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For In-house Counsel, Imperfection is Perfectly Acceptable

This piece from Mark Roellig, senior client advisor with Perkins Coie’s Client Advantage team, began as a much longer article co-authored with Sarah Kalgaard, GC of Vital Images, for the Association of Corporate Counsel, about 10 things to consider in transitioning to an in-house role. In “Emotional Intelligence Matters,” Roellig calls on lawyers transitioning to in-house roles to shuck their perfectionist tendencies. “You do not need to be a great legal expert to be a great in-house lawyer,” says Roellig, “In private practice, you are paid by the hour, and the expectation is perfection in every aspect. For example, at a law firm, never send a memo to a client with a typo. A mistake is unacceptable. In the in-house counsel’s world, it is a little more ‘messy.’ The amount of information, effort and precision to employ takes judgment – your judgment and Emotional Intelligence (EQ) will likely be more valued than your IQ and legal knowledge.” Read more about the downside of perfection at Association of Corporate Counsel.


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