Wishing You a Joyful End to the Holiday Season & Year!

Deep Dive

Happy Everything!

I’m keeping this issue light on new substance because it’s the end of year scramble for many of us, and Christmas Eve for those who celebrate. Personally, I’ll be signing off early today to do some last minute wrapping and spend time with my family.

Christmas has always been one of my favorite holidays, and as a Mom, it’s more fun than ever. I love watching my son’s joy and excitement about the magic of Christmas.

I hope that whatever holidays you celebrate, rituals you practice, or traditions you enjoy, you have had a wonderful December so far, and that you get to spend time during this final week of the year with the people you love, doing whatever it is you want to do.

Thanks for being here throughout the year with me. I am grateful to you for reading.

Next week, on New Year’s Eve, I’ll be back with an issue on setting personal and professional goals and resolutions, to build a life and career you love.

But for today, here are a few previous issues that many readers enjoyed, which you might have missed.

1. Driving Value as a Business-Minded Lawyer

The most effective in-house lawyers are business-minded. And one of the best ways to drive value as a business-minded in-house lawyer is to ask the right questions.

This issue will teach you the exact questions to ask to frame your thinking and set yourself up to drive maximum value.

Here is a link to the full issue: Essential Questions Business-Minded Lawyers Ask to Drive Value.

2. Building a Non-Linear Career

The days when the only path to “success” as a lawyer is to join a firm, work there for years, and eventually make partner, are long gone. And so are the days when there is only one path to succeeding as an in-house lawyer.

I would know. I left Big Law, signed a commercial lease (and then another), learned about food safety laws and restaurant permitting, hired a team, and started blending green things for money. And it turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made for my legal career.

This issue explains why the “perfect” path no longer exists, and provides specific steps you can take to make the less traditional aspects of your professional path an asset.

Here is a link to the full issue: Making Your “Weird” Career Move Your Competitive Advantage

3. Soft Skills Matter

Having excellent technical skills is important, but it’s not the only prerequisite to being a high-impact in-house lawyer.

The in-house lawyers who thrive—the ones who get pulled into the big projects, who earn trust across the company, who shape the business as well as protect it—are the ones with standout soft skills.

This issue discusses the importance of five soft skills, so that you can identify any gaps or areas for improvement in your own skills, and start developing them right away.

Here is a link to the full issue: The 5 Soft Skills Every In-House Lawyer Needs.

4. Managing Up

Managing up refers to using managerial strategies in your interactions with your own manager, in order to become a more effective team member.

Whether you are a GC or an entry-level lawyer, you have tools at your disposal to start managing up today. This issues covers five of the tools any in-house lawyer can use to drive more impact by managing up.

Here is a link to the full issue: 5 Ways to Make Managing Up Work for You.

In the mood to get some more ideas on how to level up?

Don’t forget, you can always view all old issues of the newsletter in the archive.