Legal Imposters

I can't be who I can't see. I hear this from Black lawyers all the time, and it makes complete sense. When you look up the ladder and there's no one who looks like you, no one you can relate to, it's hard to picture yourself there. But the belief that you need someone like you to go ahead of you is the exact thing that's costing you. It makes you think you don't want it. Doubt that you could get i...

You're working twice as hard. So why does someone else get the invitation to the client event? You prepare more thoroughly than anyone on the team. You stay later, check the draft one more time, and deliver work you're proud of. And still, the invitation goes to someone else. The high-profile matter lands on another desk. The recognition you've earned doesn't follow. It's completely understandable...

You don't need anything groundbreaking to get unstuck. What you need is Awareness. Most people underestimate it. Writing it off as too simple and too obvious. But awareness is one of the most powerful tools you'll ever use — because it's the only thing that turns a problem you can't see into a problem you can actually solve. Once you can name something, you can anticipate it, avoid it, prepare for...

I want to talk about doubling your confidence in 30 days. Can I actually prove that number? No. But what I'm about to share has worked for me, and it's worked for client after client inside Be The First — so I'm confident it'll work for you.   Do you find yourself preparing twice as much as everyone else, just so you feel ready? Rewriting the same email four times before you let yourself send it?...

You did everything right. You identified the sponsor. You built the relationship. You made the ask. And the answer was still no. That stings. It's normal to replay it — to wonder what you missed, to assume it was the strategy. But sponsorship isn't only won with strategy. It's won with belief. A belief isn't a fact. It's a thought you've chosen — adopted, imposed, or built deliberately. It's the f...

You've been telling yourself it's too soon. Or too late. Junior enough that BD can wait. Senior enough that you've already missed the boat. Neither is true. Ask most lawyers when the right time to start BD is, and you'll get one of three answers. Not yet — I'm too junior, nobody wants to hear from me. Not yet — I need partner first, then I'll have the credibility. Too late — I should have started...

There's the work you do. Then there's the number attached to it. Alot of senior Black lawyers can tell you, in detail, how good their work is. Ask them their utilisation rate, their WIP, their BD conversion rate — and the fluency disappears. It shows up in small ways first. You're behind on your time recording. You assume the hours you're putting in are "enough." You're constantly being chased for...

You've done the panels. The podcast guest spots. The thought leadership posts that get hundreds of likes. The coffee catch-ups with every contact who'll give you fifteen minutes. By every measure that matters in a networking sense, you are doing it right.   So why hasn't a single one of those relationships turned into a matter, a referral, or a line of billable revenue?   That's the question at th...

There is a word that high-performing Black lawyers consistently struggle to say. A word that, when they learn to use it, transforms their careers, their health, and the way people treat them at work. That word is no. I know. You already know this. You've heard it before. So here's the real question: why aren't you saying it? Because the cost of not saying it is higher than you think. Not just the...

When you've been trying to build your book of business, or get better work allocation, or achieve any other result in your career and there's no proof it's working, what do you do? Do you persevere? Do you invest more time and effort? Or do you assume failure, give up or change tack? This week on Legal Imposters we're talking about Assuming Failure - how easily we do it when we don't get immediate...

Everyone procrastinates a little. But when it's a common feature of how you work, it's time to do something about it.   Tasks on your to do list growing mouldy and old. Missed deadlines. Being repeatedly chased for tasks you said you would do. Neglected to-dos preying on your mind in the early hours of the morning. The feeling of dread every time you think about a project. Under-recording hours af...

If you're applying for a role or preparing for an upcoming interview you're going to want to listen to this episode. if you're not, save this episode so you can find it when the time comes, because this one is a game changer Today we're talking about how to prepare for interviews. Not what to say in an interview. But how you say it.  Because communicating your skills, experience and fit for a role...

What is Be The First Membership? Who's it for? How do you join? What do you get? How is it different? These are all the questions you're asking about Be The First and I'll be answering all of them, in a live interview conducted by my magnificent eldest son Dylan! When you agree to be interviewed by your own son live on social media, anything could happen. But this work is too important to hide beh...

Imposter Syndrome isn't the heavy weight you think it is. It's a specific moment in time that can be overcome in an instant, as long as you have the Imposter SpeechTM. The Imposter SpeechTM is the speech you give yourself when you're questioning whether you're enough or feeling like you don't belong. It's a way of thinking powerfully about who you are in the room so you can show up as who you are...

Do you have Imposter Syndrome?  Before you jump straight to a "yes" or "no", listen to episode 130 of Legal Imposters.  There are 10 stages of Imposter Syndrome and whether your goal is progression or simply excelling at what you do, it's important to know the stage you're at and how  to move closer to the solution. If you've never heard of Imposter Syndrome or have no idea what it is (Stage 1: Ig...

Who do you think you are? And who gets to decide? This week on the podcast we're talking about identity- the thoughts you think about yourself and the power they have over your experience of being the only one. Based on what I see inside Be The First, too many of you are walking around with identities that don't serve you. Perhaps those identities are inherited. Sometimes they are adopted. Other t...

I'm hearing too many stories of you not getting the feedback you need to motivate you, confirm you're meeting expectations and support your progression to the next level. Working for partners or line managers who communicate badly (or not at all) or who constantly postpone or cut short your review isn't just frustrating, it's unacceptable. It's also career threatening. Feedback that is consistentl...

It isn't enough to be valuable. You must be able to articulate that value and communicate it in a language the leadership understands. Here's what I see: You present a history of the work you've done and deals you've closed (" Look at everything I've done for this firm ") and tell yourself it should be enough. But entitlement doesn't get you promoted. Value does. You work diligently with your head...

If you want the reward, you have to be willing to risk. Right now, the fear of failure, of getting it wrong, of not knowing the answer, of letting people down - these are risks you're avoiding which are holding you back in your career.  They're why you're not applying for that new exciting role (which has your name written all over it and which you are already 80% qualified for).  They're why you'...

What if, instead of giving yourself a week, 6 months, a year to complete that project or accomplish that goal, you could achieve it in half the time? This week on Legal Imposters I'm introducing you to Massive Action - a tool I've been using in my business to generate the momentum, focus, energy and courage to bring my vision for the Be The First Membership to life. Not in a year, which is the tim...

As long as you are setting goals, wanting to progress, seeking to grow -there will always be that moment when it feels so hard that every bone in your body is screaming at you to give up. What you do in this moment is everything. It's not the obstacle that defines your success or failure in achieving the goal. It's your ability to rise to the challenge it presents so that, instead of marking the e...

How is your relationship with Imposter Syndrome? The deeper this relationship, the more you will value yourself, the better you will show up to your work and the more others will value you. My relationship with Imposter Syndrome used to be terrible. I carried Imposter Syndrome around like a secret shame, determined to hide it, desperate to get rid of it. Certain that as long as I had it, I would n...

You're busy with the day to day business of performing your role and progressing your career. Then suddenly the unexpected happens and your whole world is turned upside down. How do you keep going ? We are real humans living in a very real world. And with that comes the real experience of hard times. Whether those times are expected or strike out of nowhere, the impact they have can be devastating...

What if you were capable of anything you set your mind to? What if this has always been true? What if it were true now? How would you approach that piece of work you've been avoiding differently? How would you show up in that upcoming meeting differently? How would you be different? In todays episode of Legal Imposters we're talking about your Infinite Capability. That is, you being capable of any...

The next time you have an experience that leaves you feeling disempowered or victimised, look for version 2. In episode 120 of Legal Imposters I explain why and I show you how. There's always a version of your experience that leaves you feeling powerless and frustrated (version 1). And for every version 1, there's always a version 2 - one that will take you out of victimhood and leave you feeling...