In-House Counsel

Consider The Three S’s

As the year comes to an end, it is a natural time for some pause and reflection.

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As the year comes to an end, it is a natural time for some pause and reflection. Beyond reviewing and reflecting on everything you may have accomplished and updating your “done list” in anticipation of pending performance reviews and proving your value, it may also be a good time to consider the three S’s: Stop, Start, and Smart, whether you do this as an individual or with your legal team.

Stop

While it may have been a former badge of honor in private practice to do as much work as possible due to the billable hour system, when you’re in-house, it is more important to work on the most impactful or pressing work and to work as efficiently as possible. Not all work is created equal, and busy work for the sake of being busy is wasteful.

With that perspective in mind, as you reflect upon the work you’ve done all year — what should you stop doing? Is there low value work that should stop or is there work that may need to be done but is better delegated to someone else or outsourced (presuming you have that ability)? For example, could you create a checklist or template so that your clients can “self-serve” and only seek legal assistance if complex?

Start

On the opposite end of that spectrum, consider what should you start doing. After reflecting on the year, take some time to also look ahead — are there projects or business priorities that you should be spending your time on? As an astute in-house counsel who is aware of pending legislation and who anticipates issues and trends from staying on top of legal publications, attending conferences, leveraging your relationships with outside counsel and benchmarking with your network, what should be at the top of your list for 2022 and beyond? For this question, I find that it’s helpful to address in two separate segments. First, have a free brainstorming session and think of as many things as you can. You want to start with a comprehensive list. Second, have a prioritizing session. Consider your resources and company’s objectives and prioritize accordingly.

Smart

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My favorite “S” is smart. For the work that you’re currently doing that needs to continue — consider whether it can be done smarter, more efficiently, or could the process or work product be improved in some way. To do this well, you have to deconstruct the why — the reason behind the work in the first place, and then consider whether there are other ways to achieve that why. This is my favorite “S” because it’s a space where in-house counsel can really stand out by using their creativity and natural problem-solving skills to better serve their legal department and business clients.

And if you geek out over this reflection exercise as much as I do, you may even consider how to apply this outside of work and in your personal life.

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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