About Certified Professional Coaching

Most lawyers are constantly striving to find ways to improve and reach their highest potential, whether that means improving practice skills, profitability, the integration of work and personal life pursuits, seeking a higher level of confidence and overall well-being, improved professional or personal relationships, or some other way.  A certified professional coach is someone trained to partner with a person to maximize full personal and professional potential and reach that person’s desired results. Coaching is confidential and uses deep learning and forward-focused dialogue between a coach and a lawyer to explore a challenge brought forward by the lawyer. In short, it is a form of facilitated learning, understanding of our internal landscape, and growth as a human being.  

Coaches can have different focus areas such a personal development, business strategy, leadership acumen, team performance, time and stress management, and increased confidence and presence for enhanced productivity.  A coach supports a lawyer in identifying goals in a certain area of life and helps develop an action plan to meet those goals, providing experience, skills and techniques, enthusiastic support, objective perspective, and insight along the way. Professional coaching is not therapy or mentoring.  A coach will partner with a lawyer to evoke awareness, allowing the lawyer to notice, understand and make choices in a way that best serves the lawyer along that lawyer’s life path.

Why would a lawyer seek out a coach?  Perhaps a lawyer wants to improve the lawyer’s communication skills with clients, opposing counsel, courts, or all of the above.  Maybe a lawyer wants to find a way to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the law firm’s operations, thereby maximizing profits without having to spend a lot of extra hours working.  Possibly a lawyer wants to find a way to better integrate personal and professional pursuits to derive more enjoyment from the practice of law and from life in general.  Or maybe a lawyer wants to feel more energized and engaged with the lawyer’s existing practice and practice in a way that feels “true” to the lawyer’s core values and beliefs.  The right professional coach has the potential to assist a lawyer with these goals, and many more. 

If you want to learn more about professional coaching and connect with a possible coach to fit your circumstances, you can click HERE and you will be taken to a list of coaches who have self-identified the areas in which they coach, along with their experience and credentials.  By clicking on this link, you understand, acknowledge and agree that the State Bar of New Mexico has not independently vetted any of the listed coaches nor verified or confirmed their credentials or experience. You further understand and agree that when offering coaching services these individuals are not employees or agents of the State Bar of New Mexico and the formation of any relationship between a lawyer and a coach does not constitute the formation of or a relationship between the lawyer and the State Bar of New Mexico.  The list of possible coaches is provided to members of the State Bar of New Mexico for informational purposes only and is not intended to be exhaustive or applicable to all circumstances. If you choose to utilize the services of any listed coach, any financial compensation for the coach will be your sole responsibility and the State Bar is not paying you or the coach for any such services, nor has the State Bar set the fee for any coach.  The provision of the information on coaches is not intended to, and you agree that it does not constitute legal advice to a lawyer or law firm, nor is the listing of coaches an endorsement or recommendation by the State Bar of New Mexico of any person or entity, or an indication that any coaches listed herein are suitable for a lawyer’s particular needs.  Moreover, the fact that a coach is not listed herein is not an indication that the coach would not be suitable as a professional coach for a lawyer. This list is not a substitute for independent analysis and research by a lawyer or law firm.  Each lawyer and law firm are responsible for their own determination as to whether to pursue a relationship with a coach, what coach, if any, to use regardless of whether that coach is listed on the next page and the rate and manner of compensation for the coach.