The Organization
Harrison & Cole LLP is a mid-sized business law firm with approximately 85 attorneys across three offices. The firm is known for complex commercial litigation, employment law, corporate transactions, and regulatory counsel.
For years, the firm had grown primarily through strong client relationships and the individual performance of its partners. Its lawyers were talented, committed, and highly responsive to clients. However, the firm's leadership recognized that rapid growth had exposed several internal challenges.
The firm had promoted several high-performing attorneys into practice-group leadership roles. While those attorneys were outstanding legal practitioners, few had received formal leadership training. Expectations around communication, delegation, mentoring, feedback, and team accountability varied dramatically between practice groups.
At the same time, associates increasingly expressed concerns about workload, uneven access to mentoring, unclear advancement expectations, and a culture in which asking for help sometimes felt risky.
The managing partner described the situation this way:
We have excellent lawyers. What we need is a stronger leadership system. We cannot keep assuming that talented attorneys will automatically know how to lead people.
The Challenge
Harrison & Cole identified five interconnected issues:
| Challenge | Impact on the Firm |
|---|---|
| Inconsistent leadership practices | Associates had very different experiences depending on their practice group or supervising partner |
| Associate retention concerns | Several high-performing attorneys left within two years, citing limited mentorship and unclear growth opportunities |
| Avoidance of difficult conversations | Performance issues and interpersonal conflicts were often addressed late or indirectly |
| Partner overload | Partners remained deeply involved in work that could have been delegated, limiting team development and creating bottlenecks |
| Hybrid-work disconnect | Remote and newer attorneys reported less informal access to senior leaders and fewer opportunities for relationship-building |
Inconsistent leadership practices
Impact on the Firm
Associates had very different experiences depending on their practice group or supervising partner
Associate retention concerns
Impact on the Firm
Several high-performing attorneys left within two years, citing limited mentorship and unclear growth opportunities
Avoidance of difficult conversations
Impact on the Firm
Performance issues and interpersonal conflicts were often addressed late or indirectly
Partner overload
Impact on the Firm
Partners remained deeply involved in work that could have been delegated, limiting team development and creating bottlenecks
Hybrid-work disconnect
Impact on the Firm
Remote and newer attorneys reported less informal access to senior leaders and fewer opportunities for relationship-building
Leadership also knew that the firm was preparing to introduce new AI-supported research and document-analysis tools. Without a stronger culture of communication and trust, the firm worried that technology adoption would increase uncertainty rather than improve effectiveness.
The Engagement
Harrison & Cole engaged Carl Shawn Watkins Consulting to design a six-month leadership-development initiative for practice-group leaders, rising partners, and selected senior associates.
The engagement had four components.
Leadership assessment and listening process
Carl Shawn Watkins Consulting began with confidential interviews and surveys involving firm leadership, partners, associates, legal support professionals, and administrators.
The purpose was not to identify individual failures. It was to understand the leadership patterns shaping the employee experience.
Several themes emerged:
Attorneys wanted more consistent feedback, not simply annual reviews.
Rising leaders wanted clearer information about advancement and leadership opportunities.
Partners wanted practical tools for delegation, accountability, and difficult conversations.
Staff wanted more direct communication and greater inclusion in team planning.
Remote attorneys wanted more predictable mentorship and access to senior leaders.
Leaders wanted to introduce AI tools without creating fear or confusion.
The assessment gave the firm a shared language for discussing the issues. Rather than framing concerns as personality conflicts or generational differences, the firm could identify specific leadership behaviors that needed attention.
The Legal Leadership Accelerator
Twenty-four participants entered the Legal Leadership Accelerator, a cohort-based development experience tailored to the firm's needs.
Sessions focused on:
Understanding leadership identity and personal leadership patterns.
Moving from individual contributor to team leader.
Communicating expectations with clarity.
Giving and receiving feedback.
Leading difficult conversations.
Building psychological safety without lowering accountability.
Delegating work in a way that develops attorneys and staff.
Managing conflict between high-performing professionals.
Leading hybrid teams with intention.
Communicating through technological and organizational change.
Participants did not simply discuss leadership in theory. They applied each concept to active challenges inside the firm.
For example, one practice-group leader brought a recurring issue involving an associate whose work quality was strong but whose communication with staff had created frustration. Instead of avoiding the situation, the leader used a structured conversation model introduced in the program:
Describe the observed behavior without making personal assumptions.
Explain the impact on the team, workflow, and client service.
Invite the attorney's perspective.
Identify a clear expectation for improvement.
Establish a timeline and follow-up process.
The conversation was direct, respectful, and productive. The associate later reported that while the feedback was difficult to hear, the clarity was helpful and fair.
Executive and partner coaching
Carl Shawn Watkins Consulting also provided individual coaching for the managing partner, three practice-group chairs, and two rising partners.
Coaching focused on immediate leadership situations, including:
Preparing for conversations about workload and performance.
Delegating complex matters without losing client confidence.
Addressing resistance to the firm's AI implementation.
Building stronger cross-office collaboration.
Clarifying leadership expectations for new practice-group chairs.
Managing the tension between billable demands and mentorship responsibilities.
The coaching created a confidential space for leaders to examine their own habits and prepare for high-stakes conversations.
One partner discovered that their tendency to "fix" every issue personally was limiting associate development and contributing to their own burnout. Through coaching, the partner created a delegation plan that assigned more meaningful ownership to senior associates while maintaining review checkpoints and client-service standards.
Culture and accountability practices
To reinforce the leadership-development work, the firm adopted several practical changes:
Monthly practice-group leadership meetings focused on team health, workflow, talent development, and client service—not only revenue and matters.
A consistent framework for quarterly development conversations with associates.
Clearer expectations for mentorship across all offices and hybrid teams.
A leadership charter outlining behavioral standards for partners and people managers.
A structured communication plan for AI adoption, including training, quality-control expectations, and opportunities for questions.
A recognition practice that highlighted collaboration, mentorship, and team contribution alongside legal and business-development achievements.
The Results
After six months, the firm saw early but meaningful progress.
| Area | Illustrative Outcome |
|---|---|
| Feedback and accountability | Practice-group leaders reported greater confidence initiating direct conversations about performance, communication, and workload |
| Associate experience | Associates described more regular check-ins, clearer development expectations, and improved access to mentors |
| Delegation | Partners began assigning more substantive work to senior associates, creating growth opportunities and reducing partner bottlenecks |
| Hybrid collaboration | Teams established more reliable communication rhythms, including recurring check-ins and more inclusive meeting practices |
| AI readiness | Attorneys reported greater clarity about the purpose of AI tools, human-review requirements, confidentiality expectations, and available support |
| Leadership pipeline | The firm identified a cohort of emerging leaders and created a plan for continued development, succession readiness, and increased leadership responsibility |
Feedback and accountability
Illustrative Outcome
Practice-group leaders reported greater confidence initiating direct conversations about performance, communication, and workload
Associate experience
Illustrative Outcome
Associates described more regular check-ins, clearer development expectations, and improved access to mentors
Delegation
Illustrative Outcome
Partners began assigning more substantive work to senior associates, creating growth opportunities and reducing partner bottlenecks
Hybrid collaboration
Illustrative Outcome
Teams established more reliable communication rhythms, including recurring check-ins and more inclusive meeting practices
AI readiness
Illustrative Outcome
Attorneys reported greater clarity about the purpose of AI tools, human-review requirements, confidentiality expectations, and available support
Leadership pipeline
Illustrative Outcome
The firm identified a cohort of emerging leaders and created a plan for continued development, succession readiness, and increased leadership responsibility
The managing partner summarized the shift:
The program did not give us a one-size-fits-all leadership script. It helped our leaders become more intentional. We are having conversations sooner, supporting our attorneys more consistently, and holding ourselves more accountable for the culture we create.
The Key Lesson
Harrison & Cole's experience illustrates an important truth for law firms and legal departments: culture is not created by statements on a website, a once-a-year retreat, or a list of values displayed in a conference room.
Culture is created through everyday leadership behavior.
It is created when a partner gives clear feedback early rather than allowing frustration to build. It is created when a practice-group leader delegates meaningful work and provides guidance. It is created when a managing partner communicates honestly during change. It is created when attorneys and staff understand that high standards and human dignity can exist together.
The firm's greatest improvement did not come from a single workshop or policy. It came from building leadership capacity across the organization.
How Carl Shawn Watkins Consulting Can Help
Carl Shawn Watkins Consulting works with law firms, legal departments, and organizations seeking to strengthen leadership, culture, communication, and talent development.
Services may include:
The Legal Leadership Accelerator.
Executive and leadership coaching.
Practice-group and partner development.
Courageous conversations and conflict-navigation workshops.
Hybrid-team leadership training.
Culture and leadership assessments.
Attorney well-being and sustainable-performance workshops.
AI change-leadership facilitation.
Leadership-pipeline and succession-planning support.
To begin a conversation about building courageous, values-centered leadership in your firm or organization, contact Carl Shawn Watkins Consulting through https://cswleadership.com or explore the https://cswleadership.com/accelerator/.