Bespoke solutions for the legal talent space
Times of transformation require action, but it’s not always easy to know what steps to take. I help law firm and law department leaders “untangle” tough talent challenges. I design and help implement bespoke talent initiatives to overcome obstacles and seize opportunities in a way that makes sense for your unique firm or legal department culture.
I’ve held senior learning and talent roles with transformation mandates at several of the world’s top law firms. I’ve also been immersed in the legal ecosystem for 25 years, as an associate, a legal tech professional, and a talent development leader. Now in these transformational times, I serve as a consultant, coach, and fractional talent development executive.
Whether your organization is renewing its lawyer competency model, standing up a new promotion pipeline program, supporting a turbulent leadership team, un-stalling AI implementation, or restructuring your enterprise-wide learning catalog, I serve as your external thought and action partner.
Meet Lauren Hakala
I understand the complexity of the challenges law firms and legal departments face when it comes to talent, especially during the ongoing AI transformation of the legal business model.
I serve as an experienced and highly situationally-aware, but external, thought-partner to law firm and legal department leaders. I’ve led and successfully restructured and up-levelled lawyer development functions at global law firms, won a Corporate Counsel Women, Influence and Power in Law Award for my work redesigning a global firm’s worldwide L&D function, and led on the talent side of a firm’s AI implementation efforts.
Now, I am passionate about helping you “untangle” the scenarios on your desk, define clear objectives, and design and implement the talent scaffolding that supports business objectives and your people’s happiness and productivity.
Define and achieve your talent objectives.
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Untangle Strategy Session
We start with a conversation to work through current challenges and opportunities on your desk and discuss the best next steps. My network is broad, and if I am not the right person to help you, I likely know that person!
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360 Assessments & Leadership Coaching
As a leader, candid and qualitative information on how colleagues are feeling and thinking about you and your firm is hard to obtain and harder still to hear and process. Situationally-aware 360s and follow-up coaching solve for this, creating capacity for honest self-reflection.
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Curriculum Mapping and Optimization
A proven process for understanding, documenting and optimizing your firm or legal department’s learning know-how. Includes a gaps analysis to identify needs and redundancies.
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Cohort Program Design and Delivery
Stars are made, not born. Well-implemented sponsorship, mentorship, and cohort-building programs are a scalable way to give talent access to information, relationships and experiences critical to advancement. Standing these programs up is much more work than running them - that’s where I can come in.