TESTIMONIALS
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TESTIMONIALS ▫▫▫
— From Our Clients —
“In my 30+ years of hiring and working alongside professional coaches in the legal industry, Ellen stands out as one of the very best. She brings a rare and powerful combination of positivity, practicality, and forward-thinking insight that resonates with lawyers across all levels of experience.
What makes Ellen truly exceptional is her ability to meet lawyers exactly where they are – grounded in the realities of their work – while helping them envision and reach what’s possible just beyond their current path. He coaching is never one-size-fits-all; it’s highly personalized, immediately actionable, and rooted in a deep understanding of both the legal profession and the human side of leadership. One of the highlights of every group coaching session with Ellen is the way she closes – with her signature “pearls of wisdom.” These thoughtful reflections not only spark meaningful insight but also help anchor the learnings in a way that makes them sticky.
Ellen doesn’t just help lawyers succeed – she helps them lead with purpose, grow with confidence, and thrive in meaningful, lasting ways. She is, without question, one of the most impactful professional coaches I’ve had the privilege to know, learn from, and work with.”
Caren Ulrich Stacy, Founder, Diversity Lab
“I sought Ellen’s coaching two times in my career: first sometime around year 10 when I was trying to decide whether to stay in Big Law and what I wanted to get out of my career, and the second time when I was selected as the managing partner of my office and was looking for guidance on how to use my specific skill set and personality to learn to motivate and relate to others as a new leader. Since those early coaching sessions, I have held positions as managing partner, regional managing partner of 6 offices and then election to my firm’s Executive Committee, on which I now sit. My firm invested in Ellen’s services because my firm believes in investing in people and future leaders. What I found so valuable about Ellen was she is not a lawyer; her background is in psychology. I know how to be a lawyer. What I was looking for was insight to help me to see where I needed to grow and where others might be coming from. Ellen did a 360 and testing which helped to bring other voices in. Often when you lead lawyers, you lead peers, people who have very much exceeded most people’s expectations. Having a leadership coach can help you navigate a challenging and new role leading co-equals and help you lead up as well as down. Ellen helped me to see things a different way, and that has made all the difference.”
Tracey Jaensch, Partner, Fordharrison LLP
“No one is better than Ellen Ostrow at helping women lawyers navigate career inflection points. Whether it’s reimagining your approach to work after a second child, making the leap to equity partner, or honing the specific combination of resilience and vision that it takes to be a law firm leader, she brings the same deep expertise and tremendous humanity to every coaching engagement. Working with Ellen yields transformative results.”
— Margaret ( Meg) Holman, Chief Talent Officer, Ogletree Deakins
“Ellen has been instrumental in my development as a lawyer. She empowered me to navigate challenging workplace dynamics and cultivate healthy strategies for career advancement and self-advocacy. Her advice has become an ingrained part of my professional thought process, guiding me towards more effective and assertive decision-making. She has bolstered my confidence, fostered a growth mindset, and inspired me to pursue ambitious goals with unwavering accountability. I am deeply grateful for the transformative impact Ellen has had on my career.”
— Monique B., In House Counsel, Tech Company
“Ellen provided critical support to me when I was considering a lateral move, and continues to support me as I juggle the demands of growing my practice, raising children, and staying sane! Ellen is able to keep me focused, create a clear, actionable plan, and help me gain confidence. She is a gifted coach and wonderful human being. I highly recommend her to anyone who feels stuck or wants extra support in navigating work and life.”
— Katie, Partner, AmLaw 200 Firm
“Ellen is absolutely an amazing coach and counselor. For over five years she has been providing coaching support to our attorneys who are on parental leave—many of whom she has worked with over the course of several leaves. Ellen supports them through all phases of their leave experience including preparing for leave, navigating through leave and strategizing on return and re-integration. Ellen also helps our attorneys on leave think through the bigger picture of their careers and get clear on what they want and how best to get there. We hear time and time again what a valuable service she provides. Her skill and presence as a coach helps our attorneys feel supported and valued. There is no doubt her coaching has helped us retain our parents who have worked with her and for that we are grateful. She is also excellent at customer service. Ellen never hesitates to pick up the phone if there is an issue with someone she is working with or if she spots some trend she thinks we need to know about. I really feel like Ellen always has our best interests in mind and at heart. I recommend Ellen wholeheartedly not just for parental leave coaching but for any developmental or career issues your attorneys may be facing.”
Diane Costigan, Director of Coaching and Well-Being, Winston & Strawn LLP
I have had the good fortune of knowing Ellen for many years. We first met through a formal coaching program, but I am grateful that our friendship as endured long after the program concluded.
Ellen is an amazing listener who has somehow managed to strike the perfect balance of insightfulness, compassion, and heart to push her clients to the next level. In particular, I appreciate that she works intensively with lawyers but has deep expertise in psychology more broadly, so her coaching style always incorporates “bigger picture” elements of resilience, leadership development, and emotional intelligence beyond narrow legal workplace settings alone.
Above all, Ellen is kind. She genuinely cares for the attorneys she coaches and remains invested in their success, and I am happy to call her a friend.
— Jennifer W., Partner AmLaw 10 firm
“I have worked with Ellen for almost 20 years. We started when I was an associate, and my firm encouraged us to engage with a coach. Now I am an experienced partner and am still relying on Ellen’s wise counsel. Ellen helps me set goals, but more importantly, helps me re-set myself when I talk with her or something unexpected comes up.. Through our arc together, we have addressed how to approach typical lawyer issues – time management, billable hours, work dynamics, delegation, business development – but also how to successfully find my own unique path that makes me most fulfilled – and to have the courage to take it.”
Christy Tinnes, Principal, Groom Law Group
“I have worked with Ellen for over a decade. Over that time, she has provided me invaluable support as I moved from firm to government to non-profit. Ellen helped me understand what I was looking for professionally and gave me the tools I needed to get there. Ellen is so effective at coaching lawyers because she understands the lawyer brain and the nuances of the legal profession in a way only a specialist would. Moreover, Ellen is a careful listener and calibrates her advice to what you need in the moment – whether it’s a push to be more daring or the celebration of a success. Sometimes it feels like she understands me better than I understand myself.”
— Kathleen B., non-profit attorney
“When the law firm that employed me shuttered while I was out on maternity leave I had to start from scratch at the worst possible time but was fortunately referred to Ellen. Ellen’s organized approach gave me tools that helped me start over again on my own, identifying my target client base and marketing strategies that worked for my new mom-centric schedule while keeping me accountable. I was able to establish and grow a new practice in an of-counsel capacity while working a reduced schedule and was ultimately asked to join that firm as a partner. Now a name partner with significant management obligations, my work with Ellen shifted to leadership coaching, at first individually and then in a group. I learned how to lead at work, at home, and out in the world beyond, setting and meeting personal and professional goals along the way. Ellen is skillful and flexible enough that she has been a trusted partner for me at literally every stage of my career.”
Julie D., Partner, Small Law Firm
