Related Posts
Hi, I am Eloqua Certified professional, currently working in Cognizant Technology Solutions. I am serving in my notice period. My Last working day is tomorrow. If there is any immediate openings for Eloqua please refer #eloqua #automation #marketing Accenture Infosys Wipro Tata Consultancy LTI Information Technology
More Posts
Faking it until I make it
No words needed 😂👎🤮
Additional Posts in In-House Counsel
Any book recommendations for GC of a startup?
New to Fishbowl?
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
I think it depends on the size of the company and legal department. I went in house as a securities attorney at a Fortune 1000 and also worried about being pigeonholed but I was quickly able to expand my practice into corporate governance, executive compensation, m&a, and support for tax, treasury, charitable foundation, etc. I’ve now moved to a much larger Fortune 500 company and see that my practice is a bit more narrow — mostly securities, exec comp, and corporate governance and a little bit of m&a. I would just make it a point to your colleagues/manager that you’d like to take on stretch assignments as they come available and be open to taking on assignments out of your wheelhouse. It’s definitely true that becoming a GC will require a broader skill set and will likely take jumping a couple of companies too so I wouldn’t worry too much about it at this stage.
Your answer is within your question. I’ve commented on this before, but the fact that there is a problem in your view about advancement means you need to ask more questions. Are you being pigeonholed? Those are questions you need to ask. And also realize what you want.
I think I’m okay doing the same thing for a while but don’t want to never, ever have a shot at doing something else if for some reason I absolutely hate it after 5-10 years. I know enough to know that I really prefer securities work over m&a for various reasons but not enough to know if I ever even want to be an AGC or GC. I may even want to go back to private practice at some point; probably in securities. So maybe it doesn’t matter as much for me after further reflection?
GCs are usually brought into startups when they are begining to think about an exit (ideally an IPO). Someone with significant securities background is going to be a good candidate in those situations provided they have the generalist skills, risk flexability, and ability to provide personalized counseling to the CEO and Board. Just make sure you keep learning about things outside your core niche so you know how to address broader issues, even if that's just knowing when to get another niche expert on the phone.