Podcast
The Legal Department
Hosted by Stacy Bratcher · EN
Practical, efficient and fun, The Legal Department podcast delivers the bottom line of what busy in-house attorneys need to know to level up their career. Whether you’re the general counsel or just starting a career in a corporate law department, The Legal Department podcast is the place to get real world advice from leading legal executives, executive coaches, and other thought leaders on how to grow your career and deliver more value to your clients.
Through conversations with prominent general counsel, chief legal officers and select law firm thought leaders, you’ll get to the bottom line of what you need to know about front page legal issues like digital privacy, cybersecurity and AI. Guests will share their strategies for managing the legal team, budgets, and navigating tricky company politics. Episodes will also tackle in-house fundamentals like the attorney client privilege, litigation, M&A, governance and working with boards of directors and the c-suite.
The Podcast will also feature guests from the c-suite, executive coaches, and other thought leaders who will offer practice insights for attorneys seeking to fuel their own professional development and build those elusive “soft skills.” Each episode of The Legal Department will provide practical tips and takeaways that you can use to take your in-house career to the next level.
The Legal Department podcast provides practical, concise, and actionable insights for busy in-house attorneys. Whether you're a seasoned general counsel or a new corporate law professional, each episode of The Legal Department offers the essential tools, information, and resources to enhance your professional skills. Elevate your career and deliver value to those you serve.
Each episode features in-depth conversations with prominent general counsel and chief legal officers, and select law firm thought leaders who share war stories from their own careers. Learn how to tackle any situation with finesse and confidence, no matter how delicate or politically challenging. Accelerate your journey towards a fulfilling legal career through these podcast conversations.
Guests will share key insights and strategies for effectively managing legal teams, budget oversight, navigating company politics, and mastering in-house fundamentals like privilege, litigation, M&A, governance, and board interactions.Becoming an in-house leader requires more than legal knowledge and experience. It requires business acumen, executive intelligence, and being a team player within your company and with your partners. The Legal Department podcast will help you level up your career.
Host Stacy Bratcher, a general counsel and chief legal officer with nearly twenty years of in-house experience, has fun and engaging conversations about legal careers within in-house legal departments. Th...
33episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Stop Being Frustrated At Work: How To Set And Manage Expectations With Hanna Hart, Executive Coach [E93]
2w ago00:33:21Summary readyEver wonder why people aren't performing the way you want them to, why your team hasn't gelled, why the project is delayed, or why or your boss never seems to be happy?There's a way to avoid all this frustration; start with expectations. Rarely do we take the time to think about what we really expect from others at work or communicate those expectations.Stop suffering in silence! Executive coach Hanna Hart is back in The Legal Department with specific tips on how to talk about expectations. She explains the three different kinds of expectations we need to address and shares tips for communicating them to our teams and our bosses. From on-boarding to performance management, expectations are key to harmony at work. Bonus: we talk about how to bridge generational differences about work.This is a great companion episode to Hanna's debut on the show, Episode 63: "The 'F' Word: Feedback in The Legal Department."
Summary
Goal Getter: The ABS Of Goal Setting: Janet Thompson Jackson, Founder Of Well Law [E92]
4w ago00:36:53Summary readyIn this Goal Getter episode, Janet Thompson Jackson, executive coach and founder of attorney wellness platform "Well-Law" shares a three-part strategy she calls "ABS" to help you set and achieve goals that really matter. By Anchoring in what you really want, setting Boundaries to help you stick to it, and identifying the Steps needed to get there.Janet challenges us to ask ourselves how we are defining success--what does it mean to us to be a good professional? and whether those standards are realistic (and necessary) to succeed at work. She encourages setting boundaries to hold ourselves accountable so we can make progress toward living the life we want.
Summary
Goal Getter: Ask Big Questions To Get Big Goals: Charles Holmes, Executive Coach [E91]
Apr 700:37:10Summary readyIn this Goal Getter episode, Stacy's executive coach, Charles Holmes, is in The Legal Department to explore how asking the right questions can lead you to the career you really want. He shares the three questions that can help you identify what you want and how to get there. Stacy and Charles also explore how "tolerable conflict" keeps us stuck between what we want and where we are today.
Summary
Office Hours: Stacy Answers Your Listener Questions
Mar 2500:15:09Summary readyIn this Office Hours episode, Stacy answers listener questions about: (1) how to get up to speed in your first General Counsel job – including tips for holding successful meetings with your CEO; (2) whether you can switch industries and how to do so; and (3) in-house fundamentals on how to deliver a winning board presentation.Thanks to Filejet for supporting the Office Hours series!Submit your question to hello@legaldepartmentpod.com.
Summary
In-House Privilege Redux: Diana Feinstein, Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP [E89]
Mar 1100:34:06Summary readyGuarding the Attorney Client Privilege is an in-house fundamental, but it's also tricky. As we "level up" as in-house lawyers, taking on new functions and becoming a "strategic advisor," the lines are blurred.In this episode, veteran white collar litigator Diana Feinstein is back in The Legal Department to share step by step tips on how to maintain ACP and work product protections as an in-house attorney. We talk about the basic blocking and tackling of privilege hygiene and explore how AI is impacting this core legal protection.This is Diana's second tour of duty in The Legal Department--check her out on Episode 3!
Summary
Goal Getter: Look Back To Go Forward With Michael Melcher, CEO M2 Leaders And Author Of "Your Invisible Network" [E88]
Feb 2400:36:54Summary readyAttention Goal Getters! Have you ever done a day-by-day review of your calendar to help you set goals for your future? Executive Coach Michael Melcher recommends using the "lookback method" to determine what's important for you in the new year. Instead of making a list of resolutions from what is top of mind, Michael recommends going through your calendar and reflecting on your wins for the prior year. Find out what gives you energy, joy and purpose and do more of it!An expert on building and cultivating relationships, Melcher also shares his suggestions for building a professional network that will transform your career.
Summary
Ethics In The Legal Department With Ryan Little, Founder Little Legal And Former State Bar Prosecutor [E87]
Feb 1000:34:56Summary readyLevel-up on legal ethics for in-house lawyers on this episode with former state bar prosecutor, Ryan Little, founder of Little Legal. In this episode, we talk about some of the ethical traps in-house lawyers should watch out for, how to handle conflicts of interest, navigating who your client is, Upjohn warnings in internal investigations, and much more.
Summary
Goal Getter: The Happiness Factor Marla Persky Executive Coach, 2x GC And Independent Board Member [E86]
Jan 2700:37:29Summary readyDo you feel like you're on a hamster wheel? Or climbing a career ladder that you're not sure you want to be on? In this Goal Getter episode, Executive coach and former public company GC Marla Persky joins Stacy Bratcher to share how setting career goals that align with your "happiness factor" can help us build the career we actually want. She urges lawyers to "own their careers" and set goals that align with what makes us happy. Get off the wheel of endless achievement and build the career you want.
Summary
Contracting In The #Creator Economy: Brittany Ratelle, Ratelle Law [E85]
Jan 1400:37:59Summary readyIs your company branching out into influencer marketing? Is your Chief Marketing Officer dying to engage with the latest TikTok sensation? Put down that red pen and prepare to approach marketing deals with a different eye. Brittany Ratelle of Ratelle Law has been representing creators for more than a decade. She's in The Legal Department to share tips on how to approach creator deals in a way that benefits your company and the creator. In this episode, you'll learn the difference between User Generated Content and traditional Influencer brand deals; the allocation of intellectual property rights (Spoiler Alert: your company isn't going to own the IP); how negotiating a "Creative Brief" at the outset can ensure alignment and brand consistency in the future; and resources to find market rates/terms for #Influencer deals.
Summary
Stuck At Work? Tips To Reboot Your Career With Ellen Yang
Dec 3000:40:27Summary readyYou're at a great company, with a fancy title and what seems from the outside to be exciting work. But all that glitters is not gold. No matter where you are in your career--whether you're just starting out or at the top of the career ladder, you can feel stuck. Ellen Yang shares advice for attorneys and managers alike on how to recognize that you (or your team) might be feeling stuck and how to break through that to find something more fulfilling. She has specific advice for senior level lawyers, deputy GCs and associate GCs, about how to fill out that resume to get GC ready. Ellen also did the unheard of: she returned to a law firm after more than a decade in-house. Tune in to learn about that experience and whether a return to the "dark side" is right for you. Lots of great stories and advice here to help you level-up, whatever that means to you.
Summary