Career Management

How to Upgrade to Counsel Role from Contracts Manager

  • On February 19, 2017
I’ve seen talented law graduates take contract manager roles. How do they transition to a counsel role? Here are 4 ways: Join a small dynamic company. As the company grows, there will be room for advancement, and you will have earned the team’s confidence by then. Show you have the right skills and can add […]
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Career Management, Client, Inhouse

Top 5 Client Management Skills

  • On January 16, 2017
I speak to many senior partners and in-house executives, who successfully manage their clients. They consistently: Research clients, both current and prospective. Even before their first meeting, lawyers have researched their clients’ goals, business, and hot buttons so they are ready to give tailored advice. Build relationships with clients. It takes time for lawyers to […]
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Career Management, Job Search

How to Ring in 2017: 5 Easy Things to Do!

  • On January 1, 2017
Happy new year! 5 easy things to do now for your career: Update your LinkedIn account. Does it have a good photo? Did you include your latest awards, publications, talks, or achievements? You want prospective employers and clients to find you for the right reasons. Understand what the job market is doing right now. To get a snapshot, […]
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Career Management, Client, Inhouse

3 Ways to Accelerate Your Career!

  • On December 11, 2016
I recently spoke to two in-house lawyers who have successfully accelerated their careers. Their top 3 tips: Befriend your clients. Clients will then approach you early and often. From these conversations, you can get the big picture about the business goals, product roadmaps, risk tolerance, etc. than if you kept partners at arms’ length (even if you […]
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Attire, Career Management

Career Advice Lawyers Should Avoid

  • On December 4, 2016
Career advice is often obvious: arrive on time for interviews, prepare for the role, ask the interviewer questions, etc. But there are a few tips that do NOT apply to lawyers. Conventional wisdom that Bay Area lawyers should avoid: “Add a career objective on your resume.” Your resume should be 2 pages long tops (you […]
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Career Management, Women & Minorities

How to Get the Promotion & Raise You Deserve!

  • On November 13, 2016
I came back last week from the annual NAPABA conference and am summarizing useful pointers from the seminar “Pushing to the Top: Women Attorneys in High-Tech Culture.” Speakers included Hogene Choi (Baker Bott partner), Sarita Venkat (Apple senior counsel), Emily Ward (former PayPal VP), and Yuri Mikulka, (Manatt partner). Their tips apply to lawyers of any race […]
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Career Management

4 Tips on Building Relationships (Key to More Opportunities)

  • On October 23, 2016
For those who missed the October 10 ACC career panel at Facebook, leading lawyers stressed the importance of building relationships, the key to getting more career opportunities. Four tips from panelists:  Build relationships early, and be kind to everyone. You never know who will be important later. People’s jobs have been saved by junior colleagues who backed them […]
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Career Management

Top 5 Career Tips from Lawyers at Leading Companies

  • On October 16, 2016
I recently moderated at Facebook the ACC panel “When to Leap & When to Lie Low: Optimizing Both for Maximum Career Growth.” Serving as panelists were Allison Mull (DGC, Facebook), Johanna Ravelo (AGC, Facebook), Garth Bossow (DGC, Airbnb), Hannah Gordon (GC, San Francisco 49ers), Duane Valz (GC, Zymergen), and Valerie Alabanza-Cary (Director, Juniper Networks). Some key takeaways: […]
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