New York Lawyer
April 21, 2005

Q:
I've been practicing law for 12 unhappy years, and I'm reaching the point where I'd like to find a new profession. I think a career coach might be helpful but I'm not sure how to find a reputable one. Any suggestions?

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A:

Wow! Twelve years! As Dr. Ellen Ostrow, a psychologist who founded LawyersLifeCoach (and is a topnotch lawyers� coach), says, "First of all, twelve years is way too long to be unhappy. So, congratulations on taking the first step to reclaim your life."

I�m going to turn over much of this column to Ellen�s remarks because she is far more knowledgeable than I on this topic. Just one preliminary point: these days there are more and more coaches out there; you must be careful in selecting one so that you don�t wind up creating even more havoc in your life than you already have. Okay, over to Ellen:

"The issue of finding a reputable coach is an important one - many, many people who've never had any training in coaching or calling themselves `coaches� these days," she says. "One way to approach finding a coach would be to check the International Coach Federation's website. It has a huge database of coaches, specialties, etc. Being listed means the person is a member of the ICF, but that doesn't necessarily address training, skill or how good a match that person would be for you.

"There are some coach training programs, such as MentorCoach, Coach Training Institute, the Hudson Institute, Coach Training Institute and Coach U, that have been along for a long time," she goes on, "and it's likely that someone who was trained in one of these programs would have had good training in coaching skills in general. I say `in general� because not every trained coach has specific training in career coaching. I teach the career coaching part of MentorCoach's training program, so I'm very familiar with the difference between being trained as a general `life coach� and knowing how to coach someone to explore career transitions.

"Some attorneys like the idea of having a coach who once practiced law," Ellen acknowledges. "As a lawyer's coach who never practiced law, I don't believe that the best coach for a lawyer is necessarily someone who practiced law before. However, if this is your preference, just make sure the coach has received specific training in coaching. It would be very helpful to find someone who has a good understanding of and familiarity with the legal profession and issues facing dissatisfied lawyers.

"In terms of exploring career possibilities for yourself," Ellen says, "it might be useful to consider whether your experience in legal practice necessarily represents the universe of what someone can do with a law degree." [Good point -- there are lots of things out there to do. Make sure if you start to explore career moves with a coach that you keep an open mind.]

Ellen continues, "Many coaches have websites, and visiting these can give you an idea of the coach's approach. Read any archived issues of newsletters and articles and see if you like what you're reading. Does it sound like someone who might be able to understand the goals you're trying to reach?

"Besides training and experience, the most important thing to consider is whether you feel like the coach you hire is a good fit for you. Most coaches offer free initial consultations (usually by phone) to give you an opportunity to assess this, as well as for you to ask all of the questions you have. Remember that you'll want to have a safe, trusting, comfortable and confidential relationship with your coach. During the conversation you might want to ask the coach about how they approach career transitions, the structure of the relationship, training, and experience. I offer to connect prospective clients with people I've coached around issues similar to those the person is calling about and who have offered to serve as references. "Of course the best way to find a good coach is to ask others for recommendations - just the way you'd find a dentist or therapist. You'd still need to talk to the coach to make sure this will be a good fit." [Sometimes this can be an issue if you don�t necessarily want to publicize to others that you want to get a coach. In that case, ask people who are friends in other industries if they have recommendations.]

Finally, Ellen says that she�s wary of coaches who require that the client commit to at least three months of coaching, or some other minimum period: "My own view is that if the relationship isn't working for the client, the client needs to tell the coach, and if they can't arrive at a happy resolution, then the coach should offer three referrals."

That�s the scoop on coaching from an expert. Good luck in sorting out your future -- and don�t let another 12 years go by without a change.

Sincerely,
Holly English