#10 Podcast – TLD Talks … life as a General Counsel

Episode introduction:

In this episode of TLD Talks Ed Simpson, CEO of The Legal Director talks with co-Director Kirstie Penk to discuss her recent webinar. “What Makes a Good GC?”           

Find out what a day in the life of a General Counsel is really like and the skills you’ll need for the career change.

Today’s guest:

Kirstie Penk is a Director of TLD and responsible for the Sales and Marketing function. Her role is to find new clients for the Client Legal Directors at TLD, supported by her team.  A lawyer by background, she joined TLD in 2009 initially providing services to clients before moving into the leadership team.

Main topics and questions:

1. Introduction to Women in Law UK – a not for profit networking organisation (1’49)
2. The inspiration behind a General Counsel (GC) Conference (2’20)
3. The distinction between the terms in-house lawyer, General Counsel and Legal Director (3’24)
4. General Counsel is an American term although used more frequently now in the UK. A Legal Director is very similar (3’30)
5. An in-house lawyer could be somebody at any point in their career working in house for a company (4’00)
6. The key differences between these three roles and the concept of a commercial generalist (4’31)
7. Having an ability to not ‘sit on the fence’ (4’51)
8. Three key motivational drivers – searcher, friend, and spirit (5’20)
9. The essential qualities you would expect to see in a General Counsel (6’11)
10. What role within a business does a good General Counsel play? (7’24)
11. The biggest ‘Pro’ and the biggest ‘Con’ of being an in-house lawyer from a client perspective (8’32)
12. The difference between the service and advice received from a traditional law firm compared to a good General Counsel (9’32)
13. Good legal skills are not necessarily the top skills needed for a General Counsel (10’30)
14. A good General Counsel can take all the busy work off the desk of a CFO/FD (11’00)
15. Summary of the benefits of working with a good General Counsel (11’40)
16. One person handles 99% of your legal needs (11’55)
17. How TLD lawyers work with clients (12’20)
18. TLD lawyers typically act for a client between two and six days a month (12’36)
19. Trial periods help new clients see the value a General Counsel can bring to the business. (13’52)
20. The three key benefits to any business of working with an experienced General Counsel (14’17)