In-House Counsel

What Experiences Can Lawyers Bring To A Board?

By their very nature, lawyers are cautious, analytical, risk-averse, strategic, and communicative. In other words, the perfect board members.

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Since I published my book, Get on Board: Earning Your Ticket to a Corporate Board Seat, I’m frequently asked whether lawyers should serve on boards of directors or not. Lawyers want to know whether to seek out opportunities to join boards and current board members want to know whether to scout lawyers as potential new members.

I am convinced that the answer to this question is “Absolutely, yes!” Lawyers can bring an array of unique experiences and skills to corporate boards of directors.

  • Influencing others and independence

Lawyers spend their entire careers advising and influencing others on specific issues and risks that may or may not arise. Moreover, a good lawyer will not speak not only to the risks already in place but will be able to anticipate what may show up down the line.

Lawyers give independent advice based on the often limited set of options available to a business at any one time. A lawyer can transfer these skills to board service and prove a useful voice of reason for a board. They are masters in analyzing the evidence available, even where there is almost none. For this reason, lawyers thrive as board members when they leverage experience in managing a business sector company.

  • Conflict resolutions skills

Disputes, legal or otherwise, arise with all entities. As hard as you may try, conflict in business cannot be avoided. In fact, often they are routine. Lawyers specialize in strategically managing and advising boards of directors on how to navigate — and specifically how to take on, manage, or avoid — risks at various stages of a conflict. Because of this, lawyers may add unique value to businesses that have a high conflict or litigation risk.

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  • Risk-management experience

Lawyers often have experience managing risks in several areas, including related to procurement, contracts, patents, property, government regulations, international expansion, mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, and others. Depending on their experience, they may also have broad exposure to and management experience in legal and business issues. This makes for a very useful perspective on a board.

  • Great communication skills

Lawyers spend a lifetime perfecting strategic communication skills across settings and circumstances. They negotiate, mediate, argue, influence, educate, relate, and advocate throughout their careers. Each skill is an asset for a board.

  • Analytical skills

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Lawyers are skilled at deliberately learning, analyzing, and interpreting various situations and risks. But especially valuable to boards, they learn to make decisions and act based on those insights. These are very helpful qualities for directors. A lawyer on a board can help structure a discussion, assist in decision-making, and act in a more logical and systematic way.

  • Researching skills

Proper research is the hallmark of the legal education and practice. It is an essential foundation for managing risks and coping with uncertainty. Lawyers can help a board research and self-educate better. They are skilled at making sense of a volume of information, identifying missing information, and finding ways to fill in the gaps systematically. They can also be helpful in framing and reframing questions for a board to focus on.

  • Problem-solving skills

Attorneys are experts at solving problems strategically and intentionally. They work intellectually and analytically, qualities and skills which will complement other existing corporate directors. They tend to be comfortable handling the social and intellectual complexities of corporate boardrooms. Finally, they have the skills to analyze and address business challenges, contribute useful insights, and bring diversity to boardroom debates, all of which will facilitate crucial decision-making.

To have a successful board, it is essential to think carefully, critically, and strategically about who composes it. You don’t just want the biggest names and the most prestige — this can produce homogeneity and “groupthink,” with members who think similarly reinforcing each other’s blind spots and limited ways of thinking. Diverse voices and perspectives will catch possible oversights and point out what others miss. By their very nature, lawyers are cautious, analytical, risk-averse, strategic, and communicative. In other words, the perfect board members. Their legal training prepares them for the variety of challenges corporate board members face and gives them the tools to see, anticipate, and act accordingly.

Olga V. Mack is the CEO of Parley Pro, a next-generation contract management company that has pioneered online negotiation technology. Olga embraces legal innovation and had dedicated her career to improving and shaping the future of law. She is convinced that the legal profession will emerge even stronger, more resilient, and more inclusive than before by embracing technology. Olga is also an award-winning general counsel, operations professional, startup advisor, public speaker, adjunct professor, and entrepreneur. Olga founded the Women Serve on Boards movement that advocates for women to participate on corporate boards of Fortune 500 companies. Olga also co-founded SunLaw, an organization dedicated to preparing women in-house attorneys to become general counsels and legal leaders, and WISE to help female law firm partners become rainmakers. She authored Get on Board: Earning Your Ticket to a Corporate Board Seat and Fundamentals of Smart Contract Security. You can email Olga at olga@olgamack.com or follow her on Twitter @olgavmack. 

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