Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

An Inner Circle is a group of about 8 women lawyers who act as each other’s personal board of advisors, made up of peers from similar work environments. You’ll meet online every two weeks for confidential, structured conversations, guided by our facilitation and grounded in trust.

With a six-month commitment and an oath of confidentiality, these connections foster mutual growth, support, and relationships that can last for years.

Traditional learning relies on an expert sharing knowledge from the top down. In our peer-to-peer Inner Circles, every member contributes ideas, experiences, and expertise, creating a more democratic and empowering space.

This collaborative approach boosts engagement, encourages problem-solving, and helps participants recognize the value of their own insights.

Traditional learning focuses on individual performance with limited collaboration. Peer-to-peer learning, however, fosters critical thinking, teamwork, and communication while building valuable networks for long-term professional growth.

Yes. Top-performing executives and entrepreneurs often join masterminds and similar peer learning groups to exchange ideas, gain fresh perspectives, and solve challenges collaboratively.

For example, organizations like YPO (Young Presidents' Organization), EO (Entrepreneurs' Organization), and Vistage offer exclusive peer networks where entrepreneurs meet to share experiences and grow together. The groups foster accountability, encourage innovation, and offer support, accelerating members both personally and professionall.

Interconnected Us isn’t another business development program—it’s a targeted response to the systemic gaps that hold women in BigLaw back from building true power and influence.

Our Inner Circles offer:

1. Exclusive access to our faculty of industry experts—far beyond the limited scope of solo coaching. The faculty, together with Rachel, offer customized insights on business development, power dynamics, and client acquisition.

2. You’ll also receive ongoing, direct support from Rachel through WhatsApp and office hours, so you’re never left waiting for the next scheduled session when a high-stakes decision arises.

3. Beyond strategy, we provide curated, high-value networking opportunities, connecting you directly to influential players who can accelerate your growth—no more passive “networking tips,” instead, strategic introductions.

4. In a small, carefully curated cohort of eight BigLaw women, you’ll build deep, high-trust relationships with peers who understand your challenges.

Here, you are finally empowered to develop confidence, clarity, and influence you need to take up space, win business, and lead with undeniable authority. If you want to rewrite your career on your own terms, this is it.

Let us speak directly into the microphone: HECK, YES.

Women of all backgrounds and identities, including trans women, are warmly welcome and will be 100% included.

Please see our About page, where our unique Community Guidelines address systemic challenges, trauma, and include a robust conflict resolution section.

You’ll transform from feeling stuck or overlooked into a confident, influential leader with a clear, actionable strategy to grow your book of business.

You’ll have: (1) built a powerful network of high-value connections; (2) gained real-time support to tackle business development challenges, and (3) developed the authority to command influence within your firm.

With the tools to develop your clarity and confidence, you are empowered to step into a bigger version of yourself.

Women’s Bar Associations are wonderful platforms for professional development and networking; but our groups are a different animal altogether. Our aim is to create a safe, confidential space among similarly situated women from outside your immediate circle (if not from outside your community completely), so that you can speak freely and get the advice you most need but are hesitant to seek elsewhere.

Social proximity hinders transparency.

To participate in one of our groups, fill out our “Sign Up” or “Join Us” form, linked from either of these buttons on our home page. You will be prompted to set up a time to meet, so we can get to know you, answer any questions you may have, and ensure that the program is a good fit for you.

You will be placed in an Inner Circle with fellow women lawyers who work in a similar environment as you (i.e. Big Law); as the goal is that you gain camaraderie, meaningful feedback, and an expansion of your network.

Our cohorts meet virtually.

Inner Circle cohort members choose as a group when they would like to meet. A poll is circulated as the rooms fill and the group meets when the largest number of members are available.

Members commit to attend and participate in bimonthly meetings, which maximizing group connectivity and creates a compounding effect as trust builds and deeper topics are addressed.

At your bimonthly meetings, everyone will share their updates, focusing on their best and worst updates since their previous meeting. The group will choose one or two member’s updates to focus on, and will spend the balance of the time discussing that person’s issue.

The experience sharing portion of our meetings follow this general structure:

1. The presenter will share her issue in more depth.

2. Her cohort asks her clarifying questions (not leading questions!) to better understand her situation.

3. Her cohort members will share their lived experiences that they feel will inform the presenter regarding her dilemma.

Occasionally, the group will also choose to discuss a particular topic instead of the regular format, such as a moderated discussion on negotiating.

This supplements several other regular program events:

1. A different member of our faculty will visit for a one hour session outside of the regular cohort group meeting; and

2. We offer weekly office hours for 30 minutes once per week, on a rotating schedule that addresses topics such as business development, inner critic and how to powerful conversations.

In Interconnected Us, the group selects topics that are both urgent (but not immediate) and relatable to the other members. The goal is to focus on issues where everyone can learn, not just the person presenting the challenge. This ensures that each session delivers valuable insights, fosters meaningful discussion, and offers strategies that benefit the entire group.

Like other actions that you engage in to further develop yourself, participating in our cohort group requires commitment and consistency to deliver results.

Our Inner Circles meet two times per month for 1.5 hours each time over six (6) months. We have found this to be the optimum program length to allow for trust to develop between cohort members.

At signup, each member signs a binding contract, and payment is made. Payment is a commitment unto itself and indicates that each member will take her participation seriously.

Further, cohort discussions are moderated, ensuring a high quality conversation.

The facilitator ensures that:

1. Air time is shared among the participants;

2. Community guidelines are adhered to; and

3. Industry best practices are followed.

Lastly, at each group’s launch, the members will:

1. Be asked to clarify that they have read, understand and agree to follow our Community Guidelines; and,

2. Adapt a boilerplate cohort “constitution” for their cohort, so expectations and commitments are understood and there is universal commitment among members.

Your group will be facilitated by Rachel Clar, Founder and CEO of Interconnected Us and/or one of our partners who are experienced group facilitators.

Rachel has also created the Interconnected Us community guidelines.

Our Inner Circles practices were adapted from one of Rachel’s mentors, Mo Fathelbab. Mo wrote the book on best practices for peer learning groups (FORUM: the Secret Advantage of Successful Leaders, published by Lulu.com, April 22, 2008) and has taught hundreds of group moderators in best practices. Mo and his trained moderators collectively lead tens of thousands of leaders worldwide, through entities ranging from as Harvard Business School alumni to the international Entrepreneur’s Organization.

The meetings are organized to be productive and forward-moving; people show up because they want to grow and learn. They want their investment of time to be valuable, just like you do.

You choose what challenges you want to discuss; you are in full control.

What happens often, though, is that members experience a level of trust and intimacy that they have either never experienced before, or haven’t experienced in years.

You might not; that’s not the point!

The very person you would never choose to be friends with might teach you a masterful way to plan for a negotiation, share how they changed firms seamlessly, or give you feedback that you really need.

If you’re an ambitious woman in BigLaw, ready to grow your power, influence, and book of business—not just for yourself, but to lift up others, Interconnected Us was built for you.

You’re done with outdated business development training and tired of being excluded from the informal mentorship, sponsorship, and networking circles that men so easily access in an industry where leadership looks the same.

Here, you’ll connect with high-caliber peers, receive real-time support, and build the confidence and authority to lead on your own terms.

Yes.

If you pay the lump sum option, you have thirty (30) days from the date of first group meeting to terminate and get a full refund.

If you choose the monthly installment payment option, you have 30 days to terminate and be released from the remainder of the payment obligation under the 6 mo. term, and the money for the first month of your membership will be unconditionally and fully. (On day 31, however, you are still obligated to pay for the remainder of your contract term, even if you quit the Program/Agreement).

Yes! In our weekly office hours, our monthly faculty visits, and our WhatsApp thread where we practice gratitude and celebrate our wins, you will interact with women from outside your cohort.

Additionally, Rachel pulls together smaller groups on an ad-hoc basis to address specific challenges, such as integrating into a new firm after a lateral move or letting go of an “unhelpful” work experience in your past.

In Interconnected Us, we expect you to show up with humility, a desire to expand your emotional intelligence, and a commitment to fostering a supportive, high-trust community.

Forgiveness and empathy are at the heart of our process; so we encourage you to avoid gossip and protect group unity by addressing issues directly and constructively.

As our community is built for your growth, we view every interaction as an opportunity to strengthen skills.

The role of a facilitator in a peer-to-peer cohort is to create a structured, supportive environment where meaningful connections and deep conversations can thrive.

Specifically, your facilitator will:

1. Guide the discussions, ensuring every voice is heard and that time limits are respected.

2. Ensuring that the group focuses on topics that are urgent, relatable, and valuable to all members.

3. Foster trust by encouraging and modeling vulnerability managing group dynamics with empathy and respect.

4. Translate group feedback into actionable takeaways.

5. Communicate with individual members and/or Interconnected Us leadership as necessary.

Upon signup, you will be asked to complete our proprietary scorecard, which asks you to rate yourself in 3 general categories (access, boundaries and confidence), and 3-4 subcategories under each of these. You will also meet privately with Rachel and develop an individual business development plan.

At the conclusion of our program, you will score yourself again and further, the state of your business development will reflect the work that you’ve put into it during your time in our porgram.

In our program, you will advance in these core areas:

1. Access (networking competence, goals,
   clarity & focus, developing your thought leadership)

2. Boundaries (asserting and maintaining boundaries, communicating with emotionalintelligence, protecting your time and energy)

3. Confidence (encouraging compassionate celf-talk, self-awareness of unique strengths, visibility and "stand up work").