Guidance. Startegy. Balance

Coaching Family Law Attorneys

Working with challenging clients, the parameters of family court, and your own effort to do the right thing can lead to serious burnout.

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You’re An Attorney – Not a Therapist

But your clients need to be stable for you to do your job.

You know how to practice law.
But how do you manage the emotional storm clients bring to cases?

  • Thirty percent of family‑court attorneys show signs of secondary trauma and compassion fatigue.
  • Roughly 1 in 3 lawyers report problematic alcohol use, almost twice the rate seen in other highly educated professionals.
  • About 1 in 4 lawyers report significant depression, and nearly 1 in 5 report anxiety symptoms.
  • In high‑conflict practice areas like family law, chronic burnout often shows up as sleep disruption, irritability, emotional numbness, & second‑guessing your judgment, along with strain on physical health and close relationships.

Do these sound familiar?

  • You care about your clients but feel worn down, maybe resentful.
  • You dread hearing from certain clients and put off returing calls.
  • You find yourself answering messages at all hours so that things don’t explode.
  • You second‑guess yourself more than you’d like.
  • You find yourself snapping at support staff.
  • Your moods, health, and relationships are suffering.

Learn how to work with clients who:

  • Constantly call, message, or email.
  • Complain about their ex and or children.
  • Attack you as though it’s part of your job.
  • Try to manipulate you.
  • Burn out your staff.
  • Use children as weapons or the court as a hammer.
  • Refuse to let go and want to keep the battle going.

Develop tools to manage clients and cases:

  • Set clear limits around time, access, and behavior.
  • Create scripts for when clients are panicking, demanding, or ignoring your advice.
  • Protect staff and create a productive and healthy work environment.
  • Improve initial screening of potential clients.
  • Know when representation is no longer workable and how to refer when allowed.

Meetings:

We discuss individual cases to help you navigate the challenging clients and cases.

  • We meet by video for 30 to 90 minutes. This can be one time or scheduled as needed.
  • You talk about real situations: a specific client, an unproductive pattern, an upcoming difficult conversation or hearing.
  • We walk through what’s happening, what you’ve already tried, and what you want to be different.
  • We identify one or two immediate concrete tools for change.
  • You leave with a clearer understanding of your clients and your boundaries.
  • I send a summary email.
  • Because I live in Italy (CET time) my hours allow late or early meetings for people in the US.

About Me:

  • As a Marriage, Child and Family Therapist, I spent 40 years working with people in conflict. My clients ranged from age 3 to 85, from all walks of life and with all types of problems.
  • I specialized in treating child sexual abuse, personality and mental conditions, angry teens and adults, wards and dependents of the court, foster families, law enforcement, abusive parents, and sex offenders.
  • I was an approved an expert in human development and sexual abuse in Nevada County California Family Court and Criminal Court.
  • I’ve consulted with social workers, probation officers, family law attorneys, and judges.

My style is simple, direct, and practical. See my vitae on the about page. 

Go to the CONTACT PAGE to schedule a free initial call. If it feels like a good fit, we’ll set up the first meeting.
Fees $185/hour.