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I think it’s all about individual experience and got within a company. Last year, I reviewed hundreds over resumes and did tons of interviews for a GC role at my company, and I can tell you that I did not care about a specific title if someone could explain (in both their resume and interview) the practical experience we were looking for.
I’ve heard this too and that commercial counsel positions are often dead-end jobs because all you learn is how to get really good at drafting contracts and nothing else.
I feel like I need to add an addendum to my comment. I’m not trying to diss on commercial counsel, but their role is by definition primarily a contracts one. A GC does little with contracts and is a business-minded issue spot for all kinds of legal risks. Commercial counsel don’t typically get this training, or not much. I’m not saying it’s better to be a corporate counsel, but just pointing out that a GC needs more skills than contract drafting.
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It's not the only path. But its the easiest one by far. For a number of reasons really. But ultimately it's bc it's a skill set that is hard to learn in the job while commercial is easy to. On top of that the corporate DGC gets the most board and key exec access, so more face time.
You're obv still early if you can even equate a head of legal with GC/CLO because the role and levels aren't often the same. You start where you can but corporate is the surest track in my book.
Depends on the role. This skills required for a solo GC at an early stage private company are quite different from a GC at a large public company leading a large legal team. The former role will require proficiency in commercial contracting, the latter probably not.
Rising Star
Not enough experience in fundraising, IPO, M&A or able to oversee specialists in other areas like IP, employment, etc. Seen it lots of times where a head of legal got layered over or replaced altogether when the company grew and it's needs grew.