Tim Leishman

Tim has been working with major law firms for more than 25 years, as a partner with management responsibilities in a leading Canadian firm and as a consultant since 1997 with more than a third of the Global 100 law firms and firms of all sizes. Tim designs customized leadership development programs for practice group and client team leaders, and for partners who wish to make leadership contributions in their respective practices. Tim has created advanced programs in business development, goal-setting, and managerial skills, including delegation, team leadership, project management, and feedback. Tim’s consulting expertise is in strategic planning, governance, partner compensation, succession planning, and talent strategy.

Contact Information

• Tim Leishman
  tim.leishman@firmleader.com
  (416) 560-6915

Almost every law firm faces stresses from three directions: competition from other firms, pressures from clients to provide more value, and internal tensions that arise as firms push their lawyers to do more while trying to maintain a healthy culture.  These stresses should inspire those of us involved in talent management to broaden our roles – for example, by tackling issues such as turning successful practitioners into effective leaders – and to find ways to change individual and group behaviors as well as creating programs and processes.

We’re looking forward to providing resources and having conversations to help talent-management professionals as they help their firms deal with these stresses.  We focus on the following topics, among others:

• Leadership Development - Creating effective leadership at the group, office and client-team levels, including helping leaders create engagement necessary to ensure that a group’s plans will be implemented.
• Program Design - Designing programs that change individual behaviors in areas such as business development, managing work efficiently, and developing leadership skills.
• Skill Development - Improving business development, client service, managerial, feedback and team-building skills, based on research with outstanding performers.
• Strategic Goal-Setting - Improving the effectiveness of individual and group planning processes.
• New Partner Orientation - Helping new partners get off to a strong start.
• Senior Associates - Helping “high-potential” associates prepare for partnership.
• Succession Planning - Building processes for succession-planning for client relationships and firm leadership positions.

If you are interested in discussing any of these topics either individually or as part of a group call, please let us know.

Steve also teaches writing programs for law firms, judges, and government agencies such as the SEC and would be glad to discuss that topic.  For more information, see www.armstrongtalent.com

Resources:

From time to time, we’ll be providing ideas and recommendations for useful reading.  Here’s a start:

Law firm cultures

Firms that are undergoing substantial change usually put stress on their cultures.  Conversely, firms that are trying to bring about significant firm-wide changes are often stymied by the imbedded attitudes and cultures that constitute their culture. But culture can be an amorphous concept.

Visit our group in PDC’s online community for an article that can help firms understand their cultures and how to change them when the need arises.