I am passionate about helping law firms to identify, plan for and implement on strategies for greater success.

I have over 30 years of marketing and business planning experience spanning everything from sole practitioners to large national law firms: however I now dedicate my service to small to medium sized practices in Western Canada.   I believe smaller firms serve lawyers and staff far better than the big firms do. I also believe that smaller firms can be more relevant and provide better service to clients. They can be more nimble, and have fewer conflicts that get in the way of a full-service relationship with their clients.

In order to improve law firm productivity, a firm must often make small – or sometimes big – changes. Most of my career has been spent as a successful change agent in law firms, in part utilizing my training as a mediator and negotiator.

I am also a certified executive coach, with 20 years of experience in coaching lawyers. Beyond any institutional changes that might need to be embraced, I am also able to work with individuals to help identify and overcome issues that might be holding them back from success.

Few legal marketers are experts on strategy; and few strategists are experts on law firms.  Most business coaches come from HR, rather than marketing.  It’s rare to find a marketer/strategist who is also trained in mediation and negotiation.  This unique combination of skills helps me to work effectively with lawyers and firms to develop assertive, realistic goals and plans to get there.

I’m also a big believer in removing self-imposed limitations on what can be accomplished.  When my children were toddlers I started a charity called “The Anastasia Foundation” to bring children to Canada for life-changing or life-saving surgery. The Foundation was eventually transferred to BC Children’s Hospital to form the foundation of their international patient program.  In 2003 I became the first (and still the only) non-US legal marketer to serve as the global President of the Legal Marketing Association.  More recently I became a cancer survivor.   Too often, I find that we can use busyness as an excuse for not accomplishing what we know we should or could.  And I’ll be the first to admit that we don’t always have a choice in what life hands us.  But we can certainly decide how we will respond, and we can determine that we will guide our life instead of following where it happens to lead us.  For this reason, I tend to gravitate toward individuals and firms eager for change and development…who are looking to push themselves to see what they can truly accomplish.

Related Experience:

  • Trained mediator/negotiator as a graduate of the Conflict Resolution Program of the Justice Institute of British Columbia.
  • ACC (Associate Certified Coach) through the International Coaching Federation.
  • Past Global President of the Legal Marketing Association
  • Founder and Past-President of the Anastasia Foundation

Recent Speaking Engagements and Authorships:

    • February, 2022: “When Should You Leave?”, SLAW.
    • November, 2021: “Upping the Ante: Leadership Definition, Styles and Skills for Women Lawyers”, Arizona State Bar Women Lawyers’ Conference.
    • October, 2021: “Leadership Advice for Lawyers”, SLAW.
    • September, 2021: “Listening to the Client”, SLAW.
    • September, 2021: “Strategic Planning for Improved Productivity and Stronger Exit Strategies”, CLEBC
    • July, 2021: “Is Remote Work a Thing Now?”, SLAW.
    • May, 2021: “Why Law Firms Should Care About a $69m Digital Art Sale”, SLAW
    • January, 2021: “What Law Firms Should Focus On in 2021”, SLAW.
    • October, 2020: “Using Covid to Progress Your Firm”, CLEBC.
    • September, 2020: “Harnessing the Power of Practice Groups”, SLAW.
    • July, 2020: “What is the Value of Marketing Goals?”, SLAW.
    • May 2020: “Dealing with the Death of a Partner”, SLAW.
    • May, 2020: “Succession Strategies: Buying and Selling a Law Firm 101”, CLEBC.
    • March 2020: “Lessons Learned from a Firm Breakdown”, SLAW.
    • January 2020: “Why Mentoring Programs Fail”, SLAW.
    • November 2019: “How to Recover Gracefully”, SLAW.
    • March and September, 2019: “How Administrators Can Deal More Effectively with Stress”, BCLMA (Vancouver, Fraser Valley)
    • July, 2019: “Don’t Let Stress Take You Down”, Topics Magazine (for BCLMA).
    • May 23, 2019: “The Value of Delegating Decision-Making”, SLAW.
    • April 27, 2019: Presentation to the BC Legal Marketing Association, small firms section, Vancouver. “How Administrators Can Deal More Effectively with Stress”,
    • March 28, 2019: “Moving From Planning to Implementation”, SLAW.
    • January 25, 2019: “What Makes for a Good Lawyer Leader/Manager”, SLAW.
    • November 30, 2018: “Planning for Business Cycles and Rhythms”, SLAW.
    • September 21, 2018: “A Simple Way to Increase Productivity”, SLAW.
    • August 7, 2018: “How Old Belief Systems Can Cripple a Career”, SLAW.
    • May 22, 2018: “Effectively Managing Change in a Law Firm”, SLAW.
    • March 26, 2018: “The Proper Pathway to Managing Partner”, SLAW.
    • January 26, 2018: “The Cost of Doing (Marketing) Business As Usual”, SLAW.
    • December 1, 2017: “Just Tell Me How to Market My Firm!”, SLAW.
    • November 2017 (Toronto): Speaker, “Succession Strategies and Transition”, CBA Law Leaders’ Conference.
    • September 22, 2017: “Planning for Succession: Part Two”, SLAW.
    • August 15, 2017: “Planning for Succession: Part One”, SLAW.
    • May 26, 2017: “Ode to Client-Focused Programs”, SLAW.
    • March 23, 2017: “Leadership Styles for Practice Group and Client Team Leaders”, SLAW.
    • January 24, 2017: “Why It’s Good Business to Fire a Client”, SLAW.
    • November 25 2016: “Why Do I Need a Marketing Plan”, SLAW.
    • September 23, 2016: How Branding Works (and Why Law Firms Should Care)”, SLAW.
    • July 26, 2016: “The Move to Visuals (and Why You Should Care)”, SLAW.
    • Spring 2016 edition of BCLMA’s Topics Magazine: Balancing Deliberate vs. Emergent Strategies.
    • May 2016: Presentation to CBA on “Harness the Magic: Tips for Legal Writing On-Line”.
    • February, 2016: Presentation to BCLMA on “Making Change Happen in a Law Firm”.
    • June 2015: Business in Vancouver “Ask the Experts” column on strategic plans.
    • January, 2015: “Zen and the Art of Law Firm Maintenance”, Topics Magazine, Winter Edition.
    • January, 2015: “Strategic Planning for Small to Medium-Sized Firms”, Continuing Legal Education Society of B.C. (available on their website).
    • November 25, 2014: Presentation to the CICA Members in Business and Industry Conference on “Work/Life Balance for Full-Timers”.
    • October 24, 2014: Presentation to the CICA Practitioner’s Potluck on “Strategic Marketing Planning for Small or Solo Firms”.
    • September 17,2014: Presentation to LMA Vancouver Chapter on “Getting Lawyers On-Board – How to get consensus and action on marketing initiatives”.
    • May 8, 2014: Presentation to BCLMA Small Law Firm Administrators on “Strategic Plans”.