Podcast Ep. 2: Who Can Help You on Your Partnership Journey?
Welcome to The Pathway to Partnership Podcast, where we talk about what it takes to succeed as a woman lawyer in a law firm.
My name is Cecilia Poullain — I’m a former finance lawyer who now helps women lawyers make it to partnership, using the tools and insights I’ve developed in my Pathway to Partnership programme. In this podcast, you’ll get clarity on whether partnership is truly what you want, you will build your confidence and you will master client development in a way that feels sustainable.
Let’s get you walking into the office every morning clear on why you’re aiming for partnership, free of imposter syndrome and confident in your ability to bring in clients — without burning out.
OK, let’s get into it.
Who Can Help You on Your Partnership Journey?
I’d like to start this episode with a story from a client. She told me a story that made me terribly sad but didn’t really surprise me. She told that when she was a young lawyer, she cried every day on the way to work, dried her tears and smiled just before she walked into the front door of her firm, I wasn’t surprised. Law can be a very tough, very lonely profession — and too many lawyers think they have to carry it all alone.
In this episode, we’re looking at the three different types of relationships you need to be proactively building with people who can help you on your partnership journey.
Opening: The Problem
Loneliness is a surprisingly big problem in law firms. Surrounded by people but they still feel lonely.
With competitive, smart people who can sometimes be a little intolerant of weakness and fragility.
And lawyers themselves are used to succeeding - so when they feel they’re not, that can be a very new emotion for them.
So what do they do?
- They try to carry it all alone.
- Talk to family or friends.
- Might help, but often doesn’t.
- They don’t understand the industry and they can’t really help you find solutions to your problems.
The real issue:
- Recognise when you’re struggling
- Think strategically about which relationships you actually need.
✅ The Core Solution
Truth: you cannot be a successful lawyer without successful relationships.
Three types of relationships you need to support your career.
These are the different networks:
Emotional Support (for You)
Different times in your career.
- When you’re a young lawyer.
- Approaching partnership.
- When a new partner.
- Can also be an issue with more senior lawyers, who find themselves isolated.
Crucial to be emotionally OK → otherwise you can’t be a great lawyer - or a great anything else.
May be bringing people down around you.
Not able to be proactive.
Not 100% of the time - not realistic.
Best support comes from people who understand the industry.
- Coaches and therapists can really help. Find someone you really resonate with who can help you work through various situations.
- Communities like Firm Women breakfasts → recurring feedback: “Thank goodness I’m not alone.” Gives you a much greater perspective on your problems. Run in-person in Paris and also online for women outside Paris.
- Groups of other lawyers within or outside the firm - you might want to start one. Imagine if it ran for years and you got to know each incredibly well - amazing support.
- Pathway to Partnership: 1:1 coaching + group.
If you’re feeling stressed, overwhelmed, depressed, or lonely → this is your #1 priority. I can’t stress how critical this is. I don’t want to see another talented, brilliant woman lawyer leaving the law because she wasn’t the emotional support she needed.
2. Career Support (for Your Growth)
Technical & Practical Help
Many lawyers suffer from imposter syndrome. The problem is, it’s not really imposter syndrome - a lot of lawyers, especially the younger ones, really don’t know what they’re doing. And this is a massive source of stress for them. If you don’t know what to do and are under tight deadlines to get it done, that is massively stressful. So you really need this group of people.
Colleagues, boss or peers in other firms.
Friends in-house, lecturers, professional associations.
Make it as reciprocal as possible.
Strategic: Mentors, Sponsors & Coaches
Women say that it’s not maternity leave or having small children that holds them back - it’s the lack of career support from more senior leaders. Some less ethical partners do this on purpose. Younger women lawyers - diligent. Very motivated. If you’re not getting it, you need to reach out.
Distinction between mentors, sponsors & coaches.
Inside and outside the firm.
Coach to work through business plan, difficult relationships, where they’re lacking confidence strategic decisions.
Caveat: don’t overwhelm the senior women!
3. Referral Lawyers
Other lawyers are often your biggest referral source.
Go back through your recent clients → many come from other lawyers, not just direct clients.
Reciprocal - how can you be supporting their practice. What might they need from you?
📝 Practical Exercise
Take 10 minutes after this episode to map your current network:
Who supports me emotionally?
Who helps me with technical or strategic issues?
Where does most of my work come from?
Where are the gaps?
Circle the one gap that feels most urgent — and commit to taking one small step this week to start filling it.
Outro
Thank you so much for joining me on The Pathway to Partnership Podcast. I really appreciate it. I hope that today’s episode has given you greater clarity and confidence on your own pathway to partnership.
If you enjoyed this conversation, please subscribe, share it with a colleague who might find it useful, and leave a review — let’s together help more women make it to partnership and thrive when they get there.
And if you want to go deeper, head over to www.ceciliapoullain.com where you’ll find resources and ways we can work together.
Until next time, remember: you don’t have to do this alone, and you get to define success as a woman lawyer on your own terms.