The Unstuck Lawyer®
when one of those days is every day
Coaching law firm owners and partners to help them lead proactively, take control of their time, and switch off
Specialist executive coaching for law firm owners and managing partners to help
- Take control of your diary, reduce interruptions, and set stronger boundaries
- Reduce procrastination and act on the business development and marketing projects that keep being put off
- Build confidence and authority as a leader of your firm and team
- Delegate and outsource effectively, and build a team that takes ownership
- Handle complaints and challenging conversations with greater confidence
- Make decisions more quickly and easily
- Tackle the inner critic, perfectionism, imposter feelings, and self-pressure
- Improve profitability through better use of time and comfort in charging clients
- Have a confidential sounding board for the decisions you cannot discuss inside the firm
- Stop constantly checking email, take time off, and switch off without guilt
What leadership coaching for partners and sole practitioners can help you achieve
Protected time for the work that moves your firm forward
Difficult conversations held early, not avoided
Business development and firm projects that get done
A team that takes ownership, so fewer questions land on your desk
Evenings and holidays without checking in
Regular thinking time to plan, not just react
WHAT LAW FIRM FOUNDERS AND PARTNERS SAY
“I have worked with Simona as a momentum coach for over a year, and her support has been invaluable. What makes Simona unique is her rare combination of insight: she deeply understands the challenges of being a lawyer, partner, and business owner, yet she never imposes her own perspective unless I specifically invite it.
Instead, her real strength lies in her ability to create focus. On more than one occasion, I’ve come to her with a jumble of five or six challenges weighing heavily on me. Within just 20 minutes of her incisive questioning, I left with complete clarity: I knew what truly mattered, what could wait, and what no longer deserved my energy.
I would highly recommend Simona to law firm owners, associates aspiring to partnership, and solicitors or Counsel navigating the pressures of practice or self-employment. Her ability to cut through overwhelm and help you move forward with purpose is second to none.”
Qarrar Somji, Law Firm Founder, Witan Solicitors
“If you are looking for someone to really help you overcome all those annoying habits and traits that are preventing you from implementing your tasks and maintaining progress towards your goals then I cannot recommend Simona highly enough. She really gets down to the nub of the issue to come away with actionable strategies and workarounds, in an empathetic and approachable manner. Huge thanks to Simona”
Piers Clayden, Law Firm Founder, Clayden Law
“I think the biggest takeaway is the possibility to revisit current issues, and regain focus so to speak. Also get Simona’s insights on how to deal with business and mindset goals (procrastination, distancing from firm, moving project management to ownership, and creating boundaries). I think everyone should work on their mindset and training was helpful in providing insights and points of action, some of which I have already started doing, and so it is working.”
Law Firm Founder
Ready to talk about what needs to change?
A relaxed, no-pressure, no-obligation conversation.
Responsibility may sit with you. Overwhelm need not.
The reality for law firm owners and partners
When you are running a firm it means competing demands from every direction. Fee-earning work, your team, difficult client situations, regulatory and technology changes, and it may seem like there are too many decisions only you can make. Everyone relies on you, and you are constantly available to clients, colleagues, and your team. The business development and planning you intended to do slides to next week, and then the week after. Evenings are spent catching up, and breaks rarely feel like time off. Left unchecked, that pace can lead to burnout. It can also cost you your motivation, your enjoyment of the work, your income, and the life you wanted outside it.
It does not have to stay this way. Most lawyers in this position already know what needs to change. Sometimes it is harder to step back and work out how, or, if new approaches have been tried before, what stopped the change from being implemented and sustained. Sometimes it is old habits or beliefs, and sometimes it is not being convinced the change is wise when work is busy and everyone relies on you.
Coaching gives you the opportunity to make a difference to how you work, with someone who knows the challenges, including from personal experience, so there is very little you need to explain. Alongside practical actions within your firm, we shift any habits and beliefs that may have kept your current working patterns in place, so the changes last. Helping you to lead your firm rather than react to it, feel more in control, and enjoy your work more.
New to partnership, or preparing for it?
Stepping into partnership brings its own challenges: leading former colleagues, instant expectations, bringing in new business, and feeling ready for the role.
Why coaching for managing partners and law firm owners?
Successful leaders have mentors, loyal advisors, and coaches. They help them fine-tune their management, leadership, business, and personal development skills, think more fully, uncover blindspots that slow progress, and hold them to their goals and actions.
Law Firm Expertise – Previous Salaried Partner, Solicitor 20 yrs, Leadership Coach 10 + years
I practised as an employment solicitor for approximately 20 years. As a salaried partner, my focus was business growth, marketing, and staff development. I have set up new departments and a new firm, been headhunted and promoted, and made a career change. I have been coaching for the last ten years, including law firm owners, partners, solicitors, and legal executives. I bring what I have learned from their experiences, and my own, into our sessions.
Alongside my legal career, my training includes ILM Level 7 and ILM Level 5 in Coaching and Mentoring for Senior Executives, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Practitioner, Solution Focused Therapist, Positive Psychology, Time To Think Facilitator (including Transforming Meetings®), EMDR Plus Practitioner, EFT Practitioner Levels 1 and 2, and an Advanced Diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy.
Coaching with Simona
Many of my clients know what to do, or what they want to change, but need clarity as to why it is not happening. Whether that is wondering why you still cannot protect two hours a week for the firm development work you keep promising, finding yourself in circular conversations with your team, or wanting to quieten the inner critic as you lead your firm.
I focus on mindset, behaviour, and strategy, so our sessions create internal change alongside tangible, practical actions and results.
How we work together – online coaching programmes
Becoming Unstuck Programme
Tackling the immediate challenge and creating a significant shift
3–4 months
Beyond Unstuck Programme
For those who want their firm to evolve, and to thrive within it
12 months
Frequently asked questions
I help you step back from the day to day, become clear on what needs to be prioritised, and what needs to change to reduce overwhelm and reactivity, and to improve productivity and time to think. That might be protecting time for business development, delegating more, tackling inner pressure, or finding new ways to lead your team with greater confidence.
As a former solicitor and salaried partner, with coaching, NLP, and positive psychology qualifications, I combine practical strategies with work on the habits and beliefs that make change sustainable.
Many lawyers already know some key time management techniques or have undertaken some time management training. The challenge is often that these techniques prove difficult to implement or sustain.
To change this, we need to understand why we keep using everyday habits, even when we know they are not helpful. These might include answering emails as soon as they arrive, being available for every question at all times, saying yes before checking the diary, or holding on to work or decisions that could be delegated.
Often there is an underlying worry that changing these habits will make the situation worse or create an unhelpful outcome.
Understanding the specific worry helps, along with what drives your working patterns and habits, such as people pleasing, perfectionism, avoiding conflict, or the pressure you put on yourself. That gives you the opportunity to change those habits, so you can work less under urgency, reduce interruptions, increase the chances of going home on time, and switch off.
A consultant usually provides business guidance and advises on specific approaches, and training typically teaches a skill once. Coaching works with you on your own situation over time, so you can try new approaches, implement skills, review what worked, and adjust. I share skills and experience to support your plans, but the focus is on the changes that will work for you and your firm.
Sessions are online and last 65 minutes, usually two to three weeks apart, so they fit around client work and running the firm. The aim is for coaching to give you time back rather than take it, because we focus on what is taking up your time and what can change. My clients are typically overly busy but once they have decided they want to change how they work, they manage to prioritise the sessions.
Yes. Everything we discuss is treated in the strictest confidence contractually, which is why so many firm owners and partners value having an independent sounding board. You can find the full details on the pricing page.
No. I am based in Guildford and often work in London, but most coaching takes place online, so I work with law firm owners and partners across the UK and internationally.
The simplest way is a free discovery call. It is a relaxed, no-pressure conversation about what you want to change and whether coaching with me is the right fit. If it is not, I will say so.
Ready to make leading your firm feel easier?
A relaxed, no-pressure, no-obligation conversation.
Not quite ready? You can also sign up to my Newsletter for ideas on how to run a firm for you, rather than feel like it is running you.
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Ready to take back control of your time? Get in touch, and we can explore whether coaching with me is right for you.