For in-house counsel aspiring to a general counsel position, sticking it out at one company for years in hopes of a promotion to the top job isn’t as promising these days.

According to Law.com’s Trudy Knockless, companies are more likely to hire a general counsel from outside the company instead of promoting from within its legal department. Russell Reynolds Associates reported that 61 percent of Fortune 500 companies hired general counsel from outside the company. This is an increase of 11 percent in 2000, when half of companies hired general counsel externally. 

The report also stated, “GCs are seen as true enterprise leaders, trusted to guide companies through the choppy waters of politics, inflation, reputational risk, and AI.” Not all in-house counsel embody these qualities, leading the trend of general counsel positions being filled externally to rise from 36 percent in 2022 to 44 percent in 2023. 

For deputy general counsel waiting for a promotion, this trend doesn’t seem to encourage dedication and a harder work ethic. In-house counsel lower in ranks who are counting on an internal chain reaction of promotions also don’t benefit from this trend. 

“It is total risk-aversion. Corporate America is very risk-averse,” said Jason Winmill, managing partner of Argopoint, a management consulting firm for legal departments. 

Are you interested in more advice about hiring trends for general counsel?  Read more in this law.com article.

A study by PwC found that workers who have expertise on artificial intelligence can earn about a 49 percent higher salary than peers without AI skills in the United States, and about a 27 percent higher salary in the United Kingdom. 

The PwC study also reports on how AI is changing the labor market, and rationalizing that “sectors with highest AI penetration” currently have five times greater labor productivity growth. AI skills such as neural networks have been invaluable to companies in professional services, communication, and financial sectors. 

Top law firms in the United Kingdom have worked to develop AI capabilities. But it still remains to be seen what the impact artificial intelligence will have on the market since most law firms have not fully integrated using AI on transactional work and litigation. 

Are you interested in more advice about how AI skills make candidates more desirable?  Read more in this law.com article.

About two-thirds of companies fill general counsel positions with external candidates, which shows a changing trend in in-house legal department hiring practices. The reasoning typically cited for searching for candidates outside the company is that counsel already in-house lack leadership skills or business acumen, according to John Gilmore of BarkerGilmore, a company that assists companies in finding general counsel. 

Gilmore advises that companies should not “select a successor based on the resume alone” as a general counsel requires leading the department, and  “gravitas, judgment and EQ” isn’t always something a candidate can learn.  

According to a study from the Russell Reynolds Associates found that 61 percent of Fortune 500 companies went outside the company the fill the general counsel position in 2023. Back in 2023, half of the Fortune 500 companies filled general counsel positions internally. BarkerGilmore’s “Aspiring General Counsel Report” from earlier this year also backs this trend, finding that 71% of general counsel jobs were filled from outside the company.

The Russell Reynolds report also notes that the trend might be influenced by the addition of nonlegal duties to the top legal job, such as public affairs, communications and government affairs, adding up to the position requiring “six times more responsibility than any of their direct reports, making the step up for internal candidates from deputy to GC a much bigger gap to bridge.”

“GCs are increasingly seen as true enterprise leaders, trusted to guide companies through the choppy waters of war, politics, inflation, reputational risk, and AI,” the Russell Reynold study reports. 

Are you interested in more advice about in-house legal department hiring trends?  Read more in this law.com article.

Tom Scolaro, founder of Scolaro Law, left his job at a boutique law firm to found his own personal injury law firm earlier this year. Scolaro writes about navigating the change, incorporating his firm, and shares some observations to anyone interested in leaving their firm jobs and  starting a law firm. 

Support from Family and Friends

An attorney starting their own firm needs to have the support of the partners or spouses, their families and friends to help ride through the ups and downs. 

Spare No Cost in Staffing

Spare no cost in hiring the best staff for the job. “The best people cost more for a reason,” Scolaro writes. “They are worth it. A wrong hire will cost you more in the long run.” In his case, staff members from his old firm followed him to his new firm. Despite the large financial commitment, the efficiency and immediate trust at the new firm makes the cost worth it. 

Publicizing Your New Firm

Publicize your new firm immediately, and solicit advice from those around you.

Office Space

Decide on your physical office space. There are plenty of options these days, from co-working spaces, leases and remote work. You can decide what will work best for your new firm and can also adjust as your firm evolves.

Internet Presence

Scolaro advises that an attorney founding a new firm dedicate resources to building a great web site so that others outside your network can find you and hire you. Scolaro himself writes that he’s hired web site developers for content, design and for SEO. 

Are you interested in more advice founding your own law firm?  Scolaro shares more observations in this law.com article.

Making the move from deputy general counsel to general counsel is a huge and difficult leap due to limited positions amidst a crowded competitive field of potential candidates from both within the company and outside the company. Christopher Williams, director of in-house counsel recruiting and board services teams at Major, Lindsey & Africa, advises aspiring general counsel on how to best position themselves for the top job with the following:

Be a team player.

-Demonstrate that you are invested in your team and the organization. Form as many strong relationships in the business as this can also help as you all naturally matriculate up the organizational chain.

-Keep your eye on the changing legal landscape, especially in highly regulated industries.

-Try not to become overly specialized and expand across as many business functions as possible. Volunteer to help with challenging problems outside your expertise.

-Manage your direct reports within the company’s framework, but also showcase your leadership skills and judgment.

Step up to the plate.

-Make it known that you want to learn and do more, do not entirely rely on your manager to identify opportunities for you.

-Be deeply proactive in your protection of the organization, volunteer to work on any gaps in legal coverage in the organization.

-Form business contacts by acting as the liaison between legal and compliance for internal investigations or compliance matters. 

Are you interested in more advice about advancing in your career as in-house counsel?  Read more in this law.com article.

Michael Maslanka, associate professor of law at UNT Dallas College of Law, advises that losing “deserves equal billing” on an attorney’s career trajectory. 

“There is an art to losing, not just to winning, and it hinges on the ability to reframe,” writes Maslanka. His guide for the art of losing includes five main tips for reframing the loss.  

Reframe No. 1: Move the Goalposts

Maslanka advises that while you cannot change circumstances, you can change stories. An attorney can focus on minimizing damages and losses and escaping the worst case scenario. An attorney can pivot their mindset and change the reality of the situation.

Reframe No. 2: Different Mindsets, Different Tactics

Maslanka recognizes that there are different strategies in court. If one is deposing a plaintiff, they could start with damages instead of liability. For a wrongful termination, the legal team could make an unconditional offer of reinstatement which, if rejected, cuts off lost compensation at the point of rejection. 

Reframe No. 3: Retreat to Advance

Maslanka draws upon Adam Grant’s book “Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things,” in which Grant states: “Making progress isn’t always about moving forward. Sometimes, it’s about bouncing back. Progress is reflected not only in the peaks you reach, but in the valleys you cross. Resilience is a form of growth.” This means that learning is not always a tidy and linear progression, but often punctured with messy failures and losses. Learning occurs after these losses and rejections, but will be more fully appreciated. 

Are you interested in learning more about reframing losses into wins?  Read more in this law.com article.

Attorney Kyle Roberts of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney is president-elect of the Broward County Bar Association’s young lawyers section. Roberts understands that finding opportunities as a young attorney can prove difficult, especially since professionals starting out in the legal industry often need to balance learning the profession, finding a mentor, and joining and volunteering in the local community.

Roberts assures others that it’s possible and just takes time, and focuses on three main actions that help a young attorney invest in their future: perfecting one’s craft, getting involved in the local community and building meaningful relationships.

Perfect Your Craft

Roberts advises at a minimum, an attorney needs to learn the fundamental rules that apply to their practice area, as well as staying current on any amendments, and have the latest version of the rules bookmarked. This is one way the young attorney can stay a valuable member of the team. Being able to confidently tell your team when an amended complaint is due, how long a defendant has to respond to discovery in various circumstances, and also present any recent rule changes in your practice area to your firm. Presenting rule changes to your firm helps an attorney understand rule changes and shows that they take initiative in helping their fellow attorneys at the firm understand the change as well. 

Community Involvement

An attorney who stays active outside of work through both legal and nonlegal organizations can find themselves volunteering and giving back to their community. Roberts enjoys reading to children through the Broward Bar Young Lawyers Section’s Lawyers for Literacy program, and has read to hundreds of kids in the last six years. Getting involved in local organizations can be rewarding and also help an attorney stay engaged in activities outside of work. 

Are you interested in learning more about investing in your future?  Read more in this law.com article.

The market for privacy attorneys has surged in recent years, according to a Tru Staffing Partners study. The increase in regulation for data privacy and increase in concerns from adoption of artificial intelligence, may be contributing to the increase in recruitment for privacy lawyers, said Anna Gorodestky of Major, Lindsey & Africa.

“The regulatory landscape is trying to keep up with technological advancements,” she said. “As a result, there will be an increase in the demand for lawyers with expertise in AI-adjacent spaces like privacy, intellectual property and regulatory affairs.”

Goredestky, part of her firm’s in-house counsel recruiting group, said the demand for privacy attorneys in 2023 increased dramatically, though it wasn’t as much as in prior years. 

John Gilmore, managing partner of the recruiting firm BarkerGilmore, said he had noted a trend toward companies’ hiring compliance officers with privacy backgrounds instead of hiring privacy counsel.

“The privacy counsel puts in place the right policies, and then it’s the compliance officers that are responsible for oversight,” he said.

Gorodetsky cautioned attorneys against marketing themselves as experts in artificial intelligence, despite there being a current need int the market for attorneys with AI expertise. 

“It’s too early to call oneself an expert considering that AI is a relatively new technology and we also have to distinguish generative AI and ChatGPT-type AI as well as more traditional kinds of machine learning that we’ve seen through the years recently,” she said.

Are you interested in learning more about the job market for privacy professionals?  Read more in this law.com article.

Attorneys with a practice focused on artificial intelligence remain in demand as large tech companies Amazon, ByteDance, OpenAI, Meta and Nvidia seek to recruit more employees to help them navigate the new regulations and risks that artificial intelligence brings to the legal world.  

Many job postings describe a need for artificial intelligence product counsel who can collaborate with the company’s product, marketing and engineering teams on AI issues.

Julie Brush, founder and CEO of Silicon Valley-based legal search firm Solutus Legal, said in a law.com article that she expects artificial intelligence to drive demand for tech talent in the near future. Layoffs in the tech industry slowed this year, according to layoffs.fyi. 

“Companies are going through an editing process,” Brush said. “They’re surgically editing their departments to conform with the changing needs of the organization, and AI is a big part of that.”

At the major tech companies, job boards show several openings for attorneys with expertise in AI.  Meta currently has six openings for AI product counsel, Amazon has three openings for corporate counsel supporting its artificial intelligence, and OpenAI has an opening for a senior AI product counsel. Nvidia and ByteDance are recruiting senior AI data governance and senior AI policy counsel to build compliance programs and track regulatory developments.

Are you interested in job opportunities for attorneys focused on AI?  Read more in this law.com article.

Tracy LaLonde provides law firm leaders with a common sense approach to improving relationships with her more than 30 years of training, consulting and professional development. She emphasizes the role that trust has in a client-attorney relationship, and how cultivating trust daily might make an attorney the “trusted advisor” for a client. However, LaLonde also cautions that firm leaders also need to cultivate trust at internal settings within the firm. Building trust with colleagues and younger employees at the firm will help contribute to a stronger bottom line. 

LaLonde breaks down the importance of trust down to six factors:

Are you interested in more examples of building trust and damaging trust in the legal workplace?  Read more in this law.com article.