Within law firms there is often a need to refine the development of talent and the assessment of appropriate lawyers for promotion. H4 Partners offers a wide range of services, aimed at identification and development of optimal leadership talent.

Appropriate Competencies

Defining the competencies correctly is key to a first-class development process. Where firms have not thought through appropriate competencies for a particular layer of talent we assist them in their development. Our psychologists are skilled at carrying out in-depth competency analysis.

Selection & Assessment

H4 consultants are equally comfortable designing assessment centres for an entire cohort (for example associates being considered for senior associate status) or one-off selection processes. Lateral hires can be highly successful or disastrous fiasco. Investing in a rigorous individual assessment can help avoid a costly mistake, and provide an invaluable cross-check to the internal selection process.

Development Programmes

We adopt a holistic process to development. Our highly qualified consultants have created programmes which are specifically formulated for lawyers. Our premium development programme for senior lawyers centres on:

• A 360º feedback process, based on a set of agreed competencies.
• Developmental workshops and development centres, structured around the agreed core competencies. (Typically, these are delivered by a range of specialists, some psychologists, some with other relevant backgrounds.)
• One-on-one coaching with individuals.

All H4 programmes are entirely bespoke and focus closely on the diverse needs of our clients. We have developed a highly successful pre-partnership programme, specifically designed for senior associates in the two years before they are considered for promotion to partnership. We work with them to build the skills required to become a partner and to make the most of their career prospects.

Coaching

We understand that senior lawyers encounter a wide range of challenging issues that can sometimes block their career progression or even threaten to derail it. We provide individual coaching services to senior lawyers who benefit from working with an experienced coach and as a result, re-engage with both their business and personal life in a productive, positive manner.

Coaching helps senior lawyers build high functioning relationships with colleagues and clients, and to stay motivated. Strong relationships with both colleagues and clients yield bottom-line success. Motivated lawyers work efficiently and stay focused. They win new business and retain clients.

Team Development

High functioning teams deliver top results and are greater than the sum of their parts. Dysfunctional teams sap energy from their individual members and are a drain on the organisation.

We work with both good teams and dysfunctional teams. Good teams can benefit from team coaching to help them make the leap from being good to being great. Dysfunctional teams benefit from an external consultant who can identify what is going wrong and help fix it. H4 consultants are highly experienced facilitators who use a wide range of tools and techniques to help develop the high functioning team and set the dysfunctional team back on track.

Other services

Other services include:

• Providing highly skilled consultants to facilitate the process of organisational development or change, where law firms need expert help.
• Creating bespoke seminars and workshops in a number of areas, such as wellbeing and work/life balance, conflict management and team development.

H4 seminars and workshops in the area of wellbeing and work/life balance help lawyers find workable, realistic compromises that enhance both work and home life. In our experience, work/life balance issues are particularly important in an environment where increasing client demands need to be balanced against the need to retain the brightest, best talent. Such talent requires a work culture in which it can thrive. The responsible employer will both help to shape the culture and support key individuals in arriving at their own ideal, individual, work/life balance.

Our seminars and workshops in the field of conflict management help lawyers develop or refine conflict management, mediation and negotiation skills. Conflict occurs in a wide variety of contexts – with colleagues, with clients and with external professionals. Learning new skills to mediate conflict can unblock dysfunctional relationships and lead to new, more productive alternatives.