BUILT FOR ASSOCIATES, BY A FORMER ASSOCIATE
A modern, proactive approach to associate engagement
We help large law firms develop more resilient and engaged associates through seminars, coaching, and video content designed for the realities of practice.
20 minutes. No pitch deck. Just practical ideas for your associates.
THE REALITY
Your mid-level associates are your firm’s biggest investment, and most precarious asset.
Just one disengaged associate can devastate a whole department.
Low Motivation leads to missed billable targets and deadlines.
Unexpected Departures result in imbalanced workloads and expensive lateral recruiting.
Reactive Interventions are costly, time-consuming, and often too late.
They’re dedicated, ambitious, and engaged. Until they’re not.
And when a mid-level disconnects, it’s often too late.
Wise firms help junior associates develop engagement and resilience skills early, so they’re ready to deliver on that investment as mid-levels.
WHAT WE OFFER
We help firms solve the problem before it starts.
LawyerWise uses three modalities to build resilience and engagement skills in associates, long before associates face real challenges.
01
Engaging Seminars
Interactive in-person or virtual sessions that give associates practical tools for managing workload, building resilience, and sustaining engagement through the demands of large-firm practice. Designed for cohorts of junior and mid-level associates.
02
Coaching
One-on-one or group coaching that helps associates apply seminar concepts to their specific challenges. Creates space for reflection, accountability, and sustainable habit formation at the individual level. Available as standalone sessions or as a follow-on to seminar programming.
03
Associate Happiness 101 Video Curriculum
A series of 12 short video modules grounded in positive psychology and resilience research. Designed for associates to watch independently, at their own pace, on any device. A practical on-demand resource that reinforces key ideas between seminars or coaching sessions, or stands alone as a cost-effective starting point.
Together, these offerings make up our complete
LawyerWise Engaged Associate Program
All offerings are modular, and firms can start with any one of them and build from there.
OUR APPROACH
Thoughtfully designed to give associates what they need.
Four principles shape us. Every program is:
GROUNDED IN SCIENCE
Built on academic research, not wellness trends.
Every concept is drawn from peer-reviewed research in positive psychology, resilience science, and organizational behaviour, including frameworks developed at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard.
ADAPTED FOR ASSOCIATES
Designed for the specific realities of large-firm practice.
Every framework and tool is carefully selected and tailored to address the real challenges of associate life, by someone who has lived it.
RESPECTFUL OF TIME
Concise and direct, for busy schedules.
Every touchpoint, from seminars, to coaching, to video, is structured to deliver outsized value in minimal time.
PRACTICAL AND ACTIONABLE
Ready for application.
Every idea is paired with specific, actionable steps associates can take immediately to put insights into practice.
MEET THE FOUNDER
David Selesnick
Former BigLaw litigator. Certified Executive Coach. JD/MBA.
David founded LawyerWise to fill a gap he experienced firsthand. As a litigation associate at Shearman & Sterling, he saw the toll that disengagement and early turnover can take on both associates and firms, and an industry-wide lack of resources designed to proactively build resilience and connection before associates start to disengage.
Now, LawyerWise helps close that gap by blending his first-hand associate experience with science-backed tools from executive coaching and positive psychology to design programs he wishes he'd received more of when he was an associate.
JD, Osgoode Hall Law School · MBA, Schulich School of Business · New York Bar · Law Society of Ontario · Certified Executive Coach, Center for Executive Coaching
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Answers to what may be on your mind.
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Many well-intentioned programs are either too reactive, too generic, too impractical, or too incongruent with the realities of associate life. Busy associates don’t want to hear that they should sleep more, eat healthier, or need a performance plan.
That’s why our content is specifically built for law firm associates, and focuses on proactively embedding the practical engagement and resilience skills that lawyers need to sustain excellence before they need it.
We believe that an hour of pre-emptive training today can save hundreds of hours down the road, and we make sure that associates leave that hour with specific, actionable steps.
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We don't promise instant transformation, and we're skeptical of vendors who do. But our programs do reliably provide associates with concrete tools they can apply immediately, frameworks for thinking about their work and careers more sustainably, and language for conversations they're often not having. Over time, firms that invest in this kind of programming see better engagement scores, stronger associate retention through the critical mid-level years, and reduced reliance on reactive interventions.
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We design every program to fit within associates' busy schedules. Seminars are typically 60 minutes, scheduled to suit the firm’s needs. Coaching sessions can range from 15 to 60 minutes, scheduled at the associate's convenience. The Associate Happiness 101 video curriculum consists of 12 on-demand modules of 4–7 minutes each, accessible on any device with no IT involvement required.
Firms can select one modality to start, or arrange a package that combines multiple modalities for deeper integration. -
Engagements can range from a single seminar, generally starting at $5,000, to a full multi-modality program over a semester or year. We will also consider engagements below that range in some cases; please feel free to reach out to discuss.
Program pricing is typically structured per-cohort for seminars and coaching, and per-seat or per-firm for the Associate Happiness 101 video curriculum.
We're happy to discuss pricing structures and develop a quote during a discovery call. -
Engagements may begin with a single seminar to give the firm and associates a chance to evaluate the approach before committing to a longer program.
From there, firms can add follow-on coaching for specific cohorts, expand the seminar into a multi-session series, or roll out the video curriculum as an ongoing resource.
We design every engagement around your firm's specific needs, and can customize content and format to meet your associates where they are.
Have a question we haven’t answered? Let’s chat.
DISCOVERY CALL
No commitment, no pressure. Just a helpful conversation.
We’ll talk about what your associates are facing, what solutions are out there, and whether we can help.
Or just email david@lawyerwise.ca and we’ll be in touch.