Leadership Coaching for Lawyers: From Solo Practice to Long-Term Growth
When Colin Austin started Hillsborough Wills & Trusts, he knew the legal side of the work but was still learning how to build a business. Through long-term business and leadership coaching, he’s grown from a solo practitioner into the leader of a six-person firm while continuing to look ahead to what comes next.
Key Takeaways
- An estate planning attorney turned to business coaching with questions about how to grow his practice, what to focus on, and how to build the business.
- Consistent monthly meetings, goal setting, accountability, and opportunities to step away from the office have helped him think strategically, make plans, and keep moving forward.
- Today, the firm has grown from one person to six, revenues have more than doubled over the last five years, and leadership coaching is helping Colin navigate expansion and the next stage of growth.
“We have a particular business model that’s community facing,” says Colin Austin, Founder and Managing Attorney of Hillsborough Wills & Trusts. “We engage a lot with people and their families in the public outside of our office.”
Developing strong ties within the local community has been a priority for the estate planning and elder law practice Colin has built in Hillsborough, North Carolina. The firm serves clients throughout Orange County and the surrounding counties, helping people prepare the documents they need to protect themselves and their families, and make sure their wishes are known.
“We really try to understand families and dynamics and local resources that can support people who may need some help,” Colin says. “That’s especially with regard to issues people face as they age, which may include memory loss, isolation, and difficulty accessing benefits or managing their healthcare.”
While Colin started as a solo practitioner, he now has a staff of six, including Estate Planning Attorney Sheyna Alterovitz who brings years of experience in aging-related advocacy, and his wife Jill, who handles marketing and outreach.
Their local connections include other advocates for senior citizens. “We’re connected pretty strongly with Orange County Department on Aging, other service providers, adult daycare providers, and other agencies and businesses that may serve people as they get older,” Colin says.
The firm also participates in and contributes to community events, works with the local arts council, hosts local artists during Last Fridays and Art Walk activities, and volunteers as a staff.
“We’re mainly trying to be a part of the community resources so we can help our clients with the challenges they may face,” Colin says.
In 2018, though, when Colin first reached out to Growth Academy Coaching about the possibility of coaching, he had a lot of questions about what the business would be like, how to grow it, and what to focus on.
Learning How to Build a Business
Working by himself in the early days of the firm, Colin was learning a lot and had one mentor, a local attorney who was helping with some legal issues.
“I really didn’t know very much about building a business,” he says. “I was involved in some community groups like the Rotary Club. Then, when I first met Joe, we struck up a friendship. I enjoyed meeting him and hearing his perspective and then invited him to come to our office.”
At the time, his office was in a shared space with another law firm.
“I had a lot of questions and needs around what this business would be like, how I could grow it, and what I should be focusing on,” Colin says. “And I really benefited from the personal connection as I started getting coaching, meeting with Joe every month, and talking through issues and what was happening with the business.”
Today, Colin’s office is in a 2,200-plus-square-foot location in the heart of Hillsborough. Coaching conversations have turned from early discussions around sales and growth to leadership and executive decisions. Through the years, the process has remained personal and consistent.
Finding the Structure and Accountability to Grow
In the early days of his practice, one thing that really helped Colin was committing to goals, having Joe review those goals with him each month, and making a greater commitment to networking with other businesses.
“What was important was having a consistent check-in and a personal relationship with a business coach,” Colin says. “I had some attorneys who could help me with the legal issues I was learning about, but Joe really helped me set goals for the business, think strategically, and prioritize. There was just a lot of business knowledge.”
Monthly meetings gave Colin a regular opportunity to talk through what was happening in the business and think about what he needed to focus on next.
“It was important to have a personal coach I met with consistently that brought ideas and books and ways of setting goals and follow up,” he says. “As a person that was on my own, that was really critical for me.”
Stepping Away from the Business To Think Bigger
In addition to individual coaching, Growth Academy Coaching’s trainings and events provide opportunities for connecting with other businesses, potential allies and referral partners, and service providers.
Colin has taken advantage of those trainings, attending Total Business Breakthrough and the bi-annual client retreats. “It’s been important to have a couple of times a year to participate in events that allow me to step out of the office for a day or two and set goals and really think about business growth and make some thoughtful, realistic plans,” he says.
Early on, he’d participated in other business groups, including Business Networking International (BNI). But he says the combination of individual leadership coaching plus the additional trainings offered by Growth Academy Coaching had a different impact.
“The one-on-one coaching combined with a couple of Total Business Breakthrough events were really what changed my business and opened things up,” he says. “It took a little bit deeper level of commitment and someone who could encourage me, provide ideas, and create a sense of accountability for me as things were going along.”
A Personal, Collaborative Coaching Relationship
When Colin had been looking for a business coach, he knew about BNI training. He’d also heard from other attorneys about their experiences with other types of business coaches.
“It often seemed to be more of a corporate model,” Colin says. “I’ve been glad to have Joe as a coach because there’s a very personal relationship. And I don’t feel like he’s just trying to fit me into the boxes he works with or the tools he promotes. I feel like he’s more of an ally than just somebody I hire to help grow my business.”
With Joe, the process of working together is collaborative. “It was, in a way, a mutual process of understanding what my goals were and how I was going about building the business and what would be needed beyond just setting up an office and doing some advertising,” Colin says.
The Value of Long-Term Leadership Coaching
Part of what makes the coaching relationship work is the way Joe combines accountability with support. “I’ve definitely been through tough times and difficult decisions,” Colin says. “Having a coach during those times over the long term has been great.”
He’d wanted a coach who could speak honestly but also understand that building a business can come with uncertainty and difficult choices.
“There’s great value in having a longer relationship like we have,” Colin says. “I know that with all his different clients, Joe has an understanding of the dynamics and what works and how to help.”
Experience and familiarity with the business help Joe know when to encourage and when to push. “That’s not always an easy balance, because when you’re starting a business, you can feel a little fragile or confused,” he says. “I’ve felt that Joe can speak honestly to me — and I expect that — but in a way that’s supportive and takes things a step at a time.”
That balance has mattered even more during harder seasons when Colin has felt overwhelmed or tired. Shared common ground — including their faith and what motivates them — has contributed to the trust between them. Still, that doesn’t mean Joe simply tells Colin what he wants to hear.
“As a coach you also have to challenge your client,” Colin says. “He does a good job with the balance of, ‘You know, you probably should be doing this, or doing this a little bit more. I’d encourage you to do such and such, or participate in this.’ He does it in more of a positive way, I would say.”
Mindset is a part of coaching as well. Colin describes himself as an introvert whose tendency can be to retreat and work on things. “Something I don’t really encounter in many other places is the focus on your mindset and having a positive attitude,” he says. “That doesn’t mean you’re blindly walking into things, just hoping that a miracle’s going to happen. But you keep trying things, keep moving forward, keep engaging. Whenever I’m engaged, I do like it. So, part of it is just getting out there, trying things out.”
Taking those steps and keeping a strong mindset isn’t always easy. “As you’re growing a business, it’s just so easy to get down or feel overwhelmed or wonder what’s happening,” he says. “Joe’s consistent and supportive, knowing when to challenge somebody, or help them get over a bump, or get their feet on the ground a little bit better.”
From Solo Practice to a Firm Positioned for Growth
Hillsborough Wills & Trusts looks very different now from the solo practice Colin started.
“It’s been incredible,” he says. “We’ve grown from a staff of one — myself —to now six people, and that includes another attorney who’s increasing her time. We’ve got a law student that’s going to be starting work with us next fall. We’re talking about opening up satellite offices and taking our model out further. It’s been successful as we’ve tried to be consistent with our marketing, our outreach, our community engagement, which is not something that many law practices do. For me, it’s really rewarding. So, we’re in a pretty good place now.”
A recent five-year financial analysis and strategic assessment by a CPA also showed how much the business has grown. The assessment found that the law office is financially strong and debt free, with healthy profitability, liquidity, and financial flexibility. Revenues have more than doubled over the last five years as the firm has added capacity and invested in people and infrastructure.
The firm is also moving from a solo practice to a multi-attorney model, reducing key person dependence. “That’s me,” Colin says.
Why Leadership Coaching Matters as the Business Grows
Although Hillsborough Wills & Trusts is in a good place, Colin still values having a coach who understands the business as he looks ahead.
“I still need that coaching,” he says. “I still need a thinking partner. I need someone who can challenge me, and who has a pretty strong understanding of our business, and that can help me connect to others. That will motivate and provide ideas as things go along. It’s great to have a partner in this work that’s seeing things from a different perspective, and who has knowledge of what a lot of other businesses are doing. I really value that.”
The recent financial analysis is also part of the conversation as they look ahead.
“The report tells a story of the healthy business that’s positioned for growth,” Colin says. “So, I’m glad to have Joe there, who understands our business so well to help that process.”
Leadership Coaching That Isn’t Just a Set a Tools
Asked what he would say to other business owners considering coaching, Colin says: “Having a coach was critical to our success, and to growing the business in the way that represented my values. Working with Joe is not like a fill-in-the-blank problem. It’s not just a set of tools or ideas that you know you would find in a book that would fit everybody. It’s ongoing guidance and coaching and learning and engaging in work together over the long term that has provided these results.”
Because they’ve developed a strong relationship over time, they can have honest conversations when they need to.
“Working with Joe is not like a fill-in-the-blank problem. It’s not just a set of tools or ideas that you know you would find in a book that would fit everybody.”
“Joe’s value has been tremendous as a coach, as someone who can bring new ideas. Can motivate. Can challenge as well,” Colin says. “And we have enough of a relationship that I can hear that challenge and not feel defensive about it. Joe has a really good way of engaging, and I’ve really valued that.”
Colin also values Joe’s big-picture thinking. “Joe’s a reader and a thinker and a goal setter,” he says. “He can see the big picture and see a vision for what could happen. So, that’s what I’ve really enjoyed is just having a thinking partner, a visioning partner, someone who is not my employee or family member, so they can have a more objective view on things. And he does that in a pretty supportive way.”
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