Welcome to WILL
In 2016, just after a milestone birthday, I received a wake up call from the universe.
I was on vacation with my family in Cape Cod. One morning at 5:30 am, I woke up as an idea shook me out of bed. I slid over to the couch and wrote feverishly. The words “women interested in leaving law” flowed out of my pen. I knew I had to create WILL.
Two years earlier my mom had died. By the summer of 2016 I was through the worst of the grief.
I was also fresh off the success of helping some amazing women leave big law. Our work inspired me beyond anything else in my professional experience.
The success of these women, plus my personal story of having an attorney father who lost his way, unlocked something inside me. (More on my dad below.)
After that Cape vacation, I summoned my courage, and told my business partner (and best friend!) I wanted to branch out on my own to create WILL.
Some WILL members continue practicing law, others do something completely new!
WILL members apply their passion, skills and kick-ass work ethic to a variety of new opportunities. Those have included…
- In-house jobs at startups
- Non-legal roles in operations, people development and more
- Decompress from big-law and explore creative options such as writing
- Non-profit work in social service or the arts
- Begin entrepreneurial ventures that range from starting own firms, speaking careers, and goods or services-based businesses
No matter what, they all experience more freedom and joy!
Growing up…
My mom married my dad when she was 21. When they met, she had been living with her parents in Queens and working as a dental hygienist. After having my brother and I, she went back to college and graduated when I was five years old. She went on to become a social worker and family therapist.
My dad was thirteen years her senior and a criminal defense attorney on the Upper West Side of NYC for over 30 years. He loved being a lawyer.
As a kid, we had mock trials around the dinner table, took turns playing the prosecutor, defense attorney, judge and jury.
When I got older I worked in his office on school vacations, squeezing yellow legal notes into overflowing filing cabinets, and riding the subway with him downtown to court.
Then, one night, when I was a freshman in high school, he didn’t come home.
My dad had been arrested for trying to embezzle money from a client.
He got himself a good lawyer and plead guilty.
He was disbarred and fortunately did not go to prison. But his life was never the same.
By my junior year in high school, my parent’s marriage ended.
My father floundered professionally, while my mother expanded. She studied metaphysics long before meditation, mindset and manifestation were in common parlance. She moved to California, began painting, saw clients and delighted in the Los Angeles sunshine and whimsical vibe.
Just before my college graduation, my father collapsed. They discovered a brain tumor that ultimately led to his death.
After college…
Having witnessed my dad’s downfall, I decided not to go to law school and worked for non-profits in human sexuality, women’s reproductive health and HIV.
I traveled the globe on my own for nine months before going to school for public health.
Once I got married, had kids and done years of satisfying public health work, I felt the call to explore coaching. I went back to school at NYU for my certification.
Is it a coincidence that as soon as I started coaching, I attracted lawyers who felt stuck and unhappy?
In 2010 I began my entrepreneurial journey working with my friend Steve Salee, Founder of Wildfire Strategies. I helped to grow and shape the business, and ultimately became a Partner. There I coached women attorneys who left (big) law for happier, more fulfilling roles.
I piloted WILL in the summer of 2017 with five women from around the country.
Now, dozens of women have gone through WILL. They find joy, satisfaction and make new connections and friendships along the way!
I’ve often heard the soul-crushing damage a legal career can have on your mind, body and spirit.
You…
- Are distracted or short tempered with your spouse and kids.
- Take calls during family events such as weddings or holidays.
- Work in the car at the beach while friends swim, chat and flip through trashy magazines.
- Worry about making hours, unable to relax, especially during a slow spell.
- Suffer from anxiety, depression, migraines, stomach aches and hair loss.
The norms in (big) law, can be merciless and soul crushing.
Work doesn’t have to be soul crushing.
What I hear you want is:
- Fulfillment.
- Freedom from the billable hour.
- To know you are making a difference.
- A vacation or holiday where you aren’t working.
- To live up to your potential, not squander your precious time doing work that drains your soul and energy.
You can figure out what it is you want to DO & how you want to BE in this world. A life and career of joy and fulfillment IS possible.
Team WILL
Everyone at WILL is a champion, rooting for you!
From the admin team who makes sure you have everything you need to get started, to the WILL coaches who coache attorneys in WILL alongside me, you are in good hands.
I’m Cory Logan, licensed clinician and enthusiastic WILL coach.
In graduate school, I had a wise professor remark that “we spend more time at work than we do with our families and friends.” I was stunned by this simple statement. Work not only provides us with a means to support ourselves, but it also frequently provides us with our identity and our sense of purpose. I knew then that I wanted to empower others to find their true purpose, achieve success, and pursue their passions in the workplace.
I have dedicated my entire career as a clinician, as a Director of a national non-profit, and as an executive coach to helping people attain a good “fit” between their professional roles and their personal lives. For the past 15 years, I have served as an executive coach and consultant with numerous law firms, including Sullivan & Cromwell, Wachtell, and Debevoise & Plimpton, helping leaders accomplish their goals, develop their strengths, and realize their full potential.
All this has led me to WILL. I am honored to have the opportunity to support WILL members on their journey to find work that lifts their spirits and is worthy of their time, their skills, and their unique strengths.
When I am not doing this work that I love, you can find me seeking out sunshine wherever possible, on a quest with my husband to find the perfect hamburger, or chasing after my two sons and large fluffy dog.
I am Jenni Ingram, and I love coaching people to grow in their strengths, leadership and make decisions that create space for more joy in their lives.
Over the years, I’ve coached individuals and consulted with organizations in the areas of team effectiveness, organizational culture, and strategic planning. I have a Master of Social Work plus certifications in Clark Wilson Group: 360° Feedback Surveys, Flawless Consulting, Action Learning, and Financial Coaching.
Outside of work, I explore cities through running, photography and finding the best spots for coffee, food, and ice cream. I am always ready for the next mountain hike, and enjoy nature to its fullest. I am training for my fourth marathon!
I love working with WILL members, and witnessing them transform their lives. I’ve seen this both in my work with individual WILL members and through being part of retreats and on our Community Calls. I’m proud to be part of this team and am happy to explore supporting you in YOUR WILL journey!
I look forward to connecting!
Prior to becoming a leadership coach, I spent the first 15 years of my career in global professional services firms. I feel a kinship to women working in big law, and know that what began as a passionate career can quickly sour as our life circumstances and expectations change. I believe that all of us deserve to find the life and career that brings us meaning, fulfilment and a deeper sense of self.
I am driven by a desire to provide a safe and nurturing space for high-achieving women to discover what matters most in their leadership and life, and to take action to bring that to fruition. I coach with a focus on authentic presence, empathetic listening, genuine curiosity and gentle challenge all bound up in the structure and detail orientation of my accountant roots. I am honored to be able to do this work within the WILL community, helping WILL members to create their best life.
Australian born, I embrace my identity as a global citizen and currently enjoy all that life has to offer in Denver, Colorado with my husband and daughter. I love running, baking and cooking (hence the running!) and making lists.
As a child, I dreamed of being a diplomat. But like so many of us, I forgot about my early aspirations and got swept up in the cultural script of “being real for a black girl”. I studied Russian language and politics as an undergraduate, then worked as an investment advisor for a bank. This real world felt empty, so I earned a law degree, became a trial attorney, married and had two sons.
Life took a sudden turn when my husband, also a lawyer, did not wake up one morning. For the next twenty-five years, supported by brilliant mentors and teachers, I delved into the work of personal development and human transformation.
During those years I evolved from practicing attorney to executive coach and business advisor. I am delighted to join WILL because I am passionate about helping lawyers fulfill their true calling with joy. As an avid writer and self-publisher, I also hosts writer’s circles at my homegrown kitchen table press on Long Island, NY.
If you want freedom from worry, anxiety and the billable hour…
You’re in the right place.
My Formal Bio
Elena Deutsch, MPH is founder and CEO of WILL – Women Interested in Leaving (big) Law. She is committed to helping women lawyers who struggle to leave big law take action towards a career and life they love.
Prior to this, she was a partner in Wildfire Strategies, a consulting and coaching firm that ignites leadership in executives and teams. Before Wildfire, she held leadership roles at the American Cancer Society and CAI Global.
Elena has coached senior leaders and teams in a range of industries, including: law firms, health care, and the arts. She supported executives and teams to lead with greater ease, confidence and impact.
She love helping women lawyers free themselves from the billable hour and bring their talents and to the world!
Working with Elena has been absolutely fantastic! Thanks to the work we did on figuring out what I wanted for my next career move, I have found a job which I am extremely thrilled about. I am convinced I could not have achieved this without all the work we did together.
If you are a lawyer who wants to wake up everyday excited to go to work, reach out.
I definitely recommend WILL! A lot of women don’t think about their career in a broader way. It was helpful to step back and ask, ‘What do I want to be doing with my life more generally?’