“ You have an excellent, practical, common sense approach.”
— Corporate generalist positioning for GC roles in public companies
Are you preparing for the top rung on the ladder?
Each lawyer in this diverse group is seeking leadership roles with significant business, managerial, and leadership components. They’d like to obtain equity partnership, C-suite roles like chief legal officer (CLO) or general counsel (GC), or other leadership positions.
In most cases, they’re eyeing the next rung on the law firm or corporate ladder. However, each faces a different set of challenges depending on practice areas, target employers and industries, and other individual factors.
Legal executives may include attorneys with:
Generally 15 to 45 years of experience, with compensation packages clustered between $200,000 and $500,000 (depending upon their sector)
Corporate leadership roles such as GC at start-ups, regional or statewide companies, or other non-Fortune 500 companies, including those looking for roles as larger companies
Corporate legal department leadership roles such as deputy general counsel (DGC) or head of a practice group
Law firm leadership roles such income partners in large firms or partners in regional, small, and solo practices
Government or non-profit leadership or supervisory roles such as commissioner, deputy attorney general, and executive director
On-track lawyers may include attorneys with:
Generally 7 to 15 years of experience, with compensation packages clustered between $150,000 and $350,000 (depending upon their sector)
Assistant general counsel (AGC) and other individual contributor roles in Global 100 and Fortune 500 / 1000 companies, subsidiaries, or other businesses, particularly those positioning for their first GC roles
Senior associate and Of Counsel roles in prominent law firms, whether positioning for partnership or GC-track.
Line prosecutors, JAG officers, and other government attorneys moving to supervisory roles within their agencies or considering shifting to the private sector—whether in-house or in law firms
Board roles on small nonprofits
Quite simply, our goal is to help you level up…
“This has been *the* most helpful thing I’ve done for myself in a long time.”
— Regulatory enforcement law firm partner transitioning in-house
Among the greatest challenges for these lawyers are:
“I was promoted to Vice President of Global Ethics at [Fortune 10] yesterday! Thank you so much for all of your support and guidance!”
— Chronically undervalued senior in-house counsel
“Thank you as always for all the ‘tough love’ and insightful perspective on how to curate my résumé and development. You have been a breath of fresh air!”
— Fortune 50 senior tech transactions counsel
Preparing for the next rung on the ladder, including figuring out just what that next rung might be
Identifying real or perceived weaknesses in their candidacy, and creating a plan to address them
Raising visibility, both inside their current organization and with their target employers or clients
Shifting from a technical lawyering or individual contributor mindset to a managerial one
Shifting from a managerial mindset to an executive one
Shifting from a law firm mindset to an in-house one, or from a public sector to private sector mindset
Becoming a revenue generator (particularly for law firms) or a revenue enabler (for either internal or external clients)
Presenting as a business savvy, both in interviews and on paper
Balancing life and stress with their ambitions
Building a strong foundation and a suite of career portfolio documents.
… or shift off-track, if that’s a better fit for you.
Some of our clients aren’t looking to move up the track they’re on. They’re considering moving off.
Most of our legal executive and executive-track clients don’t want big-investment career coaching packages. Instead, they have specific, periodic need for a strategic career adviser and partner. Our career coaching is designed as a simple, elegant solution: just tell us the issues you’d like to discuss, and send us your current résumé (Don’t worry: it doesn’t have to be in great shape) so that we have some context. We offer general career coaching, coaching with executive / legal recruiters, job search coaching, career decision-making, and more.
“This whole process has been educational and exciting. When I look at my original CV side by side with yours, mine looks like it was done by a third grader. Yours looks like a master’s thesis. This résumé opens me up to so many other opportunities. I wish I had met you and gone through this process years ago. I keep wondering how many opportunities I’ve missed out on over the years.”
— Executive-level attorney in a state House of Representatives transitioning to in-house counsel
Our résumé writing uses screen share so that you can get an expert critique of your existing résumé and rewrite it at same time.
Bryce Legal résumé writing by screen share is a great choice for lawyers of all levels who are concerned about professional branding and positioning for a shifting marketplace, even those with a complex career narrative.
Résumé writing is performed at hourly rates, which gives clients enormous flexibility. Although most clients choose to work with their experts to complete their résumés, lawyers can work with their expert for as much—or as little—time as they want.
“MLA sent the GC 11 résumés and the GC selected 3—and mine was one. It’s a GC successor role. The recruiter said the GC was really excited about my résumé, and the company’s internal people are already looking at my LinkedIn profile. ”
— GC-track transactional lawyer
Shauna C. Bryce at speaking about career re-evaluation and mid-career pivots at a Harvard Law School alumni event.
“I just got a request via LinkedIn to be a financial advisor on a board.”
— Capital markets executive for a global investment bank
There are said to be more than eight million C-level executives on LinkedIn, and been reported that more than one third of business executives in the U.S., Europe, and Asia use LinkedIn. Additionally, LinkedIn is now one of top recruiting tools for retained, contingency, and internal recruiters. Therefore, we recommend all lawyers have a strong, polished presence on LinkedIn—even those who are passive or stealth job seekers. We can help you put together a LinkedIn profile that reflects your career goals, leadership, and value, as well as positions you as a target of acquisition.
Why work with Bryce Legal? How can you choose the best lawyer coach and legal résumé writer for you? Here’s what just a few our clients say. For more, please see Our Client Testimonials.
A former AmLaw 100 Chief Legal Talent Officer and Chief Diversity Officer—as well as a former AmLaw 100, AmLaw 200, and in-house lawyer—Shauna is a nationally recognized expert with 20+ years in law, legal hiring, attorney development, and careers.
A former Federal Reserve lawyer, tax controversy attorney, and pro bono program director for lawyers at AmLaw 100 firms, Kamilah Exum has 20+ years working with executives and other lawyers in a variety of environments.
A former general counsel—as well as former Nasdaq DGC, SEC lawyer, and AmLaw 100 corporate lawyer—Yolanda Goettsch has 20+ years of legal experience with boards of directors, C-level executives, and other lawyers across jurisdictions and industries.
A former AmLaw 100 litigator and alumni coach for a law school, Jessica has 15+ years working with CLOs, GCs, executives, and other lawyers in Global 100 / Fortune 500 companies, law firms, government / military, NGOs, and more.
A former assistant chief in DOJ’s Fraud Section, AmLaw 100 partner, Big 4 principal, AUSA, and federal law clerk, Matthew Queler has 20+ years advising corporate boards, c-suite and senior leaders, executives, and lawyers. He has particular interest in government lawyers.
A former Fortune 15 / AmLaw 100 recruiter, Jared Redick has 20+ years in career transitions, decision-making, and branding for C-suite and executive attorneys, partners, on-track lawyers, career changers, and lawyers leaving the law.
