Lawyers, particularly in-house lawyers, often get a bad rap for making things unnecessarily complicated. If you recognize this tendency in yourself, you’re not alone. Many legal professionals, including myself, have been guilty of overcomplication. The tendency stems from a deep-seated fear of being wrong, coupled with the belief that exhaustive effort and copious documentation can guarantee the right answer or solution. This mindset often leads to convoluted legal writing, incomprehensible contracts filled with jargon, and lengthy, document-heavy litigation processes.
Business leaders value lawyers who are practical – those who can deliver efficient results and communicate clearly. However, for in-house lawyers, practicality can feel counterintuitive to their training and instincts. It requires a conscious shift away from overly complex approaches. Building intricate, “Rube Goldberg” like solutions can become ingrained. Fortunately, learning to be practical is achievable, and it’s often the key to thriving as an in-house lawyer. Practicality is highly valued and leads to becoming a trusted business partner, while those perceived as impractical can unfortunately become marginalized.
This guide will explore ten key strategies to become a more practical in-house lawyer, enhancing your effectiveness and value to the business.
1. Defining “Practical” in the In-House Context
Let’s start with the basics: what does “practical” actually mean for an in-house lawyer? Practicality is a mindset and approach to problem-solving. It’s about actively avoiding unnecessary complexity, inflexibility, delays, and purely theoretical solutions. Instead, it’s about delivering timely, workable, and actionable advice that considers the real-world circumstances and business objectives. Legal advice delivered in isolation, detached from the business context, simply isn’t effective or helpful. Practical legal counsel is grounded in the business reality.
2. Making a Conscious Choice to Simplify
Overcomplicating issues is a habit, and like any habit, it can be broken. It requires a deliberate and conscious effort. It’s often easier to over-lawyer a problem than to simplify it. The first step is committing to making things as straightforward as possible. While not every legal issue can be simplified, making a conscious effort to try is crucial. As you become more adept at simplifying, you’ll gain efficiency, have more time for complex issues, and receive more positive feedback from the business teams. While you might not hear direct praise like, “This is wonderfully practical!”, you will likely see increased satisfaction, better adherence to your advice, and a greater willingness from business colleagues to seek your counsel in the future. For an in-house lawyer, becoming a sought-after advisor is a valuable goal in itself.
3. Aligning Expectations with the Business
A common frustration for in-house lawyers is feeling misaligned with business priorities. It’s easy to internally criticize business decisions or perceived unreasonable demands. However, often this misalignment stems from a lack of direct communication. Instead of assuming you understand business priorities, proactively ask. Practical in-house lawyers don’t make assumptions; they engage in direct dialogue to clarify expectations. Consider asking business leaders questions like:
- What is your top priority project this week?
- How should I prioritize these projects?
- What are the actual deadlines for these projects?
- Can we agree on these deadlines and priorities?
Business leaders are generally rational and appreciate clear communication. They likely assume that if you don’t voice concerns, you are comfortable with the current workload and priorities. Speaking up and seeking alignment can significantly improve your workflow and reduce misunderstandings. While it won’t eliminate the constant influx of projects, it will help you gain peace of mind and ensure your efforts are focused on the business’s most critical needs.
4. Mastering Prioritization
It’s a fundamental truth of in-house legal work: you can’t do everything. No matter how skilled, dedicated, or hardworking you are, there are finite hours in the day. Accepting this reality is crucial for becoming a practical lawyer. Instead of trying to tackle everything simultaneously, learn to prioritize effectively. Don’t struggle in isolation; utilize prioritization frameworks in collaboration with the business.
Employ the “Pareto Principle“, which suggests that 80% of your value comes from 20% of your tasks. Focus on identifying and prioritizing that crucial 20%. Another useful tool is the Eisenhower Matrix, a 2×2 matrix categorizing tasks by urgency and importance. Prioritize tasks in the “urgent and important” quadrant for maximum impact. This focused approach may not please everyone all the time, but it ensures your efforts are directed towards the most valuable activities. Remember that consistent small progress is more impactful than chasing elusive “big wins.” The practical in-house lawyer focuses on making incremental progress to keep things moving forward.
5. Embracing “Good Enough” Over “Perfect”
Perfectionism is the enemy of practicality. While lawyers naturally strive for accuracy, in-house lawyers rarely have the luxury of unlimited time and resources to explore every possible angle. Accept that “good enough” is often sufficient. Avoid reinventing the wheel; reuse existing templates and resources whenever possible. There will be times when meticulousness is required, such as board-level matters or “bet-the-company” situations. However, these are exceptions. Most day-to-day tasks require efficient output with an acceptable level of business risk (not personal risk). Minor errors can occur, but a good checklist can mitigate major oversights. Don’t get bogged down in the pursuit of unattainable perfection. Acknowledge that mistakes can happen, learn from them, and move on to the next task.
6. Using “No” Judiciously
Being overly negative or constantly saying “no” is not conducive to being a practical and valued in-house lawyer. While “no” is sometimes the necessary answer, it should be your last resort. Many lawyers need to shift their mindset from being solely risk-averse to being solution-oriented. Practical lawyers are open to questions and discussions about their advice, recognizing that it can lead to better outcomes. Embrace the reality that the legal department doesn’t dictate business strategy. Your role is to provide advice, present options, and support the business’s chosen path, even if it involves more risk than you might ideally prefer. Accepting a calculated level of risk is often necessary for business growth. Overly conservative approaches and fear of being wrong can lead to unnecessary complexity and stagnation. Businesses that don’t take calculated risks don’t progress. In-house lawyers need to be comfortable with this reality. Focus on finding ways to say “yes, let’s make it happen” rather than defaulting to “no, absolutely not.” Embrace a “Dr. Yes” approach to facilitate progress and efficiency.
7. Cultivating Flexibility and Adaptability
Life in-house is rarely static. Expect changes – changing assumptions, increasing project complexity, shifting deadlines, and challenging negotiations. Like Gumby, the epitome of flexibility, practical in-house lawyers “roll with it.” Resist the urge to fight against inevitable changes. Trying to control every variable is futile and stressful. Instead, when changes occur, take a breath, reassess priorities, and adjust your approach. For significant changes, realign expectations with the business and your manager. Focus your energy on adapting and finding solutions within the new context. Fighting against the inevitable wastes time and energy. Early in my career, I often tried to force situations back to my preferred path, which invariably led to frustration. Embrace flexibility – WWGDD (What Would Gumby Do, Dammit?).
8. Operating in the Real World
As previously mentioned, providing legal advice from an “ivory tower” is impractical. Effective in-house lawyers operate in the real world, considering the practical implications of their advice. For every legal solution or recommendation, consider the practical realities of implementation, including cost, resource availability, risk tolerance, and business impact. Utilize checklists to ensure practical considerations are addressed. Here’s a sample checklist to guide you towards practical solutions:
- What needs to be done? By when?
- What are the benefits and drawbacks?
- Can we afford it? What are our budget constraints?
- Is implementation feasible? What’s the estimated timeline?
- What does an ideal solution look like? What is an acceptable, “good enough” solution?
- What is the simplest and most cost-effective way to achieve the objective?
- How does this align with the company’s overall goals and strategy?
- Whose input or approval is needed before finalizing a solution?
- If we can’t achieve everything immediately, what can we do to demonstrate progress and gain time?
- Should we build a solution in-house or buy an external solution? What are our build options?
- What are the potential consequences of not addressing this issue? Are they acceptable?
- How have similar issues been handled by others? Can we adopt those approaches?
This checklist is not exhaustive, but it provides a framework for analyzing the practicality of your legal work. Develop a checklist tailored to your company’s specific needs to ensure you consistently deliver practical and relevant solutions that are valued and implemented by the business.
9. Seeking All Sides of the Story
Practicality requires understanding all perspectives. Always remember that every issue has multiple sides. Relying on only one perspective can lead to incomplete solutions and missed opportunities. For example, in contract disputes, it’s easy to hear only your business unit’s version of events – how the other party breached the contract and caused damages. However, before reacting, actively seek the other side of the story. Challenge the presented “facts,” review key documents (especially contracts and correspondence), and speak to different stakeholders within your company to get a broader picture. Then, try to see the situation from the other party’s perspective. You might discover weaknesses in your initial assessment and realize that a quick, negotiated settlement is more practical than protracted litigation. This principle applies to contract negotiations, employment claims, and various other legal matters. Understanding all sides enables you to craft more practical and effective responses and solutions.
10. Prioritizing Simplicity
Simplicity is the cornerstone of practicality. Always begin by seeking the simplest path to the desired outcome. Don’t overcomplicate solutions when straightforward approaches are available. As Leonardo Da Vinci famously said, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leading with simplicity brings clarity and focus, enhancing effectiveness. Furthermore, effective communication is key. Practical in-house lawyers must communicate legal issues and solutions clearly and concisely to the business. Avoid legal jargon and overly complex language. If your email explaining a legal issue is excessively long, or if it lacks a clear answer, it needs simplification. Be direct, punchy, and concise in your writing and presentations. Present the answer upfront, outline options and risks clearly, and provide a recommendation based on your understanding of the business’s objectives, financial situation, risk profile, and strategic goals. Avoid unnecessary legal formalities like citations and footnotes in your communication with the business. These are often counterproductive and detract from clarity and efficiency.
By embracing these strategies, in-house lawyers can cultivate a reputation for practicality, becoming invaluable assets to their organizations. If you’ve been asked to be “more practical” or are coaching your team on this, these principles offer a solid framework. Consider adopting a mission statement focused on “Practical Legal and Business Solutions for the Company that Work in the Real World.” Remember, perceived value is often linked to effective communication and demonstrating your contribution to the business. Adopting a practical mindset not only enhances your value but also boosts your productivity, enabling you to achieve more in less time – a win-win for both you and the business.
Sterling Miller
April 27, 2022
My fifth book, Showing the Value of the Legal Department: More Than Just a Cost Center is available now, including as an eBook! As the ABA says, “Buy this book or the dog gets it!” The ABA is serious about this so just buy a copy of the damn book and help a dog out. You can buy it HERE.
Cover of Value Book
alt=”Book cover for ‘Showing the Value of the Legal Department: More Than Just a Cost Center’ by Sterling Miller, emphasizing practical legal advice for in-house lawyers.”
Two of my books, Ten Things You Need to Know as In-House Counsel – Practical Advice and Successful Strategies and Ten (More) Things You Need to Know as In-House Counsel – Practical Advice and Successful Strategies Volume 2, are on sale now at the ABA website (including as e-books).
I have published two other books: The Evolution of Professional Football, and The Slow-Cooker Savant. I am also available for speaking engagements, webinars/CLEs, coaching, training, and consulting.
Connect with me on Twitter @10ThingsLegal and on LinkedIn where I post articles and stories of interest to in-house counsel frequently.
“Ten Things” is not legal advice nor legal opinion and represents my views only. It is intended to provide practical tips and references to the busy in-house practitioner and other readers. If you have questions or comments, ideas for a post, please contact me at [email protected] or, if you would like a CLE for your team on this or any topic in the blog, contact me at [email protected]
[1] Sorry, watched “Ben-Hur” recently and had the leper scenes on my mind. Yuck!
[2] Huddle meetings are a great way to do this en masse. See “Ten Things: Legal Departments and the Value of Huddle Meetings.”
[3] I dedicate a full section of my new book, “Showing the Value of the Legal Department: More than Just a Cost Center” to how to use matrices. Check it out!
[4] See, for example, this excellent article by Christine Uri in the Contract Nerds blog, “Perfect vs. Done: How Do You Know When a Contract is Ready?”
[5] One thing I asked of my teams when general counsel was to be the other side and come up with reasons why my theory, clauses, or whatever didn’t hold water or didn’t work. Basically, tear into my work product like you were the lawyer for the other side. We always came out with better work when we did this.
[6] I am creating my own game to compete with Candy Land so keep your greasy mitts off my new, cool name (trademark pending…).
[7] See “The Benefits of Simple Productivity” by Lou Macabasco.
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