In this jam-packed episode, Betsy Berkhemer-Credaire, President of 50/50 Women on Boards, pulls back the curtain on what it takes to land a seat on a corporate board. In a conversation tailored specifically for lawyers, Betsy discusses why lawyers need more than governance experience to serve on corporate boards. She shares why building a network of business contacts is an essential asset for your board search, why lawyers need to develop a specialty in an area that companies want, and how to talk to people in your network about your interest in board opportunities.

Betsy has devoted much of her career to helping women advance in their profession and into the boardroom. This episode is a “must listen” for anyone seeking a place in the board room. Check out 50/50 Women on Boards and their amazing educational events for aspiring board members.

The client's definition of “a good lawyer” is different than yours." "Harry Potter's Lawyer" in-house veteran Dana Lira SVP Legal at Warner Brothers Discovery shares tactics for being a good business partner and building relationships with clients. We talk about why communication is one of the hardest "soft skills" to master in-house and how you can grow your career by finding the white space in exploring a new area.

Scott Becker created a massive media company while working as a lawyer. Over several decades, he and his CEO, Jessica Cole, built Becker's Healthcare, the largest media company focused solely on the healthcare industry. Today, with several daily newsletters, podcasts, conferences, and other events, Scott and Jessica develop an essential community for all healthcare business leaders. In this episode, hear how Scott built Becker's by doubling down on his passion and motivation for team building and developing people. He shares why having incredible people skills and being a warm and nice person is essential for all leaders. He talks about moving away from the "traditional" law firm partner approach towards a place of generosity, sharing opportunities with his team, and giving credit to those who do the work. You won't want to miss this engaging conversation.

In this "how to" episode, Michael Melcher, executive coach and author of Your Invisible Network, is in The Legal Department to share strategies for building your network. Relationships are essential to career success and can be a source of joy and fulfillment in life. In Your Invisible Network, Michael says that "relationships are a form of wealth under your control." While sometimes the path to success is not always so clear, building and leveraging your network is something you can do to level-up. Tune in to learn how you to develop your network, build relationships and use your own network to be a "benefactor" and help others. 

If you’re a busy GC and you think you don’t have the time to think about legal operations, then you’re probably the very person who needs it the most. It’s a force multiplier that many GCs don’t know existed. On today's episode of The Legal Department Mary O'Carroll, former director of legal operations for Google, offers the "why" for GCs considering whether to invest in legal operations. Mary shares the six key metrics all GCs should track to demonstrate the value of the legal department and how to use legal operations to level-up The Legal Department and deliver more value to your organization. Mary was also a co-founder of the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium, the largest organization of legal operations professionals. CLOC provides in-depth resources for legal operations, including the CLOC Core 12 framework to help you explain "what is legal operations?" to your CFO. Tune in and learn a ton from her insights!

Are you overwhelmed with worry about looming cyber threats and feel like your organization is a sitting duck? Dominique Shelton Leipzig, a privacy and cybersecurity partner at Mayer Brown, and also one of the world's leading thought leaders in digital privacy and data governance is here to give you a plan of action. On today's episode, Dominique shares a 6-step action plan for how The Legal Department can help make organizations cyber safe and future proof. Dominique's passion for data leadership will motivate you to take action. A lifelong champion of women, Dominique also co-founded NxtWork, a non-profit helping women land corporate board seats.

Lawyers focus on developing technical skills and learning the law, but few of us spend much time on developing ourselves as leaders or cultivating a network. Scott Westfahl, Professor of Practice and Director of Executive Education at Harvard Law School, is here to tell you that technical skills are only one leg of the stool – to succeed in The Legal Department, lawyers must develop their leadership skills and build relationships. And of course, we must invest in developing our teams. Scott shares concrete, practical tips on how to do this. If you can't make it to Cambridge for the Harvard corporate counsel program, this episode is a sample of the great content it offers.

Litigation management is meat and potatoes for most in-house legal departments, but it's a rare case that goes up on appeal. The stakes are higher in those cases, and you need expert counsel to help navigate the process. Appellate specialist M.C. Sungaila is in The Legal Department to tell you what you need to know. She has appeared before many state and federal appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. M.C. also knows a lot about the bench after interviewing more than a hundred judges and justices for her award-winning podcast, The Portia Project. Listen through to the end to find out where you can get a "free" moot court exercise.

On this episode of The Legal Department, Chris Weber, Managing General Counsel of the iconic McDonald's corporation underscores again why building strong relationships is crucial to success in-house. Whether he is navigating tough governance issues, working with board members, or advising on executive comp under the Golden Arches, Chris shows why fostering a state of trust at your company is an essential skill. For professional development and team building, he also recommends reflecting "in the moment" on what worked and where there are opportunities for improvement.

What do you do when a crisis hits your organization? Anne Marie Malecha, CEO of crisis communications firm Dezenhall Resources, shares tips on how to survive. Starting from aligning internally on the key objectives and using those as a north star to align legal and comms to weather the storm. Anne Marie provides concrete advice on establishing crisis objectives, a communications protocol, setting up engagements and also paying attention to self-care in the heat of battle. You won't want to miss this engaging conversation!