Career Management, Career Tips, Departure, Move

When to Walk Away

  • On October 18, 2025
As in-house counsel, you constantly assess risk, opportunity, and timelines for your company. But how often do you do it for yourself? Here are the highlights from NPR Life Kit’s podcast on “how to know when it’s time to walk away” so you can guide your own career. 1. Don’t stick with something “just because […]
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Market, Move

Is SF Still Relevant?

  • On February 4, 2024
We all know tech and the SF Bay Area have both been hit hard. How relevant is our region now? It’s still leading in tech innovation and the tech talent pool! Investment in tech is still coming in. The Bay Area received more investor funding than other cities. Last year “more venture capital funding went […]
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Market, Move, Startup

Will the Bay Area Stay Relevant in Tech? Yes Because of AI

  • On July 23, 2023
Good news for those of us still in Silicon Valley. The New York Times reports that the locus of AI currently sits in the Bay Area, which “has ruled the technology industry for decades, from early days of personal computers to the social media boom.” Researchers from the Brookings Institute predict that AI (like other […]
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Career Tips, Change, Market, Move, Timing

2 Helpful Resources for Job Seekers

  • On May 21, 2023
Helpful resources for job seekers in today’s market are Layoffs.fyi and its sister site Comprehensive.io. The NYT recently profiled the founder of both, Roger Lee, a San Francisco entrepreneur, for “catalog[uing] hundreds of thousands of tech job cuts.”  Interesting insights: The founder believes the industry will “100 percent” bounce back. I agree. I have lived […]
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Career Management, Career Tips, Move

In-Office vs. Remote/Hybrid: Trends & Tradeoffs

  • On July 10, 2022
The great experiment of work from home, hybrid, or fully in-office is still going on. Most companies are doing some kind of remote or hybrid schedule, while some others (e.g., Tesla, C3 AI and JP Morgan) want all employees back in office full-time. (See this article “Think Working From Home Won’t Hurt Your Career? Don’t Be So […]
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Compensation, Move, Offer, Title

What Can You Negotiate When You Receive an Offer?

  • On February 20, 2022
Congratulations, you received an offer! Now what can you negotiate? Lawyers are usually quite conservative and want to know precedent, so see below for the list of asks in order of frequency: Compensation. Most employers expect some negotiation over compensation. Compensation is typically made up of base, bonus, and equity, and usually one element (or […]
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Change, Departure, Move

Top 5 Reasons Lawyers Are Quitting in The Great Resignation

  • On October 17, 2021
The Great Resignation is going on, and I’ve got a bird’s eye view. The top reasons I see Bay Area lawyers quitting are: Better opportunities. I’ve been recruiting in-house lawyers 15 years, and I have never seen it so hot. Lawyers are constantly presented with interesting work that could give them a better career trajectory. (See here for why […]
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Change, Move

Will Silicon Valley Stay Significant Post-Pandemic?

  • On April 24, 2021
Most of us now have received at least one vaccination shot and are now wondering what lies ahead for our career. How much will the office and city make a difference post-pandemic? Employers are all grappling with this question, and the media has reported extensively about the exodus of companies from the San Francisco Bay […]
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Move

Work From Home Policies after Shelter In Place

  • On February 14, 2021
As Americans are slowly getting vaccinated, companies have been rethinking remote vs in-person work. Pre-pandemic, most companies in the Bay Area expected employees in the office at least the majority of the week. Now I’ve noticed post-COVID policies falling into three camps: The most restrictive is employees are to be back in the office nearly […]
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Career Management, Career Tips, Move

Hot Practice Areas & Industries that Have Changed over 10 Years 

  • On September 13, 2020
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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