In this Office Hours episode, Stacy answers listener questions about: (1) how to get up to speed in your first General Counsel job – including tips for holding successful meetings with your CEO; (2) whether you can switch industries and how to do so; and (3) in-house fundamentals on how to deliver a winning board presentation.

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Submit your question to hello@legaldepartmentpod.com.

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Office Hours: Stacy Answers Your Listener Questions

Welcome to the Legal Department office hours, where I answer your questions about how to level up your career. If you have a question, please reach out to me at Hello@LegalDepartment.com. I also love hearing from you via LinkedIn, or if you have a friend of a friend who knows me, please reach out. We all get better when we share our knowledge. In this episode, we’re talking about three different issues. Two of them are related to career progression and transitions. One is what I call a blocking and tackling issue about how to work with your board.

We all get better when we share our knowledge. Share on X

Getting Up To Speed As A New General Counsel

The first question comes from a reader who reached out to me through a friend of a friend. They were starting a new role as general counsel. This is a high hill to climb. I know those of you who have been in-house for a while have appreciation for the role. It is not your average in-house role. It is not your average lawyer role. It’s a lot to get up to speed. This reader asked, “I’m new in my general counsel role and I’m not sure where to start. Can you help me get up to speed?”

First of all, I would direct you to Michael Watkins and his bestselling business book, The First 90 Days. It is a must-read and a must-have for anybody, lawyer or not. It gives a roadmap for how to start a new job. I had Michael on the show in episode 53, which was a once in a lifetime opportunity. He was interested in lawyers and understood that we’re a little bit of a different breed. We had such a great conversation that we also did an article together on Law360 about career transitions for lawyers. I’m going to first direct you to check that out because those are very specific for us in-house.

Second of all, my advice to this person is, if you are unsure of what your role is, your job is to become a detective. I would start by meeting with your supervisor. Set up a regular cadence to hear from that person about what you’re doing well and what they expect from you in the role. You can share your views of what the company needs with how you want to run the department. Build that relationship with your supervisor and be clear about what it is that they have you there to do.

If you are unsure of what your role is, your job is to become a detective. Share on X

As a general counsel, the supervisor is usually the CEO. Some companies have structured the GC reports to the Chief Financial Officer or the COO. Most companies I’m familiar with usually have that role reporting to the CEO. With a CEO conversation, you need to get out of your legal hat. You need to put yourself in that person’s seat. They are interested in how to grow and protect the business. Your job in meeting with that person is to learn as much as you can about what is important to them.

I would emphasize that as a new person, your job is learning and reading. That can be hard for us as lawyers because we think people are coming to us for answers. Many times, they are but resist the urge to solve the problem. Those are some of my early tips. Again, The First 90 Days is your go-to resource. Michael and I tried to put something bespoke together for the lawyers making career transitions in that Law360 article.

Breaking Out Of Industry “Pigeonholing”

Onto the next topic. Another reader reached out to me, and I got the impression that this person was feeling stuck. I have resources for that as well. The question was, “I’ve been working in an industry for most of my career, more than ten years. I’m feeling a little stuck. When are you pigeonholed in an industry?” This is a great question. I’ve thought about this a lot myself having practiced most of my career in healthcare and for healthcare providers, which is even more niche.

I am a glass-half-full person. I don’t think that we’re limited. The legal training, the legal career opens a lot more doors than people think. My view is that you are only limited by your own beliefs and how you market yourself also. I’d encourage people to think about themselves more as skill-based instead of industry based.

There are certainly particularities in different Industries myself, healthcare being one of the most regulated of all industries. It would be hard for somebody to come flat-footed into healthcare and land a GC role. I do see it happen. If you focus on your legal skills and your business skills and don’t get too bogged down into whatever those technical skills are, you’ll be fine.

If you focus on your legal skills and your business skills and don't get too bogged down into whatever those technical skills are, you'll be fine. Share on X

I want to direct you to two episodes. I’ve done this topic Ellen Yang was here at the end of 2025 in episode 84. We talked about the specific topic of feeling stuck at work. Ellen had a long career in-house at Taco Bell public storage and some other brand-name companies. When she felt stuck, she went to her general counsel and asked for some stretch opportunities in different departments and subject matters. She was able to round out her practice more and find more fulfillment.

Marla Persky was also on the show. She was a two-time public company GC at pharma companies. She talked about coming into a department as a litigator. For those of you who have litigated, you know that for the most part you are a jack of all trades and master of none. Except for civil procedure maybe. Marla took that litigation experience and turned it into a GC role. She did that by reaching out to her GC and asking for more. In the episode, she talks a lot about relying on those legal skills of asking questions, being diligent and follow-up, and being seen as the person who gets things done.

Delivering Effective Board Presentations

Long story short, I don’t think that you should feel constrained by the fact that you’ve practiced in one particular industry. It comes down to how you mark it and package yourself as you’re trying to find a new role. Our last question is what I would call an in-house fundamental. It is an opaque area if you were coming from outside of a company. Even if you’re an outside counsel and have done some work with boards. Boards are a unique body. It takes a unique skill set to practice well in this area.

The question is, “I’m new to an in-house role. How can I best present myself at the board of directors?” This question comes up a lot. I’ve made at least two episodes with on-board issues. I encourage you to check out episodes 68 with Sterling Miller And Deborah Solmor, and episode 62 with Joe Schohl. In those episodes, we talked about boards. Here are my tips. Again, drawing on the First 90 Days strategy. You need to become a learner of boards.

You need to be intellectually curious and try to get as much information as you can about the board at your company. You might say, “How do I do this?” If it’s a public company, there are many filings that your company makes that reflect governance. Any of those SEC filings. If you’re not the GC or the corporate secretary, you can get that information from the General Counsel. Many times, companies will have an assistant corporate secretary or governance liaison, a board liaison. That person is the know-it-all about the subject matter expert of the board and how it operates. That person is somebody that you need to get to know.

An important thing about board meetings generally is that it’s not like a regular meeting. It’s not a discovery or problem-solving. It is a very choreographed, well-intentioned, and well-thought-out meeting where there are specific tasks that need to be accomplished. There are items that need to be voted on. The meeting is recorded within minutes. You need to understand how it works at your company. There are even nuances like where people sit in the room. Can you talk during the meeting? Is there a board portal? How are materials presented?

An important thing about board meetings generally is that it's not like a regular meeting. Share on X

There’s a lot to know in the technical operations of how the board works. If you’re presenting to a board, this is an area where if you do it well, you will have an in-house job for a long time. If you don’t, you will maybe have your job but you won’t get back to the board very often. Probably my key advice for presenting at the board is keep it crisp. Board members are not there to evaluate your legal prowess or how competent. They don’t want to hear about every case citation, every development, or every amendment of a statute.

They are there to hear the high level of how the legal issues impact the company. For the best presenters, keep it crisp. I had conversations with board member Jeanine Wright on this show. She’s a former General Counsel. She’s a tech CEO and board member on 3 or 4 corporate boards. She talked a lot in her episode about what makes a good board presentation. I encourage you to check that out. In addition to talking at a high level and not overburdening the board with a lot of details. I recommend that you frame your legal presentation in business terms.

I recommend that you frame your legal presentation in business terms. Share on X

How does the litigation impact your business? How will the transaction, the different regulatory approvals, or the timing, the financing, take your legal work and make it relevant to the business? Also, keeping it very high level. Finally, when you’re presenting about risk issues, particularly litigation or investigations. You need to give a risk rating. You need to help the board understand the severity of the issue that you’re dealing with. I would frame it in Red, Yellow, Green, or how is this best for the company, or is this a Black Swan, or what is the risk register of the matter that you’re talking about?

I will frequently tell the board, “This is something I’m not worried about. This is something that we can manage. However, if X, Y, and Z happen. I’ll be back to you to talk about some next steps.” Framing the wrist that you see with whatever matter that you’re reporting on. I’ve heard those three things referred to as executive presence. When you own your content, you come in with a confidence that, “I can talk about this at a high level. I’m not going to stammer. I’m not going to burden you with a bunch of details. I’m going to tell you how this affects the company.”

What you need to know, that projects a lot of confidence and you’ll get invited back. If you have other questions for me for office hours, please reach out to me at Hello@LegalDepartment.com. Also, I’d like to give a shout out to my sponsor Filejet. They are huge supporters of the in-house community with their entity management software. I’ve appreciated their support for this show. Thanks for tuning in.

 

Important Links

• Hello@LegalDepartment.com
• The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter, Updated and Expanded
• The First 90 Days In The Legal Department: Michael Watkins, Executive Coach, Professor & Author Of The First 90 Days – Previous Episode
• 6 Strategies For Navigating Legal Leadership Transitions
• Stuck At Work? Tips To Reboot Your Career With Ellen Yang – Previous Episode
• Goal Getter: The Happiness Factor Marla Persky Executive Coach, 2x GC And Independent Board Member – Previous Episode
• Office Hours: 3 GC’s Answer Your Burning Questions Sterling Miller And Deborah Solmor – Previous Episode
• Executive Presence In The Legal Department Joe Schohl Inside Counsel Academy And 2x Public Company GC – Previous Episode
• From The Legal Department Into The Board Room With Jeanine Wright Former GC, Tech Founder & 5x Board Member – Previous Episode
• Filejet