In-House Counsel

The Secret Skills Of Super In-House Counsel

There are unquestionably different skills that successful in-house counsel have that those working at a firm have likely never even considered.

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OK, OK — maybe “secret” is too strong of a word.

But from my observation, there are unquestionably different skills that successful in-house counsel have that never even crossed my mind when I was working at a firm.

Here are three that immediately come to mind.

The Ability To Influence

This is a big one — and something that was definitely not on my radar. Where decisions are mostly within the purview of business leaders and lawyers are typically in the role as an advisor, the ability to influence is everything. It is key to how successful you can be as in-house counsel. After all, what is your value if no one follows your advice? Clients have to know and trust you — find you credible and trust your judgment in order to give appropriate weight to your legal advice.

Of course, there are different ways of having influence. It could be purely because of the status of your role, or how experienced you are and your credibility and reputation. It can also be because of the relationships you have and how much trust and good will you’ve built with your clients. I submit that you become super in-house counsel when you have all of the above.

Being A Convener

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Ever heard of the phrase “herding cats”? How about the saying “the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing”? Hyperbole aside, communication silos can inadvertently occur at companies, especially larger ones. And while this skill doesn’t sound technically very legal in nature, it is an immense value-add if in-house counsel are able to connect various parts of the business to ensure alignment.

This ability to convene different parts of the business and bring stakeholders together can only happen though if legal is well-respected and liked enough to be invited by various parts of the business to projects and meetings on the front end (which goes back to the ability to build relationships and have influence). When you have a seat at the table of numerous decisions, it’s easier to see connections and any overlap and bring leaders in your company together to make sure there is efficiency to the execution of business objectives.

Project Management

This was perhaps one of the skills that was most surprising to me when I moved in-house. At a firm, I could only conceptualize project management in terms of how to run a case or how to manage a case load or docket. Maybe if you are a transactional attorney, it’s how to manage the life of a deal or prioritize when there are several deals going on. Notably, as outside counsel, there can be a simplicity to simply giving your advice. However, as in-house counsel, we have to figure out how to help the company be compliant with advice — from figuring out who needs to know, what processes need to change, and, if there are deadlines, how to push progress forward and then how to audit and check that the right changes were made. Depending upon the specific law or advice, there can be a chasm between giving advice and having to execute and follow through on said advice.

Now you may be wondering, if you’re at a firm, how you could develop these skills — if they are not a part of your current day-to-day? The way I learned was through bar association service — and it was, by far, the best preparation for my move in-house, which I will share in a later blog.

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Meyling “Mey” Ly Ortiz is in-house at Toyota Motor North America. Her passions include mentoring, championing belonging, and a personal blog: TheMeybe.com. At home, you can find her doing her best to be a “fun” mom to a toddler and preschooler and chasing her best self on her Peloton. You can follow her on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/meybe/). And you knew this was coming: her opinions are hers alone.

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