Career Management, Career Tips

5 Lessons from Fortune GC

  • On November 13, 2024
I just attended an inspiring NAPABA conference in Seattle. Mentees of four-time GC Don Liu (who just retired from Target) listed the all-time best advice he gave them: 1. Learn the business and have a strategic mindset! Prioritize clients’ business needs when you counsel them. 2. It’s easy to get sucked into office politics, but […]
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Resume

WSJ’s “New Coveted Resume Line”: What is It?

  • On October 27, 2024
I fell for the WSJ’s article cleverly headlined “The New Coveted Résumé Line: Flipping Burgers.” Apparently fast food experience on your resume is now coveted: “A stint in fast food is a badge of honor for business leaders who want to be viewed as humble and relatable—and proof that they worked to get where they […]
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Compensation

Don’t Expect Much of a Raise This Year

  • On October 20, 2024
WSJ reports flat raises and higher healthcare costs ahead per Mercer’s survey of 1,100+ companies. Key points: Merit raises in 2025 are projected to remain largely flat at an average of 3.3%. Job changers aren’t getting as big a pay bump as they used to. People who changed jobs in September made 6.6% more than […]
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Compensation

Can You Get a Sign-On in This Market? 

  • On October 6, 2024
Although the recent September job report was positive, the in-house market has not yet recovered. But even so, the Wall Street Journal reports signing bonuses are still possible. How can you do it? You must ask. Always ask for a signing bonus, “even in a soft market.” When to ask? 70% of those who got […]
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Compensation, GC

Best Bay Area In-House Comp Numbers

  • On September 29, 2024
I’ve posted a couple compensation rules of thumb for in-house lawyers: the GC generally makes 24.3% of the CEO and won’t make more than the CFO. But how to get more granularity than that? For the best Bay Area in-house comp numbers, fill out this survey https://forms.gle/ogDnyb9d3RNUHHGQ8 anonymously, and you will get the complete report after numbers are […]
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Compensation, Inhouse

Rule of Thumb on In-House Comp

  • On September 22, 2024
The top lawyer’s pay at a company generally won’t be more than the top financial exec’s. So a general rule of thumb to figure out comp somewhere you can’t get insight into a legal team’s pay is look at what your financial counterpart is getting. Also, you know you won’t make more than your GC. […]
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Uncategorized

Return To Office vs. Work From Home

  • On September 22, 2024
Amazon is calling workers back in the office five days a week! How common is this? WSJ gives some context on RTO vs WFH: Of all US companies, 33% require employees in office 5 days/week. Of large tech companies, 7% require employees in office 5 days/week. Pre-pandemic, workers reported working from home 7% of the […]
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Resume

 Are Boring Formats OK for Legal Resumes? 

  • On August 25, 2024
Lawyers often ask me about updating their resumes to industry standard. What does that entail? Simple is ok; I’m backed up by recruiters from top companies like Nvidia on what to do. I agree you should do these basics: use the language from the job description, impactful verbs, and metrics to quantify accomplishment. Should you […]
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