In-House Counsel

My Fellow Lawyers

This commencement season, yes, 'aim for the stars' and 'grow from your mistakes,' but also don’t forget to build your brand along the way.

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In the spirit of commencement speech season, it seemed like a fitting time to offer my own unsolicited advice to those in the legal community regardless of their age.

With all the flashy axioms already taken by the end of May, let my offer a simple one that I have come to realize will get you further in your career than another reminder to “follow your dreams” or to “do good when no one is watching.”

That advice?

Don’t forget to build and maintain your workplace brand.

Some of you may find comfort in being the loudest person in the room — the first to chime in during a meeting and the last to speak at the end. You find comfort sitting at the head of the table and prefer to be sidled up to highest-ranking person in whatever room you enter.

Since we all made the choice to go to law school where we rely on our ability to talk to make a living, there are probably a great many of us who identify with the above. If it’s you, no shame in that game, but know you will likely need to work a bit harder to be taken seriously on your substantive legal work.

Albeit unfair, there is a good chance if you are known as Mr. or Mrs. Bravado in your office, some may question if you also have the ability to sit quietly in a room for a long enough period to conduct thoughtful legal research and analysis.

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Conversely, if being locked in a library alone overnight is your dream vacation as it affords you hours of uninterrupted time to work and refine your analysis, your colleagues may not trust you can hold your own in a courtroom or with a client in person.

Whether we know it or not, each of us builds our brand each time we interact with our colleagues.

Ask for one too many sick days in a given quarter and you may be labeled the lazy colleague.

Always end an email with an apology or another sign of uncertainty, and you can bet your superiors will start to lack confidence in your work.

Fail to use an appropriate filter when sharing details from your personal life, and you may be regarded as someone too focused on family and not ready for that next promotion.

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I would argue that none of the above characteristics, of which I am sure you can think of plenty more, are inherently better or worse than the other. Each can be used to their own degree of success, but only when appropriately balanced by others.

Despite my years in practice, I have yet to see someone who has built a good brand without making a concentrated effort to do so followed by an equal amount of work.

It is possible to be both a thoughtful and vocal advocate for your client at the same time. You can find the right blend between being friends with colleagues by sharing stories from your personal life while still demonstrating you are committed to your career.

It is possible, but it takes work.

So this commencement season, yes, “aim for the stars” and “grow from your mistakes,” but also don’t forget to build your brand along the way. Because in my experience, no amount of inspirational advice will get you as far as staying ever mindful of your need to cultivate your brand on a daily basis.

Stephen R. Williams is in-house counsel with a multi-facility hospital network in the Midwest. His column focuses on a little talked about area of the in-house life, management. You can reach Stephen at stephenwilliamsjd@gmail.com.

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