The Leadership Dilemma
in Law
Why exceptional lawyers often struggle as leaders, and the practical skills needed to build high-performing legal teams.
Attendance is optional. All registrants receive the full replay and workbook within 24 hours.
Very well presented. Great pace, excellent content with uncluttered slides. Really enjoyed.
V.B. · Session Attendee
Thank you so much for this initiative. Please do not stop.
C. · Session Attendee
Thank you, insightful session.
A.L. · Session Attendee
Being an outstanding lawyer does not make you
an effective leader.
Leadership was never part of law school. Most lawyers spend years mastering legislation, legal reasoning, negotiation, litigation, and client service. Very few receive any formal training in leading people.
Yet as careers progress, lawyers are expected to supervise candidate attorneys, manage colleagues, mentor junior staff, resolve conflict, give performance feedback, motivate teams, and make increasingly complex leadership decisions. Being an outstanding lawyer does not automatically prepare someone to lead one. That gap between legal expertise and leadership capability has become one of the defining challenges of modern legal practice.
This webinar is practical and neuroscience-informed, developed specifically for lawyers who are responsible for leading people, in a firm, a legal department, or chambers.
24 July 2026 · 1 to 1.5 hours. Attend live or watch the full replay in your own time.
The Skills Law School Never Taught
The leadership gap in law
Why being an exceptional lawyer does not automatically prepare you to lead people, and why that gap widens as your responsibilities grow.
The skills law school never taught
Supervising candidate attorneys, mentoring juniors, giving feedback, resolving conflict, and motivating a team are learned competencies, not by-products of legal skill.
The neuroscience behind effective leadership
How the brain leads under pressure, and why cognitive performance and emotional intelligence determine whether you lead deliberately or react.
Leading the modern legal team
Heavy workloads, burnout risk, multiple generations, retention pressure, and constant interruption, and what leadership has to do differently in that environment.
From managing to leading
The shift from administering work to developing people, including the difficult conversations with staff and clients that define a leader, and how to make it without sacrificing your own performance.
Built specifically for the legal profession. Every concept is presented through the realities of legal practice, so the learning is immediately relevant and applicable.
For Lawyers Who Are Responsible for People
Partners and Directors
Senior leaders carrying high-volume practice demands alongside responsibility for the performance, culture, and standards of the people they lead.
Heads of Legal and General Counsel
In-house leaders managing legal teams while balancing business leadership, legal risk, and the competing priorities of the organisation.
Practice Managers
Those who hold the practice together day to day, managing workloads, people, and competing demands without formal leadership training behind them.
Senior Associates and Emerging Leaders
Lawyers moving into leadership who want to build deliberate competency before the demands of the role make reactive behaviour the default.
Advocates and Senior Counsel
Independent practitioners whose standing rests on conduct and consistency, and who lead juniors and pupils through influence rather than position.
Anyone Who Supervises Juniors
Every lawyer who mentors, supervises, or develops candidate attorneys and junior professionals and wants to do it well.
Maryke Swarts
Co-Founder, PMRI · Lead Presenter
Maryke Swarts is co-founder of the Professional Mind Resilience Institute and lead presenter across PMRI’s webinars. Her work focuses on the neuroscience of performance, resilience, and cognitive capacity in high-pressure professional environments, with particular expertise in the structural demands of legal practice. She holds a Master’s in Transformation Coaching, a Neuro-Coach qualification, NLP Practitioner certification, and an Honours degree in Psychology. She is assisted by Sonja Cilliers, Advocate of the High Court of South Africa and co-founder of PMRI.
Register now and secure your place
Attend live on Zoom or watch the full replay in your own time. Recording and workbook included for every registrant.
per person · recording included
Secure checkout via PayFast. No obligation until payment is complete.
Book This Webinar
for Your Team
Team rates apply from two people. One invoice issued to the firm or chambers. Every participant receives their own confirmation, recording, and workbook. Attendance is optional for all registrants.
PO numbers, vendor registration, and internal billing requirements accommodated. For a customised in-house leadership session delivered exclusively for your team, contact PMRI at info@pmri.co.za.
| Participants | Per person | Saving |
|---|---|---|
| Individual | R450 | Standard |
| 2 to 5 people10% off | R405 | R45 pp |
| 6 to 14 people20% off | R360 | R90 pp |
| 15 or moreBest value | R315 | R135 pp |
Email PMRI · Request an InvoiceWhatsApp PMRI · +27 76 648 9073
Individual registrations are processed through the website checkout at R450 per person. All registrants receive the full replay and workbook within 24 hours.
Workshops, webinars, and online courses.
Browse PMRI’s upcoming in-person workshops, live webinars, and self-paced courses, all built for cognitive performance in legal practice.
