When a lawyer works in-house they are frequently asked to contribute far more than just legal answers to legal questions. They are asked to provide input in a wide range of ways and all with an eye ever-focused on the business itself. Lawyers, accordingly, have needed to draw upon not just legal principles, but business acumen to provide support and advice to their fellow business partners. Catherine McGregor has put together a superb resource that directly addresses this topic and in a way that is both accessible and comprehensive. I highly recommend this book for all in-house counsel who want to learn from how other counsel have applied business acumen to the in-house counsel world.
- Colin S Levy, Legal Counsel, Lookout, Legal Technology and Innovation Thought Leader
This is a must-read for any in-house counsel who wants to lead their department into the future. Catherine McGregor offers excellent insights and thought-provoking perspective about blending traditional business thinking with best in class in-house counsel practices. This book is an essential guide.
- Karen Dillon, Former editor of Harvard Business Review
Dr McGregor’s work will stimulate much thought about how businesses can attract better and more fulfilled lawyers.
- Eamonn Kennedy, Former Director of Legal Affairs RTÉ
Catherine McGregor is a thought-leader and visionary at the forefront of in-house counsel operations. She has cleared the path for future conversations about leadership, management and culture. Her insights are ones that should be treated as gems.
- Deborah Farone, Marketing Strategy Consultant and Author of "Best Practices in Law Firm Business Development and Marketing" (PLI 2019)
Modern general counsel and senior in-house lawyers are expected to be business leaders not simply good lawyers. Even lawyers with a first-rate legal education are not typically provided education on the business concepts included in this book. With her experienced lens into successful in-house legal teams, Dr. McGregor translates important business frameworks, such as purpose, culture and collaboration, to the business of leading law departments. I could not agree more with the author’s statement that "particularly for in-house lawyers – the more senior they become, the more empathy trumps legal skills...."
- Michelle Banks, Senior Advisor, BarkerGilmore, and former Global General Counsel, Gap Inc.
Catherine McGregor's insightful book focuses on the role of general counsel as business partners of CEOs on key business issues. She rightly and succinctly argues that this broader conception of a general counsel is a foundation for the inside counsel revolution which has swept the profession.
- Ben W Heineman, Jr, Senior fellow at Harvard's Schools of Law and Government, former SVP-General Counsel GE
