Modern In-house Lawyer

• Endorsements 11Acknowledgements 15Foreword 19Richard Moorhead, Professor of Law and Professional Ethics, University of ExeterIntroduction and context 231. The purpose of this book 232. How I stumbled into the in-house world 253. My early experiences working with in-house lawyers 264. My formative years 295. How I started in leadership consulting 316. My shock at the ‘resign or conform’ culture in-house 337. How this book came about 358. The structure of this book 39Chapter 1: You – how to manage your relationship with yourself 431. Introduction 432. Feel/Need/Do 443. Seven principles 494. Your career is a unique micro-business 505. You are not a human capital asset 516. Parent/Adult/Child mode 527. Formative years’ decisions and your timeline 548. Soft balance sheet 589. Soft profit and loss account 64Chapter 2: Your career – how to manage the business of your in-house career 671. Introduction 672. Your career equity 672.1 Your CV 682.2 Your EQ 702.3 Your reputation 713. Your seven career options 723.1 Option 1: Stay where you are 733.2 Option 2: Leave and launch a new business 733.3 Option 3: Leave and join a start-up 743.4 Option 4: Leave and join a growth business 743.5 Option 5: Leave and join a mature business 743.6 Option 6: Leave and downshift 753.7 Option 7: Exploit family money or opportunities 754. Your personal purpose, strategy and behaviour (PSB) plan 754.1 Your career purpose (P) 754.2 Your career strategy (S) 764.3 Your career behaviour plan (B) 765. Your career-ism 776. Managing your career arc 797. How to sell yourself at interview, and your ideas and budget 807.1 My selling approach 818. Managing your job search 878.1 Leads 888.2 Opportunities 898.3 Your pipeline 898.4 Your covering letter 898.5 The interview process 908.6 Due diligence, contract negotiation and whether to accept long-term incentive plans 919. Your seven-step job search plan 919.1 Step 1: Start with humility 919.2 Step 2: Draft a word-perfect personal purpose (P) 929.3 Step 3: Stick to one strategy (S) 929.4 Step 4: Decide on your job search behaviour (B) 929.5 Step 5: (Re)Learn the art of marketing 929.6 Step 6: (Re)Learn how to sell yourself 929.7 Step 7: (Re)Learn how to buy 93Chapter 3: How to manage your relationships at work as an in-house lawyer 951. Introduction 952. Your first 100 days 973. Your relationship grid 1014. Green relationships 1025. Amber relationships 1046. Red relationships 1057. The 10/20/70 rule of change 1078. Emails, texts and posts 1089. Learn from Lincoln: don’t send that email in anger 10910. Your use of language 11111. Managing upwards 11212. Ask your boss for help – you may get it 113Chapter 4: Your key relationships in any organisation – how to view them 1151. You 1152. Family and friends 1163. Society, the profession and the regulators 1174: Your employer client 1184.1 The purpose of your employer client 1194.2 Your employer client’s strategy 1214.3 Your employer client’s behaviour plan 1234.4 Your employer client’s main board 1234.5 Your employer client’s chair 1234.6 Your employer client’s NEDs 1245. Your boss 1256. The executive board 1286.1 The CEO 1286.2 The CFO 1296.3 The COO 1306.4 The chief revenue officer/sales director 1316.5 The chief marketing officer 1336.6 The chief technology officer 1336.7 The HRD 1347. External advisers and providers 1358. Your legal team 137Chapter 5: How to lead teams and work with boards 1411. Introduction 1412. Creating an environment in which people thrive 1433. Developing the legal function 1454. Meeting stakeholders’ needs 1455. Decision-making steps 1455.1 Step 1: Share personal PSB plans 1475.2 Step 2: Agree on an organisation or team PSB plan 1495.3 Step 3: Agree on a board or team PSB plan (ie, terms of reference) 1495.4 Step 4: Agree on a decision-making process 1515.5 Step 5: Appoint a devil’s advocate by rotation at each meeting 1535.6 Step 6: Track the implementation of decisions 1555.7 Step 7: Review outcomes and learn from them 1556. The FRC code on decision making 1567. Challenging behaviour: from bullying to martyrdom 1568. Points of inflection on boards 1589. “Least Likely to Say …” is a useful legal team or board game 16110. ‘Small change’ soft contracts 163Chapter 6: Your client is your employer – how to manage that tension 1651. Introduction 1652. The problem 1663. Analysis of the problem 1664. What’s top of mind for in-house lawyers? 1684.1 Negativity 1684.2 Disrespect 1714.3 Ignorance 1734.4 Ethical pressure 1744.5 Office politics 1794.6 Personal pressures 1804.7 Inherent tension 1865. Relationships in businesses 1896. A new way 190Chapter 7: How to reframe your legal department’s relationship with your employer client 1931. Introduction 1932. Step 1: Secure a shared language on the PSB plan of your employer client 1943. Step 2: Sell the generic PSB plan of the legal function to the employer client 1984. Step 3: Set up a legal executive board to run the legal function as a business 1995. Step 4: Tell – don’t ask – your employer client what it needs from your legal function 2046. Step 5: Negotiate a legal business plan which meets the organisation’s needs but honours the purpose of the legal function 2056.1 Points to consider in drafting the legal function business plan 2057. Step 6: Reframe your relationship with external advisers 2088. Step 7: Ensure the GC acts as the CEO of the legal function 211Appendix 1 215Inherent tension in-house: defusing the law department time bomb at a time of pandemicAppendix 2 231Lawyers and their regulators can make or break the ESG movementAppendix 3 243Strengthening governance through in-house lawyer independenceAppendix 4 251GC Response to SRA In-house Solicitors Thematic ReviewAbout the author 261About Globe Law and Business 263

Few people understand the role of the in house lawyer as well as Ciaran. This book is brimming with ideas and will encourage in-house legal lawyers to reflect on their role. Every in house lawyer should keep a copy on their desk.