Experienced General Counsels (GCs) know the struggles of flying solo in a high-growth company. With their specialized knowledge and skillset, attorneys add value to a company that others simply cannot. Being successful in this role and showing your worth takes determination, organization, and an ability to build the right relationships.
We’ve created a playbook to help one-person legal departments thrive and become indispensable partners in the business.
Be Proactive
Whether you’re new to your position as an in-house attorney or switching up your approach, an excellent way to demonstrate your value is to uncover definable problems and help solve them. Our own CLO, Tim Parilla, recommends “Drilling past anything vague to define addressable issues and identify what you can solve. Easy, early wins earn credibility and support longer-term problem-solving.”
Also, it’s not uncommon for Legal to get a reputation for being isolated from the rest of the company. Go out of your way to make yourself visible to leadership and your peers. Ask questions, listen to them, and help where you can. Do that, and before long, management will view you as a trusted resource for future problem-solving.
Focus on the Basics
If you’re starting a new position in a start-up or small company, there is probably a lot of housekeeping to be done in your department. “Many things provide value, but not everything offers value at the same level or within the same amount of time,” reminds Parilla. Remember that you can’t fix everything in one go and instead prioritize the most vital and fundamental tasks first. Look for high-impact, low-hour projects. Learn what existing software, tools, and applications are available, and gather insights into existing contracts to assess threats and discover opportunities.
For example, if you determine that the contract drafting process is inefficient, find an automated solution to organize and speed things up. Alternatively, if you need to streamline deal closing by coordinating with sales, support, and finance teams, consider connecting a contract management tool to a customer relationship management (CRM) or accounting system. These process changes can deliver significant benefits quickly, giving you easy wins that make a tangible difference to your company.
Leverage Technology
For any in-house legal team, the proper contract lifecycle management (CLM) software is an invaluable support system. Before modern CLM solutions, tasks like drafting, finalizing, analyzing, and monitoring took days. Today’s artificial intelligence (AI) enables software to read and understand contracts while allowing legal teams to collaborate better. A good CLM eliminates the typical flurry of emails for sending contract drafts and approvals and will enable you to operate more efficiently and strategically.
Take Pride in Your Expertise
You’re filling a position that is critical to the health and growth of your business. Establish yourself as an essential business partner by defining success, prioritizing tasks, developing rapport, and evolving as a data-driven leader. The above will help you get off on the right foot.
Enjoy these tips? Check out our new eBook with more resources and success tips for the modern legal leader.