In-House Counsel

This Doesn’t Have To Be Grueling

There is a difference between loving your job and loving your work.

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(Image via Getty)

In this day and age, being a lawyer is often idealized, especially by anyone who has always dreamed of going to law school. Don’t get me wrong, a lot to this job can make it fulfilling. It can also often be quite grueling.

I’m sure any lawyer can point to some things they’ve learned along the way that took them by surprise — a surprise that was not always pleasant. In fact, like many of us, I’m sure you sometimes feel like you might not love — let alone even like — everything about being a lawyer.

How To Love Your Work

That is why I spoke with Punam Kaji about the difference between loving your job and loving your work. She works as the assistant general counsel at Ben E. Keith Co., a food and alcohol distributor. She discussed how attorneys (and anyone, really), can love their work, even if they don’t like their job. Her enlightening point of view is crucial in today’s economic climate, so give her a listen.

Storytelling With Data

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I would bet top dollar that when you were a kid dreaming of being a lawyer, you didn’t expect the word “data” to come up in the course of your practice. Yet data is increasingly key in the practice of law. It is the raw material needed to tell the story of your company, department, and career.

Julie Honor, general counsel at 3Q Digital, and I discussed how to weave this raw material into stories that matter. Our conversation covered how to choose and collect the right data, how to process and analyze data, and how to be generally data-focused, able to answer the questions that executives often ask. I enjoyed this talk, and I’m sure you will, too.

Being A Woman In This Male-Dominated Field

I’m sure you’ve realized by now that law is a male-dominated field. Some women have secured a seat at the table, so what next?

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That’s why my talk with Yilin Chen is so helpful. As an Asian American woman, she knows what it is like to be a minority in this field. She is general counsel at a fintech company named Hearth. Plus, she has experience working with other companies in various roles.

Yilin definitely has her seat at the table. In our talk, she shared her experience in fighting to have her voice heard as the only woman in a room, even sharing some strategies to improve communication with stakeholders. I encourage anyone, female or not, to listen. It will change your perspective.

Whether you’ve just passed the bar or you’ve been grinding for years, these skills will definitely help keep your job from feeling like a grueling mess, day in and day out.

Keep learning, keep growing.

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. She founded the Women Serve on Boards movement that advocates for women to participate on corporate boards of Fortune 500 companies. She authored Get on Board: Earning Your Ticket to a Corporate Board Seat and Fundamentals of Smart Contract Security. You can follow Olga on Twitter @olgavmack.

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