Susan Pye (1950-2019)

The attorneys who become indispensable don't wait to be noticed. They make their institutional knowledge visible, seek out cross-functional challenges, and develop the business judgment that earns their GC's trust. This Candidate Corner explores how to shift from technical expert to strategic asset — and how to have the direct conversations that put you inside your department's succession planning rather than simply subject to it.

Succession planning in legal departments rarely feels urgent until a key departure makes it critical. This Client Corner offers a practical framework for auditing your team's bench strength, investing in cross-training, and stress-testing your department before you're forced to. The GCs who hire most effectively aren't the ones who react fastest. They're the ones who were already prepared.

The "COVID cohort" of lawyers navigated a unique start to their careers, often trading traditional office mentorship for a landscape of remote work and unprecedented lateral hiring surges. By looking beyond frequent early-career moves to focus on a candidate’s actual work exposure and resilience, you can identify highly adaptable talent that excels at independent, flexible problem-solving in today’s modern legal environment.