How I Survived My First 90 Days as General Counsel
When I started as General Counsel at a rapid scale tech company four years ago, Ireland was on its fifth homegrown unicorn, the business was scaling fast in the US and I knew immediately that the traditional approach to in-house legal practice wouldn't work in this environment.
Rapid-scale tech companies need fast turnaround times and legal functions that support business growth first.
At the same time, I wanted to ensure that the impact I made building out a fast, lean, well-liked legal function helped me elevate as a strong business leader who would be taken seriously at executive level.
The first 90 days are key to this (“Well begun is half done”, as Mary Poppins says) because you can nail some quick wins that show fast business impact while at the same time start on projects and processes that will have more cumulative, long term impact.
Here's how I navigated those crucial first 90 days and set myself up for success.
1. Made myself visible
I took a selfie of me wearing company swag and used that for my profile picture in Slack, Notion, Zoom - any key touch points with the wider business. From day one I wanted people to know I was bought into the company’s mission, brand and values.
I spent the first week meeting with every functional lead to understand their priorities; how legal could support those; where they had struggled with lawyers in the past. I set myself the goal of doing a quick 1:1 with all other employees, prioritising the ones I would be working with the most such as Sales (as I was hire #52 this wasn’t an unreasonable goal!!). I engaged in Slack banter to show my personality, used custom emojis, let people get to know me.
I volunteered to present at company All Hands, spoke early at leadership meetings to show interest…
The goal of all this was to show people who I really am - more than “just” a lawyer or a blocker. A team player!
2. Adopted an innovative mindset
I threw out the rulebook on what a traditional in-house legal function looks like. The old ways of delivering legal services simply wouldn't cut it in Ireland's fast-moving tech market. Rapid scale requires fast turnaround, and I was there to support business growth first.
I didn't let myself be confined by how I'd been taught at law school or in private practice. If anything, I was craving the opposite way of working. Those environments operate very differently from the in-house world, and clinging to outdated approaches would have made me ineffective from day one.
3. Set clear goals (and got regular feedback)
Having legal team goals that align with company goals shows how you add value and tells the wider business that you’re swimming in the same direction. I was laser-focused on my main goal when I started: closing deals and bringing in revenue.
Including “non-goals” is critical too - expectations will be all over the place when you first start, and people won’t always understand what you have actually been hired to do.
I regularly checked in with our CEO (who I reported to) for feedback to ensure I was doing the most impactful work at all times. This alignment kept me focused on activities that directly contributed to business success rather than getting lost in legal busy work.
4. Embraced my uniqueness
People do their best work when they can show up as themselves.
Throughout my career, I've often been in the minority - different gender, from a different country, too barrister-y for law firms, too Irish to be English and vice versa. But I discovered that in-house practice is the perfect place for lawyers from non-linear backgrounds.
Instead of trying to fit into a mould that didn't suit me, I leaned into what made me different. This authenticity became one of my greatest strengths in building relationships across the business.
5. Business partner first
Legal cannot operate as a siloed cost centre. You are a business partner first, lawyer second. I collaborated cross-functionally, especially with sales, focused on helping my colleagues achieve their business aims, and treated them as my customers.
This mindset shift was fundamental to my success. Instead of being the department that slowed things down, I became the person who helped remove obstacles and accelerate business objectives.
6. Built community
Ireland had no community for innovative in-house legal professionals who wanted to challenge outdated perceptions, reduce burnout risk and be great business partners. So I set one up myself - ITGC - to connect us, enable knowledge-sharing, and help people feel less isolated at work.
Building this community wasn't just about helping others. It gave me access to a network of like-minded professionals who understood the unique challenges of in-house practice and could offer support and advice. Knowing you can tap into this is key.
7. Leveraged my network
Your network is your net worth as they say, especially when you’re first legal hire. I reached out to my peers and asked them for pointers, templates, emotional support - whatever I needed. There's an enormous global community of in-house lawyers, many on LinkedIn, who will gladly help you.
Don't be afraid to tap into established communities in your own country to access names and connections. The in-house legal community is remarkably generous with sharing knowledge and resources.
8. Cross-functional collaboration
I sought out internal experts to help me understand commercial drivers and get comfortable with risk faster. I specifically connected with the VP of Sales, deal desk, finance, and HR to fill in the commercial blanks.
This approach helped me help them achieve their business aims too, which made everyone very happy. Understanding how other departments operated meant I could provide more relevant and practical legal advice.
9. Embraced Outsourcing and Automation
Low-value, repetitive, process-heavy work should be outsourced or automated. I outsourced to an Alternative Legal Service Provider (ALSP) and bought a Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) tool as soon as I had bandwidth.
This freed up enormous amounts of time to focus on higher-value work that added more to the business. Instead of getting bogged down in administrative tasks, I could concentrate on strategic legal issues and relationship building.
10. Consumed relevant content
LinkedIn was a mine of knowledge for me. The platform includes resources on pure legal issues, legal operations strategies and also guidance on how to be a great business partner and navigate the many challenges the market throws at us. I educated myself quickly on how to be innovative thanks to all the rockstars sharing their knowledge online.
I also immersed myself in industry-specific content and events to ensure this informed how I ran the legal function. This continuous learning approach helped me stay current with best practices and new approaches to common challenges.
Building Your Foundation for Success
These ten strategies helped me not just survive but thrive in my first 90 days as General Counsel. The key was recognising that success in-house requires a fundamentally different approach from traditional legal practice.
Focus on being a business enabler rather than a gatekeeper. Build relationships across the organisation. Adopt a “product team mindset” - design for a user experience, proactively analyse patterns instead of fighting fires all the time. Leverage technology and outsourcing to handle routine work. Most importantly, never stop learning from the community of innovative in-house thought leaders who are reshaping what it means to be a legal professional in a tech company.
The first 90 days set the tone for everything that follows. Get them right, and you'll establish yourself as an indispensable business partner who happens to have legal expertise.
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