Mike pens a monthly career advice column in Corporate Counsel magazine.
Check out his most recent columns in Corporate Counsel (law.com) discussing the Black GC list of 2025, how in-house counsel’s role will grow in the next decade, job security vs. career security and more.
If you have any topic ideas you would like to see addressed in a future column, please send ideas and suggestions to [email protected].
February 2020
Drawing Attention to Black GC List 2025
I was pleased to see the recent publicity roll out for the Black GC list 2025, an initiative by leading general counsel to increase the number of African-American GCs in the Fortune 1000 from 38 currently to 100 by 2025.
January 2020
2030 Vision: In-House Counsel’s Role Will Grow
Happy new decade and thank you for reading this column, which I have been fortunate enough to author for about that length of time. My sincere thanks as well to Corporate Counsel editor-in-chief Heather D. Nevitt, and her predecessors, for deciding that my career missives merit your consideration.
December 2019
Know When to Shut Up and Listen
I realize that career advice columns often boil down to a variation on the phrase, “use common sense.” Yet, I was reminded recently that some lawyers can make $800,000 and fail to practice that concept.
November 2019
Think Career Security, Not Job Security
The key ingredient to law firm success and security is, of course, client development. The “800 pound gorilla” with a major book of business calls the shots. Success in a law department does not require rainmaking. However, inside counsel don’t enjoy the same kind of ownership job security. They are vulnerable to mergers, leadership changes, bankruptcies, etc.
October 2019
3 Easy Steps to a LinkedIn Black Belt
LinkedIn is a powerful monopoly. It’s a vital tool for recruiters; more importantly, LinkedIn has become a “must participate” expectation in corporate America generally. Everyone you want to do business with, every potential corporate employer (or client, if you are in a law firm), every recruiter, etc., looks to LinkedIn to get more information on you. Sometimes, it is even their first impression of you.
September 2019
Maybe I need to stop watching the news. From inverted yield curves to trade wars to warnings of the dreaded “R” word, I am paying attention. Recruiters do hate recessions. And my firm has survived enough of them to indeed see warning signs.