Meet Jane Lewis
With more than 30 years of experience in sales and coaching, Jane is skilled at helping professionals identify tangible goals and targeted actions for business growth. She previously worked at IBM and Smith Barney, among others, and brings the lessons of other types of high-level B2B marketing to law firms. Jane is a graduate of B-Coach, a business coaching certification program, MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) and Hogan Assessments. When not working, she enjoys travel, exercise, and entertaining.
What excites you about working with lawyers and law firms?
Helping lawyers build confidence, gain clarity and execute with impressive results on their BD goals.
What advice would you give to an associate who’s about to make partner?
Build and cultivate relationships with peers. They will one day be in decision-making roles and you’ll want to be top-of-mind when that happens.
Give an example of someone whose career path you changed.
I worked with a lawyer who was able to completely reframe his approach to BD. He began with negative, embedded ideas around BD as being sales (which he did not want to do). After our work together, he viewed his efforts as creating mutually valuable and beneficial relationships. His practice began to thrive and today he is in a senior leadership position at his firm.
How does your past experience help you in your job?
I’ve participated in multiple RFP processes and pitches and I know how to strategize for success. I also have a keen sense of how to build and deepen relationships in the business world.
Describe a unique moment in your career.
Early in my career I learned to listen to my intuition. As a young marketing representative at IBM, I was teamed with two older, much more experienced professionals for a critical presentation. My colleagues set the agenda —they were the subject matter experts with years of experience, and this was my first important customer presentation. Although I shared my concerns that we were not delivering what the customer wanted, I deferred to their experience and judgement. The meeting was a disaster — tense and painful — so I took over. Ultimately, I produced a two-day off-site for the customer that was successful in every way.
What is something most people don’t know about you?
During college I spent a summer in Alaska packing brimmed fish eggs for the Japanese. My earnings helped pay for a study-abroad program in France.
Education
Antioch University, MA Organization Psychology, 2004
Seattle University, BA Social Sciences, 1982
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