career as a litigator at Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson and later worked at Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman in New York City. Her practice focused on securities, complex commercial and product liability litigation. As an attorney, Melissa represented Fortune 500 companies, investment banks and international corporations before federal and state courts and agencies and advised C-level employees and boards of directors. She also served as secretary to the Committee on Professional and Judicial Ethics for the New York City Bar Association. She is admitted to practice in numerous courts including New York state court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.

Melissa received her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and her B.A. in English Literature and American Government from Georgetown University.

Melissa is actively involved in numerous professional and bar associations, and she sits on the Board Development Committee for the Girl Scout Council of Greater New York and the Women’s Rights Committee for the New York County Lawyers’ Association.

Melissa can be reached at melissa_martin@careerwomensinitiative.com.

Why Coaching?   back to top

Coaching is especially important and useful now, when the professional marketplace is facing dramatic changes because of the down economy and softening demand for legal services. These days, it isn’t enough to be a good lawyer or technician; you also need to set yourself apart from the competition. Coaching gives professionals an extra edge in a competitive market, helps them distinguish themselves from their peers and increases their marketability, both within their organization and outside of it.

Career and business development take time and planning. Because lawyers have scarce free time, critical career development often slides. That’s where a coach can help. A coaching relationship provides busy professionals with a dedicated resource and support system, and the sessions provide clients the time to put their development needs first.

A coach offers more sustained and targeted support and development than the mentoring or training attorneys receive on the job. Your coach is dedicated to your development and success, and they function as your advisor, career strategist, sounding board and support system.

How can coaching help?

For example, many professionals have some idea what they should be doing to develop business, and yet only a small percentage of lawyers can truly describe themselves as rainmakers. What sets these rainmakers apart is that they are spending significant, dedicated time on business development, they know where to target their efforts, they are clear on their goals, and they are confident at networking and business development. To some, these things come naturally. But, to others, rainmaking skills and strategies need to be cultivated. Some need a coach merely to help them target and focus their efforts. Others want to increase their comfort with business development. An experienced, knowledgeable coach and consultant helps you do all of those things.

CWI’s coaching clients work with Melissa McClenaghan Martin, the president of Career Women’s Initiative LLC and our affiliated organization, the Lawyers’ Career Initiative. A former practicing attorney, Melissa is an executive coach, consultant and corporate trainer who has worked with hundreds of attorneys and other professionals, helping them become more successful rainmakers, increase their effectiveness as leaders, and achieve more challenging and rewarding professional lives. Melissa has worked with professionals at all stages of their careers, from entry-level associates to senior partners at Am Law 200 firms, from those who are just starting out to experienced solo practitioners and business owners.

How does coaching work?

Coaching has no geographic limitations. Most coaching sessions take place over the phone. For our coaching clients in the New York City and Philadelphia areas, some sessions may take place in person.

The coaching relationship is confidential.

The coaching relationship begins with an initial conversation during which the coach and the potential client discuss the client’s goals and determine whether the coach/client pairing is a good fit. We also outline how the client could best use coaching to achieve his or her career goals and discuss the client’s objectives for the coaching relationship. 

The mechanics of the coaching relationship are governed by the client’s needs. In general, the sessions range in length from one half-hour to one hour. Some clients, such as those facing career transitions, have weekly sessions. Many of our rainmaking clients prefer sessions once every two weeks to give them time to take action on their business development goals. 

We also provide group coaching for groups of three to eight people. You can form a group on your own or ask us about any upcoming groups we have planned. Group coaching works best if members of the group are facing relatively similar issues (e.g., senior associates who are positioning themselves for partnership or new partners who are trying to build their book of business). Group coaching sessions generally last about one and a half hours. Group sessions begin with an introductory call to determine what issues the group wants to cover during the sessions and to discuss each member’s career goals. Based on that discussion, the coach and group set the agenda for the sessions.

During coaching sessions, we utilize a variety of tools and techniques to help clients achieve their goals. A lot of work also happens in between sessions, with the coach and client setting action plans for the client to do between sessions.

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