Clarity. Confidence. Direction.

Confidential coaching and mentoring for partners and general counsel across Asia-Pacific, from someone who has worked alongside partners and been their client.

Former M&A lawyer Β· Former Head of Legal Β· Qualified in NSW and Hong Kong Β· ICF Professional Certified Coach Β· 800+ coaching hours

You're running a practice, leading a team and holding key client relationships at once, with little time to step back and think.

Does any of this sound familiar?

  • You’re a partner, and suddenly the job became pipeline, people and the partnership, not just the law. And nobody prepared you for that.

  • A key client relationship, a difficult partner or tension in the partnership is taking more headspace than it should.

  • Your associates aren't stepping up, or the good ones keep leaving.

  • A partner review, a change in practice-group leadership or a merger has shifted the ground under you.

  • You’re weighing a lateral move, a step back or succession and what comes next, and you keep going around in circles.

  • In-house, the business sees legal as a blocker rather than a partner, and you're leading a stretched team while managing the board and executives.

  • There’s no one inside the firm or organisation you can think this through with.

What changes:

  • You name what’s really going on, not just the symptoms.

  • You separate the real priorities from the noise.

  • You stay or make your next move deliberately, rather than by drift.

  • You lead and work in a way you can sustain.

Coaching and Mentoring, in practice

  • Live issues: in-the-moment support on a current client, team or partnership situation, such as preparing for a difficult conversation.

  • Reviews and feedback: working through partner reviews, client feedback and engagement survey results, and turning them into a practical plan.

  • The client's view: what in-house counsel expect from their external lawyers, how clients choose and keep their advisers, and how to add value beyond the matter.

I'll ask the hard questions and, where it helps, share how I'd approach it. You decide which you need.

What we work on

  • New partners: the shift from legal expert to legal leader. Owning the practice, building your pipeline, and leading, delegating to and keeping your associates.

  • Established partners: a sounding board on clients, influence within the partnership and leading through firm change, including performance development where the firm has asked for it.

  • Senior partners: succession, handing over client relationships, and the legacy you want to leave.

  • General counsel and heads of legal: influence with the business and the board and leading your team through uncertainty and organisational change.

Most partners and general counsels work this out alone, quietly, with no one to test their thinking against.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

Hi! I’m Piny Ly.

Executive Coach & Mentor to senior lawyers and law firm partners across APAC.

I bring 15 years in law to this work. I was a corporate M&A lawyer at Mallesons and King & Wood in Sydney, Beijing and Hong Kong, then Head of Legal and a senior leadership team member at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (Australia’s largest retail bank) in Hong Kong. I've also worked inside multiple listed companies as a secondee, and as a leadership consultant in Cambodia for a global IP law firm. I’m now based in Bangkok, Thailand.

I've worked alongside partners at international firms, and as Head of Legal I instructed and assessed them, so I know what clients expect of partners. I’ve also led an in-house team from the leadership table, so I know what business expects of legal. I’ve carried similar pressures to you: demanding clients, a team to lead and big decisions about what's next.

I understand how firms work from the inside and as a client, but I never assume I know how yours works today: I ask first, then bring my experience to bear. I'm an ICF Professional Certified Coach with 800+ hours coaching partners, senior lawyers and executives.

Clients describe me as direct, challenging and compassionate.

learn more about Piny→

 

How 1:1 with me works

  • 1. Get in touch, then apply

    Email me with a line or two about your role and what’s prompting you. If it sounds like a fit, I’ll send you my confidential application form, with fees. It takes about 7 minutes, and I read each one. I’ll reply within 2 business days.

  • 2. The Clarity Session

    If we're a good fit, I'll invite you to book a 60-minute online Clarity Session. It's a working session, not a sales call. You leave with a clear read on what's driving your situation, the one or two priorities that matter most, and next steps you've decided on yourself. The Clarity Session is a stand alone session.

  • 3. Decide

    If ongoing coaching is the right next step, your Clarity Session becomes your first session and its fee is credited to your first month. If it isn't the right time, I'll tell you honestly.

Client Testimonials

 

β€œNo BS.”

β€” Law firm partner, Australia

β€œI think the biggest shift for me is to gain a different perspective in a seemingly very negative situation and turn to positive energy, the shift in mindset is very powerful and I am very appreciative of the insights I have gained through working with Piny.”

- Asset Management Director, Singapore

β€œI came to the session at a crossroads, with a decision I’d been avoiding for months. I left with a clear direction and a plan I’d chosen myself. Piny didn’t try to sell me more. She told me I had what I needed for now..”

β€” General Counsel, Hong Kong

β€œA good reminder on how important it is to formulate one’s thoughts and plans to check whether they might make sense and how one feels about them when listening to oneself”

β€” Partner, international law firm, Hong Kong

β€œI hate you Piny… In a good way.”

β€” Senior Executive Client, Australia

β€œI’m not afraid to admit that Piny makes me cry. Well maybe not cry, but feel safe enough to let the tears fall.”

β€” Law Firm partner, APAC

β€œAll the answers are within me, it was about digging deeply into who I am at my core to figure out this part. And Piny beautifully clicked on the right button to have this come out.”

β€” Luxury Brand Area Manager, Hong Kong

β€œPrior to working with Piny, I was feeling very unsure of myself and that I had to prove to others that I belonged in my new role as an executive leader… I'm learning to be curious and asking myself whether the pressure I am experiencing is driven by internal or external factors.

β€” Chief Operating Officer, US

 Recent Posts