Annelise Pesa discussed her career journey as a Career, Performance and Executive Coach for Lawyers.
Annelise Pesa (Banking and Finance Law LLM, 1997) is a Professional Certified Coach by the International Coach Federation (ICF) and a corporate trainer. She helps lawyers to advance their leadership skills, create high performing and motivated teams and have a career and more importantly a life which is fulfilling, authentic and meaningful.
Annelise spent almost 20 years as an international banking and finance lawyer, working for magic circle law firms such as Clifford Chance and Linklaters and then as an Executive Director, Legal Head of Italy for Morgan Stanley. Annelise legal career, whilst based in London, required significant time in Milan and Rome.
This is what Annelise says about her experience at CCLS: "Getting an LLM was one of the most incredible and formative years of my life. In addition to having the chance to study international commercial, banking & finance law, I developed a method of learning and of applying the law which has been a reference point not only for my career and success as a lawyer but also for my life. It also made me realise back then, in the late 90s, how amazing it was to be in contact with students from different backgrounds, religions, and cultures. This instilled in me the importance of equality, diversity, and inclusion, a subject that I am deeply passionate about, along with positively impacting the legal world so that every lawyer has a fulfilling career, realizes their full potential, and creates a meaningful life.
I did my LLM whilst also studying for my Bar exams in Italy and with my LLM I could access the international market of law, realising my dream of working in another country, for top tier law firms and institutions internationally.
Working for big law firms and investment banks was a wonderful experience. I met so many amazing international people who were so smart that no day would pass by where I wasn’t learning or dealing with complex issues on a cross boarder basis at a fast pace.
During my time in law firms I covered a variety of subjects such as regulatory Italian law, project finance derivatives and securitisation and a bit of corporate law.
This breadth of coverage and agility allowed me to step in the complex role of Legal Head of Italy for Legal at Morgan Stanley. There I provided legal advice on all matters relating to Morgan Stanley's operations in Italy, including mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, sales and trading, and structured products but sometimes I would be involved in litigation, restructuring and distressed debt. My favourite parts were lobbying Italian regulators and considering franchise and reputational issues.
Working in an Investment bank has been an incredible experience as you are part of a bigger institution where there are so many different functions. As a lawyer you need to strike the right balance between being legally rigorous and protect their reputation while at the same time being creative to allow the business to make the necessary business deals.
Working in such fast-paced environment made me also realise, at the cost of being reactive, not totally efficient with my time and often stressed, how much lawyers could perform better, have better work/ life balance, and have a satisfactory career if only they invested in self-development (executive coaching and self /professional development programme).
Although I love the law, given one of my most important values is justice (once a lawyer always a lawyer!) I increasingly felt called upon to wear a different hat, drawn by my personal experience as well as seeing many of my colleagues not reaching their potential at work and in life.
Hence, almost 10 years ago I decided to retrain as an Executive Coach and do another Master’s Degree. I have continued to broaden my knowledge with continuous education in different related subjects such as Jungian and Positive Psychology, Agile Team Coaching, NLP, Stress Management, Facilitation and Behavioural Assessment and Strengths Psychometric Instrument, to name just a few. Mostly though, I dedicated myself to coach lawyers and professionals to obtain partnerships and promotions, increase performance, successfully achieve career transition and consolidate leadership skills. I also deliver corporate training in Stress Management and Resilience, Team Communication, Team Performance, Career Development, Sexual Harassment in The Work Place, Diversity and Inclusion, Positive Leadership, The Art of Feedback, Remote Hearing in International Arbitration During the Pandemic, Burn out During the Pandemic, Emotional Intelligence and much more. I worked with Boards to enhance better functioning of team dynamics and meetings and have devised a wellbeing programme for law firms during the pandemic and now with the expectation by employees of agile working.
Changing career was not easy, nor is it in fact necessary if you enjoy what you do. However, I firmly believe that we are all called to step back from time to time and question where we are, why we are doing what we are doing and access a place inside ourselves that connects to our deepest desires and also deepest fears. To me this is the pathway to have a fully satisfactory career and to live a meaningful life
For more information about Annelise’s work please see www.annelisepesa.com or https://www.linkedin.com/in/annelisepesa/ or write to annelise@annelisepesa.com