Someone to Watch Over You: Lawyers Turn to Career Coaches For Help in Their Professional Lives

ABA Journal
October 2003
By Martha Neil

"Most any lawyer would welcome the chance to work with a good coach to help improve a golf swing or workout routine. What may not have occurred to many lawyers - at least not yet - is to look for a coach to help improve their professional lives.

But career coaching may be the next big movement for lawyers who want to improve their careers and find a better balance between work and home life. Career coaching is kin to the more-established practice of career counseling. But while career counseling may focus largely on helping someone change jobs, coaching considers the broader issues of career development while tackling specific issues in a very direct way, say practitioners in the field.

"A lot of the career coaching I do is not career change but helping attorneys figure out how to be successful in their legal careers, while at the same time accomplishing goals that are not career-related, like having a life," says Ellen Ostrow, a psychologist in the Washington, D.C. area who offers career coaching services to lawyers.

Typically, career coaches consult with clients by telephone as well as in person, say some coaches.

"As busy as attorneys are, most of them are very happy not to leave their office," says Ostrow.