Hot Practice Areas & Industries that Have Changed over 10 Years 

I’ve been recruiting in-house lawyers for over 10 years. The most requested practice area, then and now, is commercial, i.e., negotiating and drafting agreements. Companies always need deals to be closed, both inbound (licensing) and outbound (sales), so it’s easy to justify hiring commercial lawyers, in contrast to other legal needs that ebb and flow. […]
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Mentorship at All Levels!

Legal veterans, reach out and help the next generation, e.g., with hbcu20x20 or Pay it Forward. And I’m so impressed that young legal leaders are already mentoring others! I list their resources below. Nyssa Chopra, a tech lawyer with a background in diplomacy and human rights, puts out a bi-weekly “Mentor in Law” newsletter aimed at “law students, recent […]
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Hard Conversations: Speaking Truth to Power

Earlier this week Judge Silberman on the US Court of Appeals sent an internal email criticizing Sen. Warren’s amendment to rename army bases/monuments (“madness!”). He added, “It’s important to remember that Lincoln did not fight the war to free the Slaves [sic] Indeed he was willing to put up with slavery if the Confederate States […]
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5 Hiring Trends I’m Seeing

Experts differ on the type of recovery expected (slow, fast, V shaped, U shaped, etc.), but who is hiring now is much clearer. Five trends I’m seeing: Giants like Amazon, Facebook, and Microsoft are hiring now and will continue to hire. See my recent blog here. See also The New York Times’ The Economy Is Reeling. The Tech Giants Spy Opportunity.  As expected, […]
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3 Things Employees Vulnerable to Layoff Should Do

COVID has stalled the domestic and global economy, resulting in mass layoffs everywhere, but women and people of color have been hit the hardest. The Harvard Business Review and LinkedIn’s GetHired column report: March unemployment figures show overall unemployment increased by 26%, but that number is an eye-popping 64% for Asian Americans and 36% for LatinX. Also, […]
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Job Search Tips in a Pandemic: Part II

I recently posted tips on job searching during a pandemic (work in an area that has promise both in terms of geography and industry, and network!). Here are more tips courtesy of a Forbes post scarily entitled “We’ve Entered A Harsh New Reality: Here’s How To Manage Your Career”: Make yourself invaluable to your employer. If before […]
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Pandemic! Now What for My Career?

I haven’t been through a pandemic before, but this is my third boom/bust cycle (the first was the dot bomb in 2002 and the second the Great Recession in 2007-09). I’ve seen a lot of careers and observed how stars recover. Some tips: Live/work in a geographic area that will recover quickly. The San Francisco […]
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3 Lessons from Top GC

I enjoyed this recent interview with Jan Kang, the founder of Women’s General Counsel Network and serial GC, including at Chronicle, a Google X company. Jan’s former clients and colleagues keep inviting her to join them. Being asked to go from place to place is common for top lawyers. Why? Top lawyers are easy to […]
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