Understanding the trajectories of legal careers, the mechanics of law firms and companies, and the business of law is invaluable. We'll work closely to clarify where your present career, professional, and personal goals intersect to determine how your current firm or company meets them or whether making a move makes sense. I'll help you make informed decisions by sharing my extensive industry knowledge, including compensation structures, culture, work/life balance, and more. As a coach who also has the knowledge of a veteran recruiter, I'll help you successfully navigate the landscape of attorney careers.
Decisions regarding the legal practice you'll choose and whether firm or company life will be a fit require guided reflection on your skills and interests and the realities of the legal market. Commonly, I see entering and junior associates making decisions without a deep knowledge of the legal market.
What is the legal marketplace, and what avenues can you take to find the best platform to learn and launch your career? Have you considered how and where you want to spend the next years? What is the breadth of practices existing and emerging, and where are the geographic hubs that will present you with the best opportunities for that practice you choose? Which practices will offer you the challenges, culture, or work/life balance you seek? If you need to re-set to another practice, how can you do so?
Our discussions will lead you toward a firmer understanding of the business of law, and will allow you to set meaningful and realistic goals. As goals are clarified and created, we'll build a fine-tuned roadmap to get you where you want to be. We'll then develop your interviewing skills, refine your resume and other materials, and create marketing campaigns to receive invitations to interview, ace them, and receive offers!
As a senior attorney committed to ongoing professional growth, there will be touchpoints when it is essential to evaluate your position and development and whether moving to another firm or company will further your career.
From our guided conversation, you'll develop clarity as to whether you want to stay with your current firm or company or if making a move is best for your career and personal life. You'll have many questions where my experience in the industry will help you understand the attorney career landscape. In combination with your experience, I'll share a wealth of information to help you create a realistic career path specific to your experience and interests and how to reach your goals.
Together, we'll work toward clarifying your goals, evaluating your current position and career trajectory, and, finally, how to get the best offers aligned with your vision.
Through tremendous work and strength of character, you've reached partnership – that place to which many, if not most, law firm attorneys aspire. Yet, you have decades of work-life left! How do you make the most of it? What do you want to see in yourself when you wake up in the morning? Are you doing the work you love?
We’ll discuss the potential value of a move to a different firm, in-house, or to the business side. How do you explore the market confidentially? How do you participate in exploratory conversations, marketing what you bring to the table as an expert in your practice and someone with unique qualities?
Do you want to be involved in business development? And, so important to your decision making process will be the answers to your important, often sensitive questions. And, to that end, is discussion as to both phrasing and timing. We’ll clarify your desired goals and set an effective path to meet them.
Karen Berkley
Premier Lawyer Coach
16 East 40th St., 4th Fl.
New York, NY 10016
T: (212) 874-2003
kberkley@berkleysearch.com
