About & Press
Hi, I’m Hannah Beko.
I help lawyers and law firms build careers that last, without burning out on the way.
I’m a commercial property solicitor, an ICF ACC accredited coach, the author of The Authentic Lawyer and the host of The Practice Room podcast. I’ve been doing this work through Authentically Speaking since 2016.
My story
I know what it’s like to wonder what’s missing when, on paper, life looks pretty perfect.
By the age of 35 I’d achieved more than I’d ever expected: the dream house, a supportive husband, (then) two beautiful boys and a successful legal business. But I felt like I was letting everyone down, including myself. I wasn’t sleeping, I was starting to show the symptoms of chronic stress, and I certainly didn’t feel happy.
I’ve thought about leaving law at least four times, and I did leave once, for six months, because of burnout. My burnout story featured in The Times in April 2025.
What I learned is that the answer doesn’t have to be heading off to an ashram or giving up the career you worked so hard for. Meditation was one of the first things that helped me. Then, by weaving small, manageable steps into everyday life, I started showing up healthier and happier, and my business grew too. I’ll never forget colleagues commenting on how calm and “zen” I was under pressure. It wasn’t a front. I actually felt like that underneath.
That’s why I founded Authentically Speaking in 2016. I’ve spent the ten years since coaching and training lawyers, from trainees and NQs to partners and leadership teams, because I don’t believe stress and burnout should be accepted as part of the job.
I’m still a practising commercial property lawyer, after around 20 years in the profession, and I still work with a small team. I’ve been self-employed for around 15 years, so I know the pressures of fee earning and running a business from the inside.
Away from work, I’m a wife and mum to three amazing boys. I live in Bollington and work from my office in Manchester. In late 2025 I bought myself a caravan, and my favourite way to switch off is relaxed time away in the middle of nowhere with my boys, a cup of tea and a good journal.
How I can help
It takes firms and individuals working together to make a real difference to the health and happiness of our profession. So there are three ways to work with me.
For law firms
Year-long wellbeing partnerships, workshops and talks for your people, from trainees to partners, built around helping managers have the conversations that matter before burnout sets in.
For individual lawyers
One-to-one coaching if you’re at a crossroads, overwhelmed or ready for change, and Rest, Restore & Rise, my online programme for senior lawyers who are running on empty.
Start small, for free
Sign up for A Little Balance and I’ll send you a short, uplifting thought from my book every day for a month. Free, gentle and easy to unsubscribe from.
Credentials
- Commercial property solicitor for around 20 years, and still practising
- ICF ACC accredited coach (Associate Certified Coach, International Coaching Federation)
- Founder of Authentically Speaking (2016), coaching and training lawyers for around 10 years
- Author of The Authentic Lawyer (2022)
- Co-author of Future Proof Your Legal Career: 10 core areas of professional development (Globe Law & Business)
- Podcast host: The Practice Room, and previously The Law in Lockdown & Beyond and Build Your Legal Business
- Somatic Trauma Informed Coach & Leader
- Mental Health First Aid Practitioner & Trainer
- Host of the Mental Wellbeing Club in Manchester
Press & media
I write and speak about burnout, wellbeing and authenticity in law. Here’s where you may have seen me.
As featured in
- The Times, April 2025: “Hannah Beko: ‘I burnt out — meditation helped me change my life'”, interview by Catherine Baksi.
- Law Society Gazette, July 2025: “It’s OK for lawyers (and Rachel Reeves) to cry in public”, my opinion piece on emotions, burnout and “wellbeing burnout”.
- Realm Recruit: Realm Talks To… Hannah Beko
- Lawbore, 2020: Lawbore: Mental Health & Wellbeing Interviews
- For Legal (For Media Group): contributor
- Brainz Magazine: Executive Contributor, writing as Hannah Beko, Burnout Coach and Trainer for Professionals
- Modern Woman: featured coach and mentor profile
Podcast guest appearances
- This Legal Life: Purpose, Burnout, and the Business of Being Well: Hannah Beko on Law, Life, and Leading with Authenticity (Apr 2025)
- Notes to My (Legal) Self: Why Authenticity Matters in Law (Nov 2024)
- You Are A Lawyer: How to Be More Authentic in Your Career (Apr 2024)
- The Student Lawyer Podcast: Authenticity and wellbeing in the legal profession (Mar 2024)
- She Rebel Radio: Writing for Authenticity (Oct 2023)
- Legally Speaking Podcast: How to Be a Lawyer and Do It All
Journalists and producers: for comment, interviews or features on burnout, wellbeing or life in the law, please get in touch.
Speaking & talks
My talks are honest, practical and grounded in what lawyers actually face day to day. I bring my own experience of chronic stress and burnout, plus the tools I’ve learned since, so people leave with small steps they can use straight away.
Talks I’m often asked for:
- Authenticity: a lawyer’s superpower. Being yourself at work, and how it helps your performance, client relationships and wellbeing.
- Overcoming overwhelm. What overwhelm is, and practical steps to get it back under control.
- Time and energy management. Hint: it’s not about time, it’s about energy.
- Stress, burnout and recovery. Spotting the signs in yourself and others, and what actually helps.
- Authentic confidence and raising your profile.
Recent speaking
- Institute of Barristers’ Clerks Conference, Cardiff (2026): The Sustainable Clerk: Protecting Performance, Preventing Burnout
- ILFM Annual Conference, The Law Society, London (2026): Staying Human Under Pressure
- The Legal Heart, Bristol and Manchester (2026): Staying Authentic and Human
- The Load We Carry: 10 Years of Changing the Conversation, Manchester (2026), host and speaker
- CILEX Connect & Grow, Sheffield (2026): Managing stress, burnout and imposter syndrome
- Clio Innovate Legal Summit, London (2026): panel, Building Law Firms People Want to Work For
- Coaching Advocates Human Sustainability in Law Summit (2026), co-organiser and speaker
- For Legal webinar (2026): Burnout for Leadership
- Devon & Somerset Law Society Family Conference, Exeter (2026): Psychological Safety in Law
Plus in-house training for leading UK and international law firms.
“A big thank you for speaking- very practical and informative. I always pick up something different everytime I listen to you.”
Victoria Blanshard
Associate, Bolt Burdon Contentious Probate
The book
The Authentic Lawyer
In 2022 I wrote The Authentic Lawyer, a guide to creating more success in your practice and more balance in your life.
It looks at what really makes legal professionals tick: the character traits that law tends to reward but that can hold us back, and practical ways to get more from life without working harder. Lawyers tell me it’s easy to read, with exercises to come back to.
“I’ve just finished reading The Authentic Lawyer by Hannah Beko. For anyone who’s ever felt they don’t bring their true self to work, this is a must read, and not only for lawyers.”
Karen Godden
The Practice Room podcast
The Practice Room with Hannah Beko is my podcast: honest conversations about life in the law, wellbeing and building a career that lasts.
Before that I hosted The Law in Lockdown & Beyond, talking to people across the profession about navigating lockdown and what came after, and Build Your Legal Business, for lawyers starting or growing their own legal business. Both are still available to listen to.
All my podcasts · Would you like me as a guest on your podcast? Get in touch
What people say
Let’s talk
Whether you’re a firm looking after your people or a lawyer wondering whether things could feel different, I’d love to hear from you.
Prefer email? hannah@authenticallyspeaking.co.uk
