How I Lawyer Podcast with Jonah Perlin

#131: Rachael Bosch – Professional Development Expert for Lawyers

Feb 9, 2024

Rachael Bosch, CEO and Founder of Fringe Professional Development, shares insights on the legal profession, including lawyers' transferable skills, the trend towards investing in professional development, and the challenges of being a lawyer as a manager or leader. They also discuss the entry of Gen Z lawyers into the workforce and the need for change in the legal profession.

54:21

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Rachael Bosch

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Quick takeaways

Self-reflection is crucial for lawyers to align their values and find fulfillment in their careers.

The legal profession has witnessed the professionalization of learning and development with clear separations between recruiting, development, coaching, and leadership training.

Law firm leaders need to adapt to generational changes, understand the motivations and needs of Gen Z lawyers, and create inclusive and supportive environments.

Deep dives

The Importance of Self-Reflection in Professional Development

Self-reflection is an important aspect of professional development for lawyers. It allows them to understand their values, goals, and motivations, and make informed decisions about their career paths. Rachel Bosch, CEO and founder of Fringe Professional Development, highlights the significance of self-reflection in her own journey from a theater background to working with lawyers. By being honest with oneself and recognizing one's needs and desires, lawyers can make choices that align with their values and find fulfillment in their careers.

Introduction

3min

From Arts to Law: Unexpected Career Paths

14min

The Joy of Professional Development and Creating Converts Through Coaching

2min

The Traits and Skills of Lawyers as Managers and Leaders

5min

Challenges of Gen Z Lawyers in Law Firms

22min

Challenges and the Need for Change

7min

Finding More Information and Thanking the Sponsor

2min

Welcome back to another episode of the How I Lawyer Podcast, where Professor Jonah Perlin interviews lawyers about what they do, why they do it, and how they do it well.

Today’s guest is Rachael Bosch, the CEO and Founder of Fringe Professional Development (a leading professional development provider for lawyers and executives) and Candorly (an online tool to make gathering upward feedback easy and efficient). Before becoming a legal tech Founder, Rachael worked in recruiting and development at top law firms, including Paul Hastings and Skadden, and before that, she was a professional actress and singer.

In this episode, Rachael shares valuable insights about the legal profession including:

🎭⚖️ How her professional journey – from working as an actress to the legal profession – showed her that skills are transferrable between different jobs [2:04]

📈🌟 How there is a trend toward law firms becoming much more serious about investing in professional development, coaching, recruitment, and leadership [9:18]

🧠📚 How Rachael finds fulfillment in working with summer associates because lawyers’ brains are like sponges at that early stage in their careers [15:48]

👍👎 How many lawyers don’t understand that some of the characteristics that make you a good lawyer can simultaneously make you a subpar leader [19:19]

🌍💡 How Gen Z is entering the workforce and is starting to influence the profession’s culture [22:55]

🙋‍♂️❓ How it is senior lawyers’ obligation to answer questions about culture posed by younger lawyers [26:05]

🚦📉 How law firm leaders make choices about culture that have real consequences for their firm [33:55]

🎯🚨 How to prepare for legal interviews by understanding what you value and by asking targeted questions designed to see whether law firms share your values [40:23]

💬🤕 How to ask for and receive better feedback, even when it is uncomfortable [46:40]

This episode is sponsored, edited, and engineered by ⁠LawPods, a professional podcast production company for busy attorneys⁠.

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