Today’s Leader
‘I always focus on the “counsel” part. You cannot come to this role and think of yourself as a lawyer. You have to think of yourself as a counselor and partner who can provide legal advice – but also general counsel to your business partner on legal, business, policy and reputational issues.’ – Tony West, chief legal officer, Uber.
New entrants into the world of the in-house counsel have a unique vantage point: they are a blank slate, and while they can enjoy the benefit of decades of experience and cascading knowledge of long-serving general counsel, they can also bring fresh perspectives to the table.
The newly-minted general counsel will often straddle the boundary between experience of an already established career and the unfamiliarity of a new one. But despite that, the groundwork for the general counsel role begins early in the legal career, even if they don’t know it at the time.
