How to Finish 2025 Like the Strategic In-House Lawyer You Are

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Quick Question for You

Lately, I’ve been thinking about creating a self-paced course for in-house lawyers that helps you move beyond day-to-day execution and build real strategic influence.

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Deep Dive

Somehow, it’s nearly November

Have you ever noticed how the time between Halloween and New Year’s feels like a time warp?

You’re buying candy, carving pumpkins, and trying to figure out what a “Wither Storm” is so you can buy a costume for your 8-year-old (maybe just me?). You’re hopping between holiday parties and family gatherings, while somehow also working what feels like every other minute.

And then, seemingly all of a sudden, it’s New Year’s Eve. The year is over, your inbox is full, and you’re wondering where the time went.

Most of us are already sliding into year-end mode. Q4 board prep has begun. Performance reviews are underway. There are contracts to close, budgets to finalize, and a million things that need to get done “before the holidays.”

It’s hectic for sure. But also, you still have time.

Both to finish the year strong and to shape how it ends. There are two full months left in 2025, and you can control what they look like.

This season will fly by no matter what. But a few intentional steps now can help you wrap up 2025 with more intentionality and less chaos, so that you feel great about 2025 and excited and ready for what’s to come in 2026.

Let’s talk about four things you can do now to make that happen.

1. Define what finishing strong means

Before you dive headfirst into everything that needs doing, pause for five minutes.

Ask yourself: What would a strong, satisfying year-end actually look like for me? And if you lead a legal team or department, what would that look like for your team?

Too often, we treat “finishing strong” like a productivity mandate. Ship everything. Clear the decks. Go out in a blaze of efficiency.

But if you're not careful, that approach can backfire. You and your team end up burned out, drained, and too exhausted to actually finish strong or enjoy the holidays, because you’re so busy reacting. And when everything becomes about checking off to-do lists created by other people, rather than intentionally advancing high-impact goals, you risk being busy without being effective.

Effort doesn’t always equal impact.

A better approach is to define success before you chase it.

Start by looking back.

Pull up the goals you set at the beginning of the year, including your legal department’s OKRs and your personal goals. The ones tied to your company’s strategic priorities. The ones that actually mattered to you.

Which of those did you meet? Where did you make real progress, even if it wasn’t perfect? What’s worth recognizing—and maybe even celebrating?

And with two months left in the year, where can you still drive meaningful results? Figure out what goals remain priorities in order to call 2025 a success. This is a time to look towards 2026 goals, but not to forget about 2025 ones.

2. Get clear on what actually matters

Once you’ve defined what a strong finish looks like, it’s time to get ruthless about focus.

Start by looking at everything on your plate between now and year-end. Board meeting prep. Year-end reviews. Budget planning. Finalizing contracts. Wrapping up projects. Scheduling holiday coverage. And probably 14 things that weren’t even on your radar last week.

Make a list if it helps. Then step back and ask:

Which of these actually matters to the goals that we’re still targeting?

Figure out not just which are urgent, but also which are important and drive real business value. Identify which ones help you (or your team) build credibility, solve problems, or move the ball forward in a meaningful way.

Because not all work is created equal.

When everything feels urgent, it’s easy to become reactive, racing through tasks as fast as you can, without ever stepping back to ask if they’re worth doing in the first place.

Instead, this is your chance to be strategic.

• If something needs to happen before year-end to hit a business deadline, make it happen.

• If a task is high-visibility and aligned with company priorities, prioritize it.

• But if a project is nice-to-have, low-impact, or could be done better with more space in January, it might be better to calendar it for next year.

One of the best things you can do in Q4 is give yourself permission not to do it all, specifically so that you can focus on the work that truly moves the needle.

3. Reconnect intentionally

One of the most valuable things you can do at the end of the year is to reach out and intentionally reconnect with the people who helped you do your job well this year, and the people you want to work more closely with next year.

It doesn’t have to be elaborate.

A short thank-you email. A quick message on Slack or Teams. A 15-minute coffee chat. These small touchpoints go a long way in strengthening relationships, especially in a season where everyone’s feeling rushed and overwhelmed.

These conversations don’t need to result in immediate action. Often, the act of reaching out is the impact. It keeps the relationship warm, shows that you’re thinking beyond your inbox, and signals that you care about doing great work with people rather than just for them.

Because your relationships are a core part of your effectiveness. Strengthening them now is more than just “being nice.” It’s how you build trust, influence, and momentum for whatever comes next.

4. Close the year with intentionality

The final weeks of the year are often treated like a race to the finish line. Just get through it. Just get it done.

But what if, instead of rushing to close the door on the year, you closed it with care?

That doesn’t mean dragging everything out or making things more complicated than they need to be. It means finishing in a way that sets you and your team up to start the new year without a mess waiting on the other side.

That might look like:

• Wrapping up loose ends with a future-you mindset: Take 15 minutes to document what decisions were made, what still needs attention, and where things left off. Leave a short note in the project tracker. Send a summary email. Your January self will thank you.

• Archiving or resetting what you’re done with: Close out that folder, delete those 25 “following up” emails, or archive the Slack channel that’s gone dormant. A little digital cleanup now can save you a headache later.

• Creating a jumpstart list for January: Not a full plan—just a simple list of priorities you want to revisit after the break. A reminder of what matters, so you don’t spend the first week back playing inbox roulette.

And just as importantly: celebrate something.

Yes, the big things—the major contract closed, the hiring you led, the new system you rolled out. But also the smaller wins: that tough stakeholder you finally built trust with. The process you helped improve. The work you’re proud of even if no one else saw it.

Make space for a few quiet moments of recognition. For yourself, and for the people around you.

Because how you close the year shapes how it feels. And finishing strong doesn’t mean finishing frantic.

It means finishing clear, steady, and proud of the impact you made.

Wrap it up your way.

The next few weeks are going to be full. They always are.

But how you move through them and how you end the year is still up to you.

You don’t need to finish every project, clear every inbox, or say yes to every “quick” meeting. You just need to finish in a way that is aligned with what actually matters.

That might mean pushing a project to January, skipping a meeting you don’t need to be in, or taking five minutes to write a thank-you note to someone who made your year better.

Small moves, big difference.