In-house legal careers are changing rapidly – for the better. You’ve got a real shot at an executive role and beyond. This summer, Ari Buchler was on Cockpit Counsel discussing his in-house legal career path. Ari is currently an advisor, investor, and business leader. Before that, he had an impressive succession of general counsel (GC) roles.
Straight from the source, here are five of the best opportunities you have working in-house.
You’re Close to the Business
When you work in-house, you get to understand the company's business objectives. That means you aren’t strictly on the legal side of things – you’re also a business partner.
“Being in-house is a very different experience. You're much closer to the business. You have a much better understanding of the business considerations that are relevant, not just legal points. Working with a team of other lawyers as a general counsel, I became exposed to other areas that eventually became relevant, not just for legal work but other areas of work that I've transitioned into.”
Watch this clip at minute 6:00 in the on-demand webinar.
The GC Role Has Changed
Being a GC today is much different than it used to be. There’s so much interesting work beyond the standard legal responsibilities of the role and opportunities to learn.
“The in-house profession has certainly evolved tremendously, giving general counsels a seat at the table and the C-suite, which is very different from when I started. I was fortunate to work with the management team and board members who saw significant value in having an in-house counsel, so they had no desire to just have legal deal with contracts. They had expectations and a desire to help the company with governance and take the company down that road map of an eventual IPO.”
Watch this clip at minute 7:30 in the on-demand webinar.
Legal Has Full Visibility
Legal is at the center of a business. Every department has contracts. You have the chance to make an impact on every other function as a legal leader.
“GC role really is one of the few roles of the company, aside from the CFO, that has visibility to all functions in a company and works with all functions. It puts the GC in a unique position to learn a lot from their executive peers across the functional landscape.”
Watch this clip at minute 8:35 in the on-demand webinar.
The Legal Team Is a Service Business
When your team is so vital to other teams’ day-to-day, you’ve got internal customers all around you. Making them happy and effective is a huge part of the job.
“It's very important to keep in mind that duality of the executive role and the tactical, operational support you need to give to other functions. Over time as an executive, I think you need to aspire to create a leadership function, then build out that support function for the other parts of the company. Ultimately, you are building a service business within the company. You have your own client base. You have your own responsibility really to educate people in the company on your services. I consider that internal marketing.”
Watch this clip at minute 10:27 in the on-demand webinar.
A Platform for Executive Growth
Starting from the GC position, you’re poised for tremendous growth. As a business leader, you couldn't be better positioned to take on more.
“Because of your leadership skills and your knowledge of the business, you might be given another function to manage. That's really an opportunity to divorce, or at least apply, your management and leadership skills outside of an area of your expertise. I think that's one of the greatest transitions you can make as a GC or lawyer.
It's one that if you really want to grow as an executive, you should be actively seeking out… Once you have it, it's really a great opportunity to flex those other non-legal muscles in a business and leadership setting.”
Watch this clip at minute 22:59 in the on-demand webinar.
To hear more from Ari about his first in-house role, first executive role, lessons from growing his team, and much more, watch the full webinar on-demand here.
