Professional Development Insights

Why a new GC should not come in with a fix it mindset - listen first -fix later

A list of resources that shape great General Counsel through leadership and strategic thought

Becoming General Counsel isn’t about being the best specialist in the room. It’s about developing the judgment, leadership, and breadth of experience organizations look for in an enterprise leader. The challenge is that most of the experiences that build GC readiness don’t sit neatly inside a job description. That’s where job crafting comes in — intentionally shaping your current role to gain the exposure, visibility, and strategic perspective required to step into the GC sea

For folks in GC or senior in-house counsel roles, the idea of needing a mentor can feel awkward. We somehow get in our heads that, by the time you reach a senior role, you should be decisive, confident, and self-directed, all on your own. And yet this is often when mentoring is most valuable: as your role and responsibilities increase, the stakes generally are higher – you generally feel more alone and there is less room for mistakes. Mentorship at this level is less abou

Stepping into your first General Counsel role requires more than a strong resume or legal expertise. In a competitive GC job market, legal excellence is table stakes—what truly differentiates candidates is a credible “why you.” This article explores how aspiring and first-time GCs can articulate leadership readiness, align with business needs, and build trust with CEOs and boards by defining why they are ready to lead now, why the role fits, and why they can be trusted when i

Office Hours: 3 GC’s Answer Your Burning Questions Sterling Miller And Deborah Solmor (E68)

In an earlier post, Susan Sneider, co-founder of New Vistas Consulting and a seasoned executive coach, shared how transformative coaching can be for in-house counsel. She explained how the right coach can build self-awareness, expand executive skills, and help lawyers step confidently into the General Counsel role. At our inaugural Ready Set GC | Ascend program this February, the topic of coaching sparked a flurry of questions from attendees, including: How do you find the

Ready Set GC Founder and Advisory Board Member, Deborah Solmor and Talia Jarvis, help GCs to build relationships and drive impact.

Last week, Ready Set GC launched the Ascend program, its first-ever program for aspiring general counsel, bringing together nearly 50 legal leaders in Chicago for a full day of immersive content, mentorship, and self-reflection. Unlike traditional legal career paths, the GC role is not just the next step up—it is a fundamentally different job with distinct responsibilities, expectations, and leadership demands. To set the stage, we introduced The Ascend Framework—a unique se

RSGC Ascend our first program dedicated to those aspiring to the GC role.

As lawyers navigate their journey to becoming General Counsel, there is often little opportunity to learn how to start a legal department from the ground up. For many, legal operations experiences are learned at varying levels within legal departments (whether corporate, government or law firm) that are well established with long-standing practices and ways of working that have simply evolved over time. These departments may differ widely from manual processes to use of the l

This blog is about the value of executive coaching to empower and enhance a General Counsel's Success

As we plan for our inaugural Ready Set DGC to GC program, I’ve been reflecting on my journey to securing that first GC role. Many aspiring GCs find it to be a catch-22: to get the role, you need experience in it. First-time GC roles are rare, as CEOs and leadership teams often prefer candidates with previous GC experience. So, how can you break into this role without prior experience? For those aiming for the GC chair, two fundamental questions should precede thoughts about l

Ready Set GC is excited to announce the formation of a planning committee for its inaugural DGC to GC program

Introducing "Ready Set DGC to GC," our exclusive one-day program, in partnership with Skadden Arps, to help women DGCs transition to a GC.

Welcome back to Behind the Scenes at Ready Set GC. After an overwhelming response to our last share on empowering resources, today we're exploring more key topics as recommended by our esteemed Advisory Board. 1. Team Building and Talent Development: It takes a village, and no matter the size of the team that you manage or a team that you are a part of (Executive Leadership Team), understanding how teams function and how decisions are made are probably two of the most imp

This blog post focuses on the parallels between the insecurities facing those that made We are the World and accomplished General Counsel

Vision and Challenge – this is what it takes to truly go beyond the traditional role of mentoring.

RSGC Advisory Board shares practical advice for new general counsels. Insights from building relationships to effective communication.