As the principals of Firm Leader, Inc., Steve Armstrong and Tim Leishman conduct programs informed by years of experience inside major law firms, as well as by Firm Leader’s work with leading firms in the U.S., Canada and internationally. We understand the realities of a partner’s working day and the pressures that individual partners and their firms face.

Beginning from these realities, our programs help partners refine their goals, develop the skills they need to reach those goals, and then follow through on their plans. The programs are highly interactive and typically employ realistic problem-solving exercises and scenarios. Each program is designed to meet the needs of a specific audience:

• Leaders and rising leaders

  Increasingly, law firms need leaders spread throughout the firm, not only in the top leadership positions. Our leadership-development programs guide partners in defining their goals as leaders, developing the skills they need to lead effectively, and planning their next steps. The programs can be designed either for partners already in leadership roles or for partners being groomed for these roles.

• Newer partners

  To succeed as partners, lawyers need strategies and skills beyond those they needed to become partners. Our programs help newer partners to:

• develop the strategies and skills that are most important to expanding their careers,
• make more effective tactical choices about how to build their reputations and their networks, and
• plan their specific next steps for building their practices.

• A program typically begins with an intensive 1 ½-day workshop and continues through a structured follow-up process. At every step, the focus is on each participant’s individual goals.

• Established partners who want to expand their practices

  In a competitive world, developing business requires a systematic analysis of markets and opportunities, a focused approach to building networks, and the skill to engage clients and potential clients in conversations that uncover new opportunities and build stronger relationships. Our programs help partners at all levels to undertake a disciplined approach to identifying and pursuing their opportunities. Typically, a program will engage 15 to 25 participants in planning their individual business development initiatives, and will follow up with them as they implement their plans.