Where Do You Stand? Take The Free Lawyer Assessment to Measure Your Professional Freedom
The Question That Keeps You Up at Night
It's Sunday evening. Tomorrow morning, you'll walk into your office—the one with your name on the door, the diplomas on the wall, the case files stacked neatly on your desk. From the outside, you've made it. You're successful by every traditional measure.
So why does your chest tighten when you think about Monday morning?
You've achieved what you set out to accomplish. The partnership. The income. The reputation. Yet somewhere between the victories and the billable hours, something shifted. The practice you built to create freedom now feels like a cage.
Here's what I've learned after 46 years practicing law: The problem isn't that you're failing. The problem is that you're measuring success with the wrong yardstick. That's precisely why I created The Free Lawyer Assessment—a tool explicitly designed to measure what actually matters in your legal career: your professional freedom.
In the next ten minutes, you can gain clarity on where you truly stand. Not just how much you earn or how many cases you've won, but whether you're practicing law with purpose and living life with freedom.
Why Your Success Feels Empty
Before we talk about the solution, let's be honest about the problem. The traditional metrics we've been taught to chase in the legal profession often create the very emptiness we're trying to escape.
The Metrics That Lie to Us
We've been conditioned to measure legal success through billable hours, win-loss records, and annual income. These numbers tell us we're winning. But they don't measure what's happening inside us.
I was ranked number one in my high school class, my college class, and my law school class. I clerked in federal court. I became a managing partner at 35 and ran a successful firm for three decades. By every external metric, I was crushing it.
I was also struggling with addiction, perfectionism, and crippling self-doubt. The accolades meant nothing when I woke up at 4 AM with a pounding headache and crushing anxiety about a motion I'd already prepared perfectly.
The Three Traps That Keep You Stuck
The billable hour measures time spent, not impact made. It rewards inefficiency and punishes innovation. You start calculating the "cost" of your daughter's soccer game in lost billable hours. The metric that's supposed to measure productivity actually destroys the very life you're working to build.
Your trial record can't capture the nights you spent preparing or the relationships you missed. I once won 12 cases in a row, which should have made me feel invincible. Instead, I was consumed by fear that the 13th case would expose me as a fraud. The wins didn't build confidence—they just raised the stakes for the next potential failure.
The attorneys earning $300,000 to $500,000 annually are often the most trapped. You've built a lifestyle that requires that income. The money intended to buy freedom has instead purchased golden handcuffs. You can't scale back because too many people depend on you. The income is high, but the cost is higher.
The Three Dimensions That Actually Matter
After four decades in practice and years coaching attorneys toward transformation, I've identified three dimensions that determine whether you thrive or merely survive in legal practice. These form the foundation of The Free Lawyer Assessment.
Internal Authority: Confidence From Within
Internal authority means your professional worth comes from your preparation, competence, and commitment—not from others' opinions. You trust your judgment without constantly second-guessing yourself.
What It Looks Like When You Have It: You make decisions based on your analysis, not fear of judgment. You can admit when you don't know something without feeling like a fraud. You set boundaries with demanding clients because you know your value doesn't depend on being available 24/7.
What It Looks Like When You Don't: Every decision requires multiple opinions from colleagues. Criticism from opposing counsel ruins your entire day. You over-prepare everything out of fear rather than thoroughness. Imposter syndrome follows you despite years of proven success.
I learned this lesson in a federal court case representing a trucking company. My driver was poorly educated, the injuries were severe, and sympathies were against us. I was distracted by anxiety about what everyone would think. But I kept returning to what I knew: I was prepared. I understood the facts. The jury found for my client. When you operate from internal authority, the external pressure decreases because your worth isn't on trial—only the legal issues are.
Sustainable Excellence: Systems Over Stress
Sustainable excellence means maintaining peak performance without sacrificing your health, relationships, or sanity. You have systems and boundaries that support consistent, high-quality work.
What It Looks Like When You Have It: You maintain steady energy throughout your workday. You sleep well because you're not ruminating about cases. Your practice has systems that function when you're unavailable. You can fully disconnect during designated personal time.
What It Looks Like When You Don't: Sunday night dread is your constant companion. Sleep is disrupted by anxiety. Every vacation requires continuous availability. Your health is suffering—weight gain, high blood pressure, stress-related symptoms. Your relationships are strained because you're never truly present.
I managed a law firm for 30 years. Early on, I believed I had to control everything personally. The practice ran smoothly, but it completely owned me. The transformation came when I realized that sustainable excellence requires proper systems, not heroic effort. Strategic thinking beats constant reaction. Boundaries actually improve client service because you're operating from clarity and strength rather than exhaustion.
Authentic Practice: Alignment With Your Values
Authentic practice means your work reflects your personal values and priorities. You practice law by choice, not compulsion. Your practice serves your life goals rather than consuming them.
What It Looks Like When You Have It: Monday mornings bring energy, not dread. You work with clients who respect you. You have autonomy over how you structure your practice. When you envision your future, you see yourself thriving in legal practice.
What It Looks Like When You Don't: You fantasize about leaving law entirely. You're taking cases purely for money despite knowing they'll drain you. You feel like you're living someone else's life. Every decision is based on "should" rather than genuine desire.
After decades in litigation, I transitioned to family law and eventually to coaching attorneys. Each shift required courage to pursue what aligned with my values rather than what others expected. The most fulfilling work of my career came when I finally structured my practice around my authentic priorities.
Introducing The Free Lawyer Assessment
So how do you actually measure where you stand in these three critical dimensions of professional freedom? That's exactly what I created The Free Lawyer Assessment to do—giving you clear, actionable insights in just ten minutes.
What It Measures and Why It Matters
The Free Lawyer Assessment is a 30-question tool designed to measure where you stand in these three critical dimensions. Ten questions assess your internal authority. Ten evaluate your sustainable excellence. Ten examine your authentic practice.
Each question asks you to rate yourself on a scale from 1 to 10. Be honest—this assessment is for you, not for performance. Sample questions include: "I trust my professional judgment without constantly second-guessing myself," "I can deliver high-quality work without perfectionist paralysis," and "My practice reflects my personal values and priorities."
The assessment takes approximately ten minutes. That's less time than your typical client call, but it could provide the clarity that transforms your entire career.
Understanding Your Score
You'll score yourself out of 300 total points—100 for each domain. The scoring reveals not just your overall professional freedom level, but where specifically you need to focus for maximum impact.
240-300 points: The Free Lawyer (Elite Freedom). You've achieved the rare balance of professional excellence and personal freedom. Your challenge now is maintaining this while mentoring others toward similar success.
180-239 points: The Emerging Free Lawyer (Significant Progress). You've made substantial progress. Strategic focus on your weakest domain could elevate you to elite freedom within 6-12 months.
120-179 points: The Transitioning Lawyer (Building Foundation). You're at a pivotal moment. The foundation for change exists, but you need systematic implementation to break through.
60-119 points: The Struggling Lawyer (Seeking Solutions). Your practice is controlling you rather than serving you. You need immediate intervention, but transformation is absolutely possible.
Below 60 points: The Crisis Point (Urgent Need for Change). You're in survival mode. Immediate action is needed, but it's not too late.
Pattern Recognition: What Your Scores Reveal
The assessment doesn't just give you a number—it reveals patterns that explain why you feel the way you do.
If all three domain scores are similar, your challenges are systemic. You need a comprehensive approach addressing all aspects of professional freedom simultaneously.
If one domain is significantly lower (20+ points below the others), you have a clear priority for focused intervention. Success in that domain will create positive ripple effects across your entire practice.
If Internal Authority is your lowest score, that's likely the root cause of your other challenges. If Sustainable Excellence is lowest, you may have the right mindset but lack effective systems. If Authentic Practice needs work, you may be succeeding by others' standards but not your own.
You Took the Assessment—Now What?
You've completed the assessment and have your score in front of you. Now comes the most crucial part: turning that clarity into concrete action that transforms your practice and your life.
Your Action Plan
Your assessment score provides clarity. But clarity alone doesn't create change. That's why I've created a comprehensive Action Plan tailored to your results.
After completing the assessment, providing your email and submitting it will trigger guidance based on your results.
Your plan includes:
Immediate Actions for This Week. Four specific steps you can take right now. If Internal Authority is your focus, you might write down three past successes, identify one decision you're delaying due to fear, and practice responses that reflect internal authority. If Sustainable Excellence requires attention, you'll establish a non-negotiable boundary and identify a recurring task that necessitates a system. If Authentic Practice is your priority, you'll write down your top five values and identify one aspect of your practice that conflicts with them.
30-Day Strategic Goals. Specific milestones that create meaningful progress and build momentum toward sustainable transformation.
Key Free Lawyer Principle. The core insight that will guide your transformation in this domain—your North Star for decision-making about your practice.
A Personal Letter From Me. Understanding what your score means, encouragement from someone who's walked this path, and an invitation to explore deeper transformation through individual coaching.
Get Your Action Plan Now
Simply enter your email after completing the assessment, and I'll send you the complete action plan matched to your results. This guidance is tailored to your current situation and future goals.
You'll receive prompt delivery to your inbox. No spam. No daily emails unless you want them. Just the targeted guidance you need to begin your transformation, plus the option to schedule a complimentary strategy session if you're ready for personalized coaching.
What Transformation Actually Looks Like
These aren't just theories or concepts—they're fundamental changes that happen when attorneys commit to transforming their relationship with practice. Here are three examples of what's possible when you take action on your assessment results.
Real Change in Three Domains
One attorney I coached had achieved remarkable success but couldn't make decisions without seeking multiple opinions. She over-prepared everything out of fear. Through our work together, she learned to trust her preparation and competence. Today, she handles high-stakes litigation with calm confidence because her sense of worth comes from within.
A managing partner came to me, working 70-hour weeks, unable to delegate. His health was suffering, and his marriage was strained. We built systems that supported his excellence without requiring his constant presence. Within six months, he had reclaimed his evenings and weekends while his firm's performance improved because he was operating from strategic clarity rather than reactive exhaustion.
A senior attorney with 25 years of experience was financially successful but spiritually empty. Through coaching, he gained clarity on his actual values and gradually restructured his practice toward work that energized him. Today, he practices with renewed passion because his work reflects his authentic priorities rather than outdated assumptions.
Your Journey Begins With Knowing Where You Stand
I was that overweight kid with thick glasses who got bullied and called names. I became a perfectionist, trying to prove my worth. I achieved every external measure of success—top of my class, federal clerkship, managing partner, and successful trial lawyer.
Yet I still struggled with self-doubt, addiction, and the crushing pressure of perfectionism. I had built a successful practice that was killing me.
Through recovery and four decades of practice, I discovered that professional freedom isn't about working less or lowering standards. It's about fundamentally restructuring your relationship with practice so it serves your life goals rather than consuming them.
The Internal Authority I once sought from judges and juries, I now find within myself. I once thought that achieving Sustainable Excellence required sacrifice; however, I now accomplish it through proper systems and boundaries. The Authentic Practice I longed for, I now experience by aligning my work with my values.
If I can transform from a struggling perfectionist to a truly Free Lawyer, so can you.
Take the First Step Today
The Free Lawyer Assessment provides the clarity you need to begin your transformation. In ten minutes, you'll understand where you stand in the three dimensions that actually determine your professional freedom.
You don't need to keep wondering what's wrong or why success feels empty. You don't need to wait until you're "less busy" to address what matters most. You don't need to accept that sacrifice and suffering are the price of professional excellence.
Take The Free Lawyer Assessment now. Get your personalized action plan. Begin the journey from surviving your legal career to thriving in it.
Your clients deserve you at your best. Your family deserves your presence. You deserve freedom.
The assessment is free. The insights are invaluable. The transformation is possible.
Ready to discover where you stand? Click here to take The Free Lawyer Assessment and receive your personalized action plan. In 10 minutes, you'll have the clarity that could transform your career.