WORKSHOPS & SPEAKING
Workshops to support your women lawyers to partnership
Now more than ever law firms must support and advance their women lawyers, a mission I champion as a leading executive coach and former lawyer.
Gender Disparities in Senior Roles: Challenges, Statistics and Costs
50% of lawyers in law firms are female but only 31% of them are in senior roles (“50:50 by 2030: A longitudinal study into gender disparity in law”, International Bar Association, 2022)
There are more women qualifying as lawyers in the UK and France than men, but many women leave before they make partnership.
It costs an average employer up to €45000 for every resignation.
Our Offering
Transformational Workshops
Pathway to Partnership Group Coaching
Workshop Outlines
Building Confidence and Impact for Women Lawyers
Practical Strategies for Leadership and Growth
This interactive workshop addresses a common but often hidden barrier to success for women lawyers: the confidence gap fueled by perfectionism and fear of failure.
Participants will develop practical tools to:
Speak up and contribute effectively in meetings and public settings.
Take on high-visibility opportunities critical for leadership and business development.
Set healthy professional boundaries and manage upwards with confidence.
Build resilience in the face of mistakes, setbacks and challenges.
Benefits for the Firm:
Support the retention and advancement of talented women lawyers.
Foster greater diversity of thought and leadership across the firm.
Strengthen client relationships by developing visible, confident leaders.
Format:
Half-day, in-person workshop for up to 12 women lawyers. Focused on practical application, shared learning and long-term career impact.
2. The Mental Load of Law: Building Resilience, Sustainability and Leadership
Practical Strategies for Long-Term Success
The legal profession demands high performance, often at the expense of wellbeing. Many lawyers operate under constant pressure, leading to stress, burnout and attrition. This workshop focuses on building a sustainable approach to resilience, leadership and career growth in a demanding environment.
Participants will develop practical tools to:
Build resilience under pressure and recover from setbacks.
Manage panic moments and maintain a steady leadership presence.
Set healthy boundaries and influence upwards effectively.
Navigate microaggressions and systemic challenges.
Support long-term wellbeing through strategies such as sleep health and sustainable work practices.
Benefits for the Firm:
Strengthen retention and development of high-performing lawyers.
Enhance leadership capabilities across all levels.
Improve client service through resilient, engaged teams.
Advance diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives through systemic support for wellbeing.
Format:
Half-day, in-person workshop for lawyers at all levels, especially mid-level and senior associates and new partners. Includes an optional 30-day accountability challenge to support practical application and lasting change.
3. Law as a Relationship Business - Building Community For Career Success
Practical Strategies for Connection and Leadership
In law, strong relationships are as critical as technical expertise. Yet many women lawyers are so focussed on client work that they neglect to build those critical communities, both inside and outside the firm.
This interactive workshop reframes relationship-building as a core professional skill. Participants will leave with practical strategies to build trust, visibility and influence in a way that feels authentic and sustainable.
Participants will develop practical tools to:
Understand the role of community-building in career advancement and leadership.
Reframe “office politics” as positive, strategic relationship-building.
Connect effectively with senior partners, peers and clients.
Build confidence in relationship-building, including strategies tailored for introverts.
Commit to meaningful, actionable steps for growing networks inside and outside the firm.
Benefits for the Firm:
Strengthen collaboration and knowledge-sharing across practice areas.
Support the retention and advancement of high-potential lawyers.
Build stronger client relationships.
Foster a more connected, cohesive firm culture.
Format:
Half-day, in-person workshop for up to 12 lawyers. Focused on practical tools, real-world examples and actionable takeaways.
4. Practical Marketing and Positioning Skills for Current and Future Partners
Overview:
Positioning, marketing and sales are three core skills expected of partners — yet none of them are taught in law school or, in many instances, by firms.
As lawyers approach partnership, they’re suddenly expected to generate enough revenue to support not just themselves, but also a wider team. With no formal training, many resort to a scattered approach: marketing across too many practice areas, targeting the wrong audiences and hoping something will stick. It’s overwhelming, time-consuming — and often ineffective.
This workshop is designed to demystify marketing for lawyers and provide a structured, reliable approach that supports long-term success. It’s not about flashy branding or gimmicks. It’s about understanding your strengths, your audience and how to build a practice with purpose.
Key Takeaways:
Participants will learn to:
Identify where their current clients come from now — and how to deepen those relationships
Clarify their professional niche: What are you known for? What do you want to be known for?
Define their smallest viable audience and how to serve it exceptionally well
Build a visibility strategy: How does your ideal audience know you exist? How do you stay top-of-mind?
Choose which marketing metrics and activities to track — and which to ignore
Focus their business development efforts on the right relationships and opportunities
Understand the firm’s policies on originating clients — and what that means for their future
This is a hands-on, interactive session with practical tools participants can immediately apply to their practice.
Ideal For:
Associates and counsel preparing for partnership
New partners refining their marketing strategy
Lawyers wanting more control over their business development efforts
Format Options:
Full-day in-person workshop
Benefits to the Firm:
Increased confidence and capability among current and future partners
More focused, efficient marketing efforts with measurable outcomes
A stronger client pipeline driven by trusted, relationship-based strategies
Better alignment between individual lawyers’ growth and the firm’s business goals
4. Practical Marketing and Positioning Skills for Current and Future Partners
Overview:
Positioning, marketing and sales are three core skills expected of partners — yet none of them are taught in law school or, in many instances, by firms.
As lawyers approach partnership, they’re suddenly expected to generate enough revenue to support not just themselves, but also a wider team. With no formal training, many resort to a scattered approach: marketing across too many practice areas, targeting the wrong audiences and hoping something will stick. It’s overwhelming, time-consuming — and often ineffective.
This workshop is designed to demystify marketing for lawyers and provide a structured, reliable approach that supports long-term success. It’s not about flashy branding or gimmicks. It’s about understanding your strengths, your audience and how to build a practice with purpose.
Key Takeaways:
Participants will learn to:
Identify where their current clients come from now — and how to deepen those relationships
Clarify their professional niche: What are you known for? What do you want to be known for?
Define their smallest viable audience and how to serve it exceptionally well
Build a visibility strategy: How does your ideal audience know you exist? How do you stay top-of-mind?
Choose which marketing metrics and activities to track — and which to ignore
Focus their business development efforts on the right relationships and opportunities
Understand the firm’s policies on originating clients — and what that means for their future
This is a hands-on, interactive session with practical tools participants can immediately apply to their practice.
Ideal For:
Associates and counsel preparing for partnership
New partners refining their marketing strategy
Lawyers wanting more control over their business development efforts
Format Options:
Full-day in-person workshop
Benefits to the Firm:
Increased confidence and capability among current and future partners
More focused, efficient marketing efforts with measurable outcomes
A stronger client pipeline driven by trusted, relationship-based strategies
Better alignment between individual lawyers’ growth and the firm’s business goals
Pathway to Partnership Group Coaching
As it becomes more and more critical for business success to have women in the top levels of law firms, we want to give women the chance to rise up and thrive in your organisation.
We believe the best way to enable women lawyers is by transformational coaching and connection to other women looking to become partners or who have just become partners.
Pathway to Partnership is a pioneering group coaching program for up to five women lawyers offering unparalleled guidance, accountability and lifelong tools and strategies for lasting change.
Over a three month period, Pathway to Partnership helps women lawyers to get clarity on their goals, to build their confidence and to become proficient at client development.
Combining our insider knowledge of international law firms with creativity, Gestalt therapy and the latest coaching techniques, we have spent thousands of hours coaching women lawyers. We understand that every woman in those industries faces different situations but similar challenges.
Pathway to Partnership will enable the women in your firm to:
Become laser-focussed on achieving their career goals
Ensure they are highly motivated
Develop strategies for ensuring that the work environment is supporting them
Become confident in speaking up in any situation
Have the skills to manage difficult conversations and relationships
Hone their public speaking skills
Become authentic, inspiring partners
Pathway to Partnership will enable your firm to:
Retain and promote more women
Increase your firm’s visibility
Increase profitability
Group booking discounts for law firms are available on request.
One-on-one coaching is also available.
About Cecilia
Cecilia helps women lawyers accelerate their path to partnership with greater confidence and clarity.
Through private coaching, workshops and client seminars, she empowers women lawyers to define their “why” for partnership, strengthen their self-belief and master the strategies needed to grow their client base effectively. Her approach is both strategic and creative, tailored to the unique challenges women face in the legal profession.
With 30 years of experience as a former lawyer and banker across Australia, England and France, she deeply understands the complexities of navigating global law firms and financial institutions. She combines this firsthand insight with her credentials as a certified executive coach, certified mediator, speaker and performer, along with seven years of individual and group Gestalt therapy. This blend of expertise allows her to support her clients not just professionally, but holistically—helping them thrive as lawyers and as partners.
DLA Piper
Hogan Lovells
Citibank
OECD
HEC
Clients
Natixis
Euroclear
Mersen
Deloittes
Ostrum Asset Management
Les Essenti’Elles (the D&I Group at BPCE)
Talentu’Elles (the D&I Group at the Bank of France)
Tikehau Capital Management
The discussions and conversations we had during the conference were eye-opening. It was truly inspiring to witness the support and encouragement we offered each other we offered each other throughout the conversation.
I do find it challenging to balance between feminine and masculine energy at work and I really liked how you addressed this topic!
Chaïmae Touma, Citibank Paris
Language
All workshops can be held in English or French.