#109 The Attorney Who Resisted Coaches, Books, and Telling Her Own Story — Until All Three Changed Her

What happens when someone who loved reading for pleasure but actively avoided leadership books finally cracks one open — and realizes she'd been doing everything wrong? For Michele Richman, that moment didn't just change how she led. It set off a chain reaction that's now reshaping how legal professionals grow, connect, and lead.

In this episode of Lawyers Who Learn, host David Schnurman, CEO of Lawline, sits down with his sister Michele Richman, Chief People Officer at Lawline, certified coach, triathlete, and soon-to-be published author, for a candid conversation about the mentors, mindset shifts, and pivotal moments behind her rise as one of the legal industry's most compelling voices on leadership development.

Michele traces her journey from resisting self-improvement books, because engaging with them meant confronting feelings of inadequacy she'd buried for years, to being transformed first by a leadership coach named Mark Green, then by Dale Carnegie and Brene Brown’s teachings, The final shift came during a pandemic-era group coaching session led by Frame of Mind Coach Kim Ades that cracked her open and changed her focus to the power of her thoughts and beliefs, as well as her vulnerability, for achieving her goals. She earned her coaching certification, built Lawline's Emerging Leaders program, and watched it generate over twelve internal promotions.

From there, she took it external, speaking at legal conferences and launching a leadership empowerment program for the professionals who train and develop talent inside law firms. Her upcoming book, The Stories We Almost Don't Tell, captures the belief driving all of it: the stories we're most reluctant to share are often the most important ones to tell and the ones that help others the most.