Are you a first-time GC, or looking to move your career in house? We get it, the struggle is real!

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Here’s a replay of our first ever 'Ask the Expert', where Hank Greenberg shared his thoughts on what you need to know as a first-time GC.

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Key Takeaways:

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• Set & drive your own goals
• Build and promote integrity & trust
• Redirect legal outputs as inputs

• Be more than just a lawyer
• Be willing to put your name on everything
• Keep things simple, yet be ready to answer tough questions
• Find & maintain your voice as a leader

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Meet the Presenters:

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• Host: Raad Ahmed
• CEO & Co-founder at Lawtrades, giving busy GC’s the superpower to do more, with less

• Presenter: Hank Greenberg
• General Counsel at Oscar Health, a health company utilizing technology, design, and data to humanize health care.

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What To Expect:

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‍3:30-5:02

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• How to build a model to do the GC job: common ideas, skills, principles  
• Work-in-progress
• There is no one size fits all
• Success can and will look different

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Design your Agenda:

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5:02-8:28

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• Agenda is what differentiates a lawyer from a GC
• Budget resources across the team
• Understand where your priorities lie
• Deploy your agenda as a leader
• Set your own workflow
• Understand risk according to company framework
• Use your voice to catalyze action

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Understand the Business:

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8:28-13:42

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• Grasp full bounds of risk
• GC has to understand the operations and strategic goals of the company
• Know the market - how it works, and what it does
• Share knowledge with lawyers working with you
• Legal analysis as an input, rather than an output
• Forces you to strategize market risk
• Starting point for guidance to client

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Handling C-Suite:

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17:50-21:55

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• Build credibility
• CEO and CFO should see you as a trustworthy person
• Convey pertinent issues to clients so as to minimize work they have to do
• Clients do not need to know or understand the intricacies of law
• You can’t be a one-stop-shop for everything
• It is okay to admit you do not know an answer
• Make sure to circle back when you find answers

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Be a Paid Skeptic:

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26:23-29:49

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• Test other’s ideas and conclusions
• Do not rely wholesale on advice without testing it yourself
• Play the role of CEO or CFO
• Be ready to face the rigor of underlying assumptions
• You are an expert of your client
• Trust your legal team, stop comparing to strategies of competitors

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Find Your Voice:

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33:40-40:45

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• You are not just another lawyer
• Recognize the immense power and authority you hold
• Wield power in a responsible way
• Build your own integrity, promote your confidence
• Set rules for behavior
• Form a list of values you adhere to every single day
• Be direct, use analysis as an input
• Do not need to deploy rationale for everything
• Utilize concise (yes or no) answers
• Develop a simple style of communication
• Be ready to explain pertinent answers
• “Spoon feed” info by utilizing layman’s terms

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