A Novel Approach to In-house Lawyers

Corporate Counsel by Peter Carayiannis is a Lencioni-like business fable geared toward lawyers contemplating a career move to become in-house attorneys in private business. However, the book is not just for those who have passed the bar exam. As a finance professional, I found this fast-paced book packed with actionable insights that business owners can apply immediately in their organizations. Finally, business readers have a book to build their legal and corporate risk literacy and acumen.

Interview Highlights

• The characters in Corporate Counsel are likable and believable.
• The frameworks are innovative and sticky – StARR, Pyramid of Work, the 4 C’s of Limited Resources, IRAC, and the Risk Mental Model.
• Is Anna based loosely on the author?
• Anna’s first observation was that it was a disorganized mess. Is that the norm in many organizations?
• The 100-day plan.
• Why did David hire Anna for the wrong reason?
• We need a new term: #LegalOps (similar to #DevOps)
• The 101 on risk and how we respond to it.
• Defining an ALSP and MLS.
• What are contract playbooks, and why are they beneficial?
• Why are in-house lawyers the moral authority in an organization?
• The book ends with a bang – no spoilers.

Peter states that in-house lawyers are not people who couldn’t cut it in private practice. He adds that it’s an “extremely gratifying, rewarding, and enjoyable career.

Other Big Ideas in Corporate Counsel Not Mentioned During the Interview

• Law school does not prepare professionals for the jump from law firms to working as in-house lawyers.
• The in-house law department does not have to be a cost burden – the section on the legal recovery program is insightful.
• The reason that it’s okay to read the sports page before news or business.
• Paperless contracts and corporate documents.

Ask yourself why lawyers are leaving law firms. Ask yourself why companies are hiring lawyers.

Corporate Counsel by Peter Carayiannis

Books Mentioned

• The Firm of the Future
• Tomorrow’s Lawyers
• The Great Legal Reformation
• The Wealthy Barber
• The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
• Who Moved My Cheese?
• The Go-Giver
• The Innovator’s Dilemma
• Start With Why
• Atomic Habits
• The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right
• This is Lean: Resolving the Efficiency Paradox
• Strategy and the Fat Smoker

Episode Pairings