Workshop
Building your business plan
Lawyers are busy. It's all too easy to get caught up in the endless run of emergencies and put off taking the time to think about where your career is headed, and how you will get there.
But you know that careful planning is essential to ensuring your clients get the right result; your career deserves the same strategic attention. Thinking ahead maximises your chances of ending up in the right place and doing work that challenges you in all the right ways—instead of just drifting with the current and ending up in what feels like just a job instead of a calling.
That’s why I have partnered with marketing expert Cécile Roche—who, like me, is dedicated to serving the unique needs of lawyers and law firms—to offer a comprehensive programme to help lawyers develop effective and actionable business plans to guide strategically your professional growth. Experience has taught us that a simple but solid business plan helps you stay on track and prioritise the actions and opportunities that will allow you to develop into the lawyer you aspire to be.
Cécile and I regularly talk about the importance of business plans for lawyers (see, for example, one article we have written on the topic here), because years of work with our clients has proven that a well-thought-out business plan is fundamental to success in what is becoming an increasingly complex and challenging market.
The programme is divided into two parts: a group workshop followed by one-on-one coaching and marketing sessions.
Two experts in two complementary fields
Trust us—we know a thing or two about business plans for lawyers.
Jonathan Passaro
Jon is a former lawyer (Harvard JD, international arbitration at Gide and Freshfields) who has spent the past several years as an executive coach working with lawyers in top-ranked firms across Europe (Brussels, Geneva, London, Paris).
His clients frequently seek his help on developing, refining and executing their BD strategy (you can read a description of one example here). Jon works in English and in French. You can read more about him here.
Cécile Roche
Cécile is a marketing, communications and business development consultant specialising in business law firms. She supports both law firms and solo practitioners in enhancing their expertise and driving the strategic development of their practice.
A former lawyer who moved to the business side of law firms, she brings 15 years of experience within firms and more than 10 years dedicated to marketing, communications and business development. For over four years, she has been acting as an outsourced Marketing, Communications and Business Development Director, both at launch stage (business plans, go-to-market strategy) and in ongoing strategic leadership. Fully bilingual in French and English, she advises clients in both domestic and international environments. To visit Cécile’s website, click here.
Part 1: Group workshop
What is it?
A laser-focused workshop that gives participants the tools to create a well-structured business plan aligned with their professional ambitions.
Who is it for?
Lawyers who want to develop a more clear and robust professional development strategy, regardless of their level of seniority or their ambitions to becoming partner.
Objective:
Lay the groundwork for a business plan that works for you.
Content:
A group workshop that walks you through the basics of drafting business plans: what they are, why you need one, content, format, key questions to ask and the various steps to draft, develop and refine the plan so that you have a document that you can put into action.
Part 2: One-on-one support
We offer one-on-one sessions to help participants refine and implement learnings from the group session while taking into account each lawyer’s specificities.
Who is it for?
Any lawyer who has participated in the group workshop.
Objective:
Refine your business plan and ensure that you are able effectively to deploy it as a bespoke strategic tool both in terms of content (vision, value proposition, target clients) and form (structure, communication, brand).
Content:
Individual coaching and consulting sessions:
—One-on-one coaching sessions allow you to refine your professional objectives and your plan for achieving them, benefitting from the objective eye of an executive coach whose practice is dedicated to serving lawyers like you.
—Consulting on marketing/communication/business development sessions allow you to go into the details of your individual strategy and address key issues in marketing, communication and business development.
Your career merits the same strategic attention you give to your clients
Would you like more information about how the lawyers at your firm could benefit from our programme on business plans? Contact Jon and Cécile to set up a call.