In-House Counsel Tips for Outside Counsel - A Compilation Episode
The second in a compilation series from our inhouse counsel guests, sharing their tips for outside counsel.
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Want to take your client service to the next level? In the second in a compilation series, our in-house counsel guests share their golden rules for outside counsel, including active listening, concise communication, and strategic partnership. These tips will help you build stronger relationships and deliver exceptional value to your corporate clients. Listen now and subscribe to The Portia Project for more inspiring stories from women leaders in law and business.
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Annaliese Fleming, Joanne Caruso, Marcie Getelman, Stacy Bratcher
Annaliese Fleming - General Counsel of the ABA
Welcome to the second in a series of episodes focused on our in-house council guests. This episode features our guest’s tips for outside counsel. We hope you enjoy them and find them useful if you are working with corporate clients. Annaliese Fleming, General Counsel of the American Bar Association.
Sometimes, you present the legal problem without remembering to state the underlying goals or considerations. I would advise outside counsel not to shy away from asking those questions. Something as simple as, “Okay, I understand the legal problem and you've been sued on these claims, but what's your overall goal here?” “Where would you like to get if in a perfect world?” I just want to understand what some of those underlying considerations might be.
Don’t shy away from asking questions.
I think listening is probably the most important skill that all lawyers have and should hone, but it's certainly true in that context as well. There are different kinds of listening, of course. When you're listening to understand something that is much different from how you listen when you're listening in order to respond to something. It's listening to understand a piece that is so critical in client service. That's also critical when you're in front of the classroom and trying to gauge student understanding.
Joanne Caruso - EVP, Chief Legal and Administrative Officer at Jacobs
Joanne Caruso, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal and Administrative Officer of Jacobs Engineering.
One of the other things that I learned is people are busy. Everywhere, people are busy. I think if you're in-house, or even if you're outside dealing with clients who are in-house, be succinct to the point. Get to the answer. That's important because there are so many different things going on and different demands on time. That's going to be important. If you're talking to non-lawyers, think about the legalese or the use of legalese and get the advice to be short, sweet, and in language that people understand because they're not lawyers. You have to understand that you're communicating with a non-lawyer.
Marcie Getelman - Deputy General Counsel at Lennar
Marcie Getelman, Deputy General Counsel of Lennar Corporation.
A good outside counsel is the one who says to me, “Marcy, creative, but no.” An outside counsel who does whatever I ask is not necessarily an effective outside counsel for me. I need them to push back and tell me what works and what doesn't work. The truth is, for me, having strong relationships with my outside counsel makes my job easier. If I am struggling with or at odds with my outside counsel, whether it be a personality conflict, a strategy in a case, or whatever the case may be, it makes my job more difficult if I don't have a strong working relationship with my outside counsel. It makes me way more successful. One of my colleagues, one of the other in-house counsel with my company, always tells her outside counsel, “Your number one job is to make me look good.”
Inhouse Counsel Tips: Having really strong relationships with outside counsel makes the job easier.
Stacy Bratcher - Vice President and General Counsel at Cottage Health
Stacy Bratcher, General Counsel of Cottage Health and Host of The Legal Department Podcast.
That's a differentiator among outside counsel. I don't want someone that just gives me an answer. That's not a lot of value added just to answer the question. I want you to step back and say, “What is their problem? What are they solving for? How do I help them get there?”