What Can In-House Counsel Learn from a Former Cop? Quite a Lot!
When you think about the skills that make someone a successful General Counsel, being a police officer probably doesn't come immediately to mind. Yet a recent Ready Set GC webinar reminded me that the two roles have more in common than you might expect.
The lessons that help police officers make sound decisions in uncertain situations are often the same skills that help lawyers become trusted business leaders: judgment, communication, composure under pressure, and the ability to act without having all the answers.
For this conversation, I was joined by Tery Gonsalves, a partner at Alston & Bird in Chicago, and former police detective who brought a unique perspective on what we can learn from a profession where making difficult decisions under pressure is part of the job. We had a terrific conversation about how those lessons translate to the practice of law, particularly for those of us serving as in-house counsel. Here are seven lessons that particularly resonated with me.
The Calmest Person Leads
Perspective matters, particularly in a crisis. Those of us who spent years in private practice may remember environments where everything seemed like an emergency and that caused anxiety and feelings of being inside a pressure cooker. But one of the lessons from police work is that the higher the stakes, the more important it becomes to remain calm. And that no matter how stressful it gets, it probably pales in comparison to chasing a man with a gun.
Good Judgment Requires Making Decisions, Even When You Don't Have All the Answers
Another perspective we may overlook is that in our in-house roles, we make hundreds of decisions, large and small, and the overwhelming majority are good ones. Yet we tend to focus on the few that don't turn out exactly as planned.
Good judgment doesn't mean always being right. It means making thoughtful decisions based on the information available, the time available to make the decision, understanding the risks, and being willing to own the outcome. That is very similar to police work. Officers often have to make decisions in real time, without perfect facts and without the luxury of prolonged analysis. The goal is not perfection; it is to assess the situation, rely on training and experience, choose the best available course, and then be accountable for what follows.
I learned that lesson very early in my in-house career. Just a few months into my new role, I was faced with a significant decision about whether to waive attorney-client privilege in a billion-dollar False Claims Act case. It was one of the first big decisions I ever made as an in-house counsel, and even though I had excellent outside counsel guiding me, it still felt big.
What that experience taught me was that good judgment is not measured only by whether a decision feels safe in the moment. It is measured by whether you have asked the right questions, understood the risks, relied on the right guidance and made the best decision you can with the information available. That is often the real work of in-house counsel: moving forward thoughtfully, even when certainty is not an option.
Assess the Situation, and Make Sure You're Assessing It Correctly
One of the dangers of experience is that we sometimes become too confident in our ability to assess a situation. Police officers must constantly interpret what is happening around them, often in circumstances where an incorrect assumption can have serious consequences.
The same thing happens in our corporate environments. We walk into meetings with assumptions about what people know, what they want, and why they are behaving in a certain way. But are we reading the room correctly.
As General Counsel, we interact with many different stakeholders, including the CEO, C-suite colleagues, the board, and employees throughout the organization. Understanding their perspectives and motivations is an essential part of our job. Sometimes that means recognizing that someone is uncomfortable simply because the lawyer has entered the room.
Don't Just Identify the Problem. Help Solve It.
Lawyers are trained to spot issues. We are very good at identifying risks, explaining what could go wrong, and describing why something may not be legally permissible. But identifying the problem is only part of our job. The business doesn't need us simply to explain why it can't accomplish an objective. It needs us to help figure out how it can accomplish that objective while appropriately managing risk.
Sometimes there isn't a perfect solution. The best option may be slower, more expensive, or require a different approach. But offering alternatives and helping the business move forward is what distinguishes a trusted strategic partner from the legal department down the hall that everyone tries to avoid.
It's Okay to Say "I Don't Know" and Ask for Help
Lawyers, particularly those stepping into leadership roles, often put enormous pressure on themselves to have all the answers. But one of the most important leadership skills is recognizing when you don't.
Police officers learn quickly that there are situations where they need backup and they aren’t afraid to ask. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness. It's an acknowledgment that the situation may require additional expertise, resources, or perspective. Why should it be any different for General Counsel?
When someone asks me a question I can't answer, I am comfortable saying, "That's a great question. I don't know but let me look into it." Interestingly, I have found that being willing to acknowledge what I don't know often builds credibility rather than diminishes it.
There is also tremendous value in having trusted colleagues who can serve as sounding boards. Sometimes you don't need someone to make the decision for you. You simply need someone to challenge your assumptions, offer another perspective or confirm that your instincts are sound. Don’t be afraid to leverage those people, and always be willing to pay that forward to others.
Knowing when to ask for help is an exercise of good judgment. We don't need to have all the answers to be effective leaders, but we do need to know how to find them.
Leadership Requires Influence, Not Just Authority
One of the most interesting distinctions we explored during the webinar was the difference between giving a police order and providing legal advice.When a police officer gives a lawful order, there is an expectation that it will be followed. But when we provide legal advice to our business colleagues, the dynamic is very different. As General Counsel, we don't always have the final say. Our colleagues may ultimately choose a different course of action than the one we recommend. That's why influence is such an important leadership skill.
Our job is not simply to deliver the correct legal answer. It is to help our colleagues understand risks, evaluate alternatives and make informed decisions. That requires credibility, trust and a deep understanding of the business.
Influence comes from relationships, not authority. And sometimes leadership means accepting that the business may choose a different path while remaining clear about where the legal boundaries lie. And if the business chooses a different path, great General Counsel remain engaged, looking for opportunities to mitigate risk, preserve options, and help the business move forward responsibly.
Learn by Watching People Who Do It Well
One of my favorite lessons from the conversation was how much we can learn simply by watching others.
A police officer who spends time in court may learn a great deal about trial practice simply by observing skilled lawyers at work: how they question witnesses, introduce evidence, respond to objections and read the room. By the time that officer steps into the role of advocate, some of those lessons have already been absorbed through careful attention.
The same is true for in-house lawyers. We become better counselors and leaders by
watching how effective colleagues communicate, influence, listen, manage conflict and help a business move forward. Not every leadership lesson has to come from formal training. Sometimes the best way to grow is to pay close attention to the people who are already doing the work well.
Think about the people you work with who are particularly effective communicators or leaders. What do they do that makes others listen? How do they handle difficult questions? How do they command a room without dominating the conversation? How do they deliver bad news in a way that builds confidence rather than creates anxiety?
We can learn an enormous amount simply by paying attention. And we can take what we observe and incorporate it into our own leadership style without trying to become someone we're not.
Conclusion
What struck me most about this conversation is that the best leadership lessons often come from unexpected places.
Being an effective General Counsel is about far more than knowing the law. It requires judgment, composure, curiosity, influence and the ability to help people move forward through uncertainty.
Those skills are developed through experience, observation and practice. And sometimes, the most valuable lessons come from perspectives outside the legal profession entirely.
Founder, Ready Set GC
Chief Legal & People Officer, WARF
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