Recent news has painted a discouraging picture for start-up companies. As the stock market continues to falter and experts warn of an impending downturn in the economy, or worse, a full recession, entrepreneurs are being advised to “plan for the worst” by making some tough decisions right now, including cutting costs to help weather the current environment. Even in better economic times, the most successful new businesses are those which operate with great efficiencies of scale. 

The title “general counsel” is meant to convey legal leadership and the ability to handle a wide variety of matters; however, the title itself is a misnomer. Far from the “jack of all trades” that is often associated with in-house lawyers, general counsel must wield a number of specific skills and capabilities to be effective. To best describe the competencies and qualities that a GC must possess, I have grouped them into three areas that I characterize as the “3Qs”: the Intellectual Quotient (“IQ”), Emotional Quotient (“EQ”) and Agility Quotient (“AQ”). Many lawyers only possess one of two of these abilities; a good in-house lawyer must have all three to be effective.

A perennial concern for businesses of all sizes is minding the bottom line. Now, more than ever, in the face of rising interest rates and a turbulent stock market, companies are focused on controlling expenses, including their legal spend. Meanwhile, traditional legal models continue to reveal their limitations with respect to cost and efficiency, driving clients to seek more innovative and cost-effective legal solutions.

For those of you who are fans of Bill Maher or Dua Lipa, the idea of “New Rules” is a familiar one: identifying issues and committing to a new way doing things to improve outcomes. As we near the end to a challenging year, I have been thinking about my personal “rules” for being an effective General Counsel, and how they’ve evolved over time to reflect an ever-changing professional landscape. These “GC rules” have helped me whether working full-time or part-time, internal or external, as a newbie or a lifer. And because the whole purpose of developing rules to live by is to evolve and grow, I hope this list encourages you to reflect on your own rules (and maybe even share them with us!). So here goes, my current Top 10 GC Rules:

In my role as part-time GC and senior legal advisor, I work with a diverse portfolio of companies. Although my clients differ in size, management structure and stages of growth, among other things, my relationship with them is similar in one fundamental way. Besides helping to manage and address their day-to-day legal work, I serve another important role – that of counsellor. And by “counsellor”, I do not mean acting as their legal “counsel”; rather, I am referring to the support I provide as an unofficial mentor/sounding board - whether to a solo in-house lawyer, a larger client legal department, a paralegal, or a non-legal professional overseeing the client’s legal function.

"I think one of the best indicators of career satisfaction for an on-demand GC is that, like me, many lawyers choose this role at the pinnacle of their in-house careers. I am able to continue pursuing a professionally challenging career, while maintaining control over my time and my life," explains Outside GC Member, Lakshmi Sarma Ramani, in her recent article published in the ACC Docket's July/August issue. 

When Jon Levitt refers to his colleagues at Outside GC as a team of highly accomplished, “rock star” attorneys, he is only half-joking. The collective talent of the firm’s 60 lawyers is certainly a point of pride for Levitt and his co-founder and managing partner, Bill Stone. However, when used to describe the career achievements of long-time member, Lew Segal, nothing could seem more fitting.

As most seasoned lawyers can attest, the toughest deals usually come with the tightest deadlines and a level of complexity that prevents the use of a templated agreement. Although protecting the client’s interests is always the most important priority, what good is that goal if you can’t get the deal done? In this blog series, we will offer 4 tried-and-true steps for getting tough deals done both skillfully and quickly. This advice will be shared over 4 separate posts, starting with the necessary step of preparing yourself.