Friday night, I attended a book launch. Pretty exciting since it was for my book, Coaching for Attorneys: Improving Productivity and Achieving Balance. If you don’t yet know, I wrote this book with Sacramento attorney, Stephanie Finelli. The book launch was hosted by Tony Bell of Bell & Co., private wealth management. As I said at the event, Tony is really one of the most generous people I know; he insisted that we have an official reception for the book’s debut and hosted the whole thing for us. He had food provided by Frank Fats and drinks by Pre-Flight Lounge. It was well attended by many local attorneys, as well as a few out-of-towners.
I will say now what I said that evening. This event was exciting for me for two reasons. First, that my friends and clients showed up to celebrate with us. I feel, as a coach, that it is important to celebrate completions. And this is a big completion for us. Writing a book is a long process and it culminated in an evening where friends, colleagues, clients, attorneys and judges came to congratulate and celebrate with us.
The second reason this was an exciting event for me is because there were so many attorneys in the room I did not know, attorneys who came to the launch of a book called Coaching for Attorneys. Coaching as a profession began formally in the 1980’s and at that time was that variety known to so many as “life coaching.” Some 10 – 20 years later, companies began to hire coaches and to see what a powerful difference could be made in their organizations when a coach was employed. They saw increased revenue, increased job satisfaction, improved communication and a rising culture of accountability.
But it has only been during the last 5 – 10 years that the legal community has started to venture out and hire coaches. And they are beginning to see the value it brings. I believe the practice of law is evolving. I believe that it is becoming a profession in which people can make a difference (as lawyers do) and still be happy, fulfilled, with a sense of balance. That attorneys can have families who see and enjoy them, that they take vacations and run marathons and have hobbies (okay this last one might be a stretch). More and more, lawyers and law firms are seeing this for themselves. So when I attend an event celebrating coaching for attorneys, I feel inspired and excited for this profession and the people in it.
This book is my way of bringing the coaching tools and materials that I bring to my individual clients to anyone who reads this book. My goal in writing this book was to be able to deliver these tools and materials to those who have never hired a coach. In some respects, this book is different than my coaching, one being that it can be used as a reference whenever the need arises.
I am honored to be on the forefront of what I hope is a movement to making the practice of law a more balanced and enjoyable profession.
To your continued success!
- From left to right – our bartenders; Stephanie Finelli; Cami McLaren; Tony Bell
- And this from our friend Pam Jones in a card she gave us that night:
- “Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. The potential for greatness lives within each of us.” (Wilma Rudolph, the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field during a single Olympic Games
