Partnerships for law firms
Wellbeing that lasts longer than the workshop.
A year-long wellbeing and burnout prevention partnership for law firms. One joined-up plan, one point of contact, and managers who feel confident having the conversations that matter.
Every partnership is tailored to your firm. Get in touch for a proposal – there’s no obligation.
12 months
One plan for the whole year
Starts with Safe Conversations
For your managers and supervisors
In person or online
Tailored to your firm and your people
One-off sessions can only go so far
Most firms I work with already care about wellbeing. There’s a workshop in Mental Health Awareness Week, a lunch and learn in January, perhaps some coaching for a partner who’s struggling. Each one helps. But the effect fades, and the next session has to be booked, budgeted and approved all over again.
Meanwhile, the pressure doesn’t let up. Most burnout I see in the profession doesn’t start with one dramatic moment. It builds quietly, often because no one felt able to say “I’m not okay” or “this isn’t sustainable”, or because the person they told didn’t know what to say.
By the time it shows up as sickness absence or a resignation letter, it has usually been building for months. And it’s often your managers and supervisors, many of them still busy fee earners themselves, who are first to notice and least sure how to respond.
Wellbeing and burnout prevention stick when they become part of how a firm talks, manages and supervises, all year round. That’s what a partnership is for.
What a partnership looks like
An Annual Wellbeing Partnership brings together the training, coaching and support your people need into one year-long plan. Instead of booking each session separately, you get one plan, one point of contact and one predictable monthly invoice.
Each partnership is anchored by Safe Conversations, my 90-day programme for managers and supervisors. It gives them a clear, shared way to notice early signs, open and hold a conversation about workload, pressure or wellbeing, follow it up, and know where their role ends and when to signpost. The rest of the year builds on it, so the skills are practised and embedded rather than learned once and forgotten.
It’s built on my Safe Conversations Protocol™, a practical, psychologically informed and neuroinclusive approach that bridges the gap between your policies and the everyday conversations that put them into practice. A safe conversation isn’t necessarily a comfortable one. It’s one where people can speak honestly, feel heard and respected, understand what’s expected of them, and work towards a constructive outcome without unnecessary fear, shame or judgement.
Because better workplace cultures are built one conversation at a time.
There are three levels, and everything is tailored to your firm.
Foundation
A strong start for a smaller firm or a single team.
- The Safe Conversations programme for managers and supervisors: a set-up call and briefing questionnaires, then short pre-recorded modules with workbooks, worked through in their own time. Bookable 30-minute one-to-one Zoom conversations with me can be added
- Three online wellbeing sessions for the wider team during the year
- 6 hours of one-to-one coaching for partners, managers or key people
- Places on Rest, Restore & Rise for senior lawyers (numbers to suit your firm)
- Email support for managers between sessions
- A feedback summary after each session
Partnership
For firms that want Safe Conversations properly embedded.
- The Safe Conversations programme (a set-up call, briefing questionnaires, and short pre-recorded modules with workbooks), plus a bank of hours, agreed with you, that managers can use to book 30-minute one-to-one Zoom conversations with me about specific situations
- Three wellbeing sessions for the wider team, in person or online
- 12 hours of one-to-one coaching
- An in-house Rest, Restore & Rise cohort (size to suit your firm)
- Email support for managers and supervisors throughout the year
- Pulse checks before the programme, straight after it and about three months later, with a written summary
Leadership
For larger firms, or firms with more than one office.
- The Safe Conversations programme for two groups or locations, plus a bank of bookable 30-minute one-to-one Zoom conversations with me, sized to your firm and agreed with you
- Wellbeing sessions in each of two locations through the year
- 24 hours of one-to-one coaching
- Firm-wide access to Rest, Restore & Rise, depending on numbers and an agreed licence fee
- Priority email support for managers and supervisors throughout the year
- Pulse checks and a written summary, plus half-year and year-end reviews with your leadership team
Every partnership includes
- A briefing and planning call with your People, HR, L&D or wellbeing lead, so the year is built around what’s happening for your people now.
- Quarterly check-ins with your lead, so we can adjust as we go.
- Sessions tailored to your firm, each with resources and handouts.
- Less admin for you: one plan, one monthly invoice and no approval round for each session.
Not sure which level fits? That’s what the first call is for. Anything you’ve already booked with me for the year ahead can usually be folded in.
How the year works
- Months 1–3: Safe Conversations. We start with a set-up call and short briefing questionnaires, including a pulse check before the programme. Your managers and supervisors then work through short pre-recorded modules with workbooks, in their own time, with email access to me throughout and, depending on your level, 30-minute one-to-one Zoom conversations they can book with me to talk through specific situations. We take another short pulse check straight after the programme.
- Months 4–6: Embed. The first wellbeing session for the wider team. One-to-one coaching begins, and your Rest, Restore & Rise places or cohort start. About three months after Safe Conversations, a follow-up pulse check shows what has stuck.
- Months 7–9: Deepen. The next session, chosen with you based on what we’re hearing. Coaching and manager support continue.
- Months 10–12: Review and plan. A final session and a written summary of what has changed and what I’d recommend next.
I won’t promise numbers I can’t evidence. The pulse checks and feedback are there so we can both see what’s actually changing.
Topics we can build into your year
Sessions are agreed with you. They can draw on the workshops many firms already know, or be built fresh around what your people need. Popular topics include:
Spotting burnout early
The subtle signs of burnout risk, what ignoring them costs, and simple steps leaders can take without disrupting performance.
Stress, resilience and the Stress Ladder
What chronic stress does to the body and brain, how to tell where you are on the Stress Ladder, and what to do about it.
Wellbeing and the mental load
Practical tools for less overwhelm and more control, even when the unexpected happens.
Delegation and feedback
For newly qualified lawyers and new managers: delegating well while busy yourself, checking work properly, and giving clear feedback using the COIN model.
Effective supervision
Supervising trainees and junior lawyers in a way that works for both sides, including delegating to people who used to be your peers.
Psychological safety
Building teams where people feel able to speak up, ask for help and raise problems early.
Sustainable leadership
Leading high-performing teams without burning them, or yourself, out. Role-modelling wellbeing without weakening performance.
Time and energy management
It’s not really about time, it’s about energy. Simple habits to get more of the right things done with less stress.
Rest, Restore & Rise for senior lawyers
My eight-module programme for senior lawyers who look like they’re doing well and feel like they’re running on empty, run as an in-house cohort with group calls. About Rest, Restore & Rise
Other sessions firms ask for include authenticity at work, confidence and visibility, early talent and NQ transition, and handling emotional clients. If you have a topic in mind that isn’t here, ask me.
Why firms work with me
I’m Hannah Beko. I’ve been a commercial property solicitor for more than 20 years, so I know the pressures your people face from the inside: the billable hours, the client demands, the weeks that never calm down. I’ve also experienced burnout myself, and my story featured in The Times in April 2025.
I’m an ICF ACC accredited coach and I’ve spent the last 10 years coaching and training lawyers through Authentically Speaking, from trainees and NQs to partners and leadership teams.
- Solicitor for more than 20 years
- ICF ACC accredited coach
- Author of The Authentic Lawyer (2022)
- Host of The Practice Room podcast, and previously The Law in Lockdown & Beyond and Build Your Legal Business
Firms I’ve worked with include Milbank, Bird & Bird, Square One Law and Myerson.
As featured in
What firms say
Questions firms ask
How much does a partnership cost?
Every partnership is tailored, so the cost depends on the level, the number of people and locations, and what you already have in place. It’s billed monthly over the year, so it’s predictable for your budget. Get in touch and I’ll send you a proposal.
Who is a partnership for?
Law firms and legal businesses with a People, HR, L&D or wellbeing lead who wants a joined-up programme rather than a calendar of one-offs. It works especially well for firms that already know this work and want to do it more deliberately, and for firms whose managers and supervisors want to feel more confident in conversations about workload, pressure and wellbeing.
What is Safe Conversations?
It’s my 90-day programme for managers and supervisors, and it sits at the start of every partnership. It gives them a shared way to notice early signs, open and follow up conversations about wellbeing, and know when and where to signpost.
Many managers want to support their people but worry about saying the wrong thing, overstepping or creating legal risk, so important conversations are often avoided. The Safe Conversations Protocol gives them a simple shape to follow, built on four pillars:
- Creating Safety: setting up the conditions for trust, openness and respectful dialogue.
- Starting Conversations: noticing concerns early and opening a conversation without assumptions.
- Navigating Conversations: listening, exploring, responding and keeping appropriate boundaries.
- Moving Forward: agreeing actions, clarifying accountability and following through.
It covers the conversations managers find hardest, from stress, workload and performance to absence and return to work, neurodiversity and adjustments, and difficult disclosures. There’s also an optional neuroinclusive extension, which focuses on the individual rather than labels and never pressures anyone to disclose.
It isn’t therapy or counselling, and it doesn’t replace your HR procedures, avoid difficult feedback or remove accountability. High standards and human sustainability. Together.
Can we start with a one-off session?
Yes. If you haven’t worked with me before, a single workshop or lunch and learn is a good way to see how I work and how your people respond. Many partnerships start that way.
Is it in person or online?
Both. The Safe Conversations manager programme is pre-recorded, with email access to me and, depending on your level, bookable 30-minute one-to-one Zoom conversations, so it fits around client work. Wider team wellbeing sessions can be in person or online, and travel within the UK is included.
Can you tailor the topics?
Yes. We agree the topics together at the start and review them each quarter, based on what we’re hearing from your people.
How do we know it's working?
Depending on the level, we use session feedback, short pulse checks before the programme, straight after it and about three months later, and a written summary of what has changed. I won’t promise numbers I can’t evidence, but you’ll have a clear picture of progress.
What about sessions we've already booked?
Anything already booked for the year ahead can usually be folded into the partnership, and we’ll agree the details together on our first call.
Is this a replacement for our EAP or clinical support?
No. A partnership is about prevention, culture and confident conversations. It works alongside your employee assistance programme, mental health first aiders and any clinical support, and part of Safe Conversations is knowing when to signpost to them.
Let’s talk about your people.
The first step is a 30-minute call with you and anyone else involved in wellbeing or L&D. We’ll talk about what’s happening for your people at the moment, which level feels right, and when you’d like Safe Conversations to start. I’ll then send you a short tailored proposal.
Prefer to talk first? Book a call with me
Or email me at hannah@authenticallyspeaking.co.uk
