The Seven Steps to a Successful In-House Job Search

One day not long ago I spoke with the General Counsels of six publicly held companies with capitalizations of $500 million to $1.5 billion. They each were looking to be GCs somewhere else.

These were very talented attorneys. Each had experience in compliance, SEC rules and corporate governance. They each had managed outside counsel in complex nationwide litigation. They each were experienced in negotiating domestic and international transactions, including licensing deals. They each had administrative management roles beyond just the legal department … they were integral members of their companies’ senior management teams.

These were six very smart and successful General Counsels, each of whom felt they were special and uniquely credentialed.

But the reality is that each one was the same as the other. Competitively, they were at parity. There was no way an employer could tell the difference between them. None of these six people had a clear “brand strategy” to differential themselves from their competitors.

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The Top 10 Reasons Why Lawyers Seek Alternative Careers – Part 1 of 2

10. Lack of appreciation — if you win, you were supposed to, so you don’t get thanked. If you lose, it was because you did something wrong. If you are looking for a profession where you can receive positive reinforcement and gratitude for your hard work, law is not the one..

9. Loneliness/Isolation — whether working for a large firm or as a solo, most of the work is done alone, behind closed doors. Moreover, a lawyer is always an outsider and never really a member of a team working together and sharing ideas to solve a problem.

8. Lack of control over work process and outcome — a client once told us that the legal profession is
the only one where you can do everything right and still lose. Unreasonable deadlines and unreasonable
clients, not to mention unreasonable partners and judges, are also problems.

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