The life of a busy lawyer doesn’t always leave time for professional development. The way in which lawyers, especially female lawyers, find support and guidance can vary from a formal, structured mentoring program, to a ‘buddy’ system where trainees are paired with a colleague.

Magic Circle firm Freshfields has formal mentoring programmes and now provides partner access to a tailored development programme of informal executive coaching from an external provider.  Freshfields commissioned research into the real and perceived barriers women encounter and worked in partnership with Aspire, a women's leadership and development consultancy, to create programmes which would help to overcome these barriers. Partner Connie Carnabuci called the service, available to women around the global Freshfields network ‘tremendously inspiring’ and said she would recommend using an executive coach to any busy professional. Carnabuci holds regular 7am phone calls with her assigned coach, who is based in LA, and says that the benefits of executive coaching include  a ‘trickle down’ effect as it enables her to be a better role model and mentor to the associates and support staff in the firm."[The coaching] "ensures that I am focussed on the importance of being a role model for other women in my team - we know that this is a very important factor for our more junior lawyers in their career development," she added.  

One of the best aspects of the experience, according to Carnabuci, is the fact that this sort of coaching is informal and flexible, but also completely confidential. This allows her to discuss anything from stressful situations dealing with clients to domestic issues. “It can be difficult to talk about these things with one's fellow partners, husband, or friends, as they are often business sensitive. My coach is totally there for me, totally confidential,” she added.At associate level, and initially in London, Carnabuci added that the programmes bring small groups of women at similar levels together to look at issues such as building confidence, raising profile and making an impact with business leaders and clients.

Coaching vs Mentoring – what the experts say:

There is a big difference between executive coaching and mentoring, according to Dr Samantha Collins, CEO and founder of the Aspire group of companies. Aspire has provided coaching services to more than 10 top law firms, including two Magic Circle firms. “The mentor is often someone working within the company and a coach is often external. A mentor is more of an advisor based on their own direct experience. A coach is more facilitative and seeks to empower the individual to find their own solutions that will work for them - this is particularly important for a new generation of women who may not want to do things the way a more senior mentor has,” said Collins.

Collins also said that where coaching comes into its own is in helping lawyers achieve a harmonious balance between work and home life. It seems to be Collins’ experience that external third party support, which doesn’t come from either the work or home setting, is the key to this. Other areas where Collins is frequently asked for advice relate more to straightforward mentoring : “Other very common areas are how best to be a mentor and role model to those in their team; how to influence changes to firm culture; how to develop new business and how to advance women in the firm,” she added. Collins also said that not enough law firms use coaching services to their full potential: “At present it is the more innovative and I suppose forward thinking companies who understand the value of coaching in the workplace.”