Career Skill Assessment

Too many lawyers sell themselves short. They get pigeonholed into purely legal roles because they don’t know how to effectively market their skills to other domains. But the reality is that the skills you develop as a lawyer can take you far beyond the traditional legal sphere. Here are a few reasons why: Lawyers are highly organized and process-oriented. We excel at turning complex problems into simple steps, creating systems, and paying meticulous attention to detail. These skills are invaluable in operational roles. Lawyers are excellent communicators. We’re adept at distilling multi-faceted, highly technical challenges into narratives that focus on the essential, easy-to-understand components. This is a necessary skill for any leader. Lawyers have an uncanny ability to grasp complicated business models quickly and see the big picture. We're used to diving into the nitty-gritty details while keeping an eye on overarching strategy. Lawyers deal in risk assessment and mitigation on a daily basis, which makes us uniquely qualified to take on roles involving business strategy and decision-making. So, how can lawyers leverage these skills to grow beyond traditional legal roles? There are a few common paths I see. Here are some examples within each: 1. Expanding to a GC+ role, like: - Andy Dale at OpenAP (GC + Chief Privacy Officer) - Conor French at Zipline (GC + Chief Regulatory Officer) - Galya Blachman at Enliven Therapeutics (CLO + Head of BD) - Shaun Sethna, our own GC at The L Suite, who manages Content (event programming) and HR in addition to Legal 2. Moving entirely to non-legal leadership roles, like: - Alex Su at Latitude (Chief Revenue Officer) - Abigail Johnson at Sapphire Ventures (COO) - Jason K. at OpenAI (Chief Strategy Officer) - Kristin Sverchek at Lyft (President) - Kent Walker at Google (President, Global Affairs) - Julie Sweet at Accenture (CEO) 3. Starting a company, like: - Jen Berrent at Covenant - Cecilia Ziniti at GC AI - Caroline McCaffery at ClearOps - Ashish Walia and Raad Ahmed at Lawtrades - Jason Boehmig at Ironclad - Shashank Bijapur at SpotDraft - Winston Weinberg at Harvey - Tony Lewis and Kelsey C. from Aumni (sold to JPMorgan) - Eric Berry from TripleLift (sold to Vista Equity Partners) - Renaud Laplanche from LendingClub (now public) and Upgrade There are many, many more examples that I didn’t have space for. The lesson here? Don't let yourself be painted into a legal box. The skills you have learned as a lawyer are incredibly versatile and valuable across various business functions. You just need to learn how to market them.

The sustainability career path no one tells you about: 1. Learn the frameworks, acronyms, and tools (EPR, SBTi, LCA, ISO…). 2. Realize most stakeholders don’t speak that language. 3. Get great at translating targets into plain English. 4. Realize people don’t care about targets, they care about trade-offs. 5. Get great at connecting impact to P&L, risk, and brand. 6. Realize decisions still happen without (or despite) the evidence. 7. Get great at influence without authority: narratives, coalitions, timing. 8. Realize org politics and incentives beat logic on most Mondays. 9. Get great at choosing leverage points and letting go of the rest. 10. Finally understand the job was about people, not spreadsheets, all along. Tools, ratings, and policies change every year. Human nature doesn’t. Sustainability is people work. Invest accordingly.

When it comes to hiring lawyers, yes--school attended and former law firm matter. Partly because it's quick and easy to assess. However, when it comes to longer-term performance, there are often other qualities that matter just as much, if not more. Here are some examples I've heard from hiring managers: 1. Responsiveness: You don't always have to provide a thorough response or be in front of your computer all day. Acknowledge receipt or quickly following up can do wonders for the client experience (internal or external). Anecdotally Biglaw trains you really well for this, although you can certainly develop this habit elsewhere. 2. Ownership Mentality: Can you figure out how to get the job done on your own? The more you can operate autonomously without waiting for someone else to help you, the more value you can quickly add to the team. Being able to "take it and run" is a hugely desirable trait across different types of organizations. Some have called this having "high agency." 3. Understanding the Context: Lawyers operate in ambiguous environments. There may be unspoken rules of the organization or important business context to be taken into account. You have to do a little bit of extra homework. A lawyer isn't just there to provide legal advice in a vacuum, they must incorporate all non-legal information as well. It may not surprise you that these competencies and skills matter not just for legal roles, but also for business roles. They’re qualities I try to exhibit in my day-to day work, and what I value most in my colleagues. And as a hiring manager myself, they also describe what I try to evaluate during the interview process. At the end of the day it's about more than just how many gold stars you have on your resume--it's also about the intangibles that make you highly effective at the job.

19 Underrated Skills for In-House Lawyers: 1. Knowing when not to give legal advice. Sometimes, your role is to listen, coach, or help solve a problem—not cite a law or regulation. 2. Writing like a regular person. Clear, concise, and non-legalese communication builds trust and drives action. 3. Reading the room. Legal insight is only half the battle. The other half is knowing when, where, and how to deliver it. 4. Building relationships before you need them. Your influence often depends on the trust you’ve already earned. 5. Spotting the real issue behind the ask. The presenting problem isn’t always the actual risk—or opportunity. 6. Managing up. Great in-house lawyers don’t just support execs—they help them look ahead, make better decisions, and avoid landmines. 7. Context switching without dropping the thread. You might go from a high-stakes negotiation to a sensitive HR issue to reviewing a SaaS contract—all before lunch. 8. Saying “I don’t know” and meaning it. It’s not a weakness. It’s how you keep credibility and protect the business. 9. Using silence as a tool. Sometimes the best move in a negotiation (or tough internal conversation) is to stop talking. 10. Translating legal risk into business terms. “There’s a 60% chance of litigation” means nothing. What does it actually mean for the business? 11. Helping the business say yes. Not just spotting risk, but helping the team find a path forward that’s workable and smart. 12. Triage. Knowing what needs a 60-minute deep dive versus a 5-minute skim is a superpower. 13. Running effective meetings. You often own the agenda, the framing, and the tone—whether or not you're the most senior person in the room. 14. Staying calm when everyone else is spiraling. Your steadiness sets the tone. 15. Knowing how the business actually makes money. Without that, your legal advice risks missing the point. 16. Coaching junior team members (even if they don’t report to you). Being a resource makes you indispensable. 17. Delegating to outside counsel like a pro. Not just farming it out—but managing for quality, clarity, and cost. 18. Knowing when good enough is good enough. Perfectionism is expensive. And often unnecessary. 19. Working well with non-lawyers. Your job is to make complex issues understandable and solvable, not to sound smart. What would you add to this list?

Two acquaintances of mine (Alvin Lim from Climate Bridge International and Izzat Hamzah from 3Degrees) who are experienced carbon services professionals are quoted in this Straits Times article. "For Mr Alvin Lim, chief executive of local carbon project developer Climate Bridge International, the challenge goes beyond qualifications. He looks for three things in a potential hire: First, the person needs to demonstrate interest in the carbon markets by reading avidly, taking courses and doing internships. This will be reflected in the depth of knowledge, including a good grasp of project types, UN rules on carbon trading, and carbon market policies in other countries. Second, the person must be intellectually curious, he said. It is the third trait that Mr Lim has been struggling to find in local job-seekers after months of interviews – the grit and willingness to work in remote countries to oversee and monitor carbon projects. Most of the projects Singapore is expected to approve are likely to be hosted in the Global South, which includes countries in Latin America, Africa and South-east Asia. “Some people see this as an adventure and others see this as a hardship trip. What if I tell them: ‘Can you please go to Ghana and live there for a month and help us monitor the project?’ And what if you need to travel 25 per cent of the year? “And this is not even the capital of Ghana, it could be two hours away in the middle of nowhere,” Mr Lim said. “We are looking for candidates with grit and the ability to be resourceful in finding solutions, especially when operating in unfamiliar environments with limited support.” Mr Izzat Hamzah from global climate solutions provider 3Degrees believes that sustainability is less of a domain and more of a lens – a perspective that someone aspiring to join the climate space should adopt. It is about having core expertise, whether in economics, law, engineering or computer science, and applying those skills in sustainability, he said. A sustainability professional should be a “Jack of all trades, a master of some”, said the Asia-Pacific lead for trading and origination of environmental commodities. “When folks ask how they can build a career in sustainability, they miss the point. The real question is: ‘How do I develop deep expertise in my current profession – be it law or engineering – and then gear it to sustainability?”" https://lnkd.in/gQ_ug7kz

Sustainability career experts and job seekers say landing a new job in the current economy — or making yourself more valuable to your current employer — comes down to one big thing #corporatesustainability professionals have been talking up for years: The ability to link emissions reductions and other environmental initiatives to business value creation. “Position ESG as a strategic enabler, not a compliance function,” said Pamela Gill Alabaster, who left her position this month as global head of ESG and sustainability for Tylenol maker Kenvue. The person now leading sustainability at Kenvue, for example, is part of the company’s research and development organization. Other suggestions: Be selective - “You could be following the perfect playbook, but you need to be attuned to what the organization is really looking for,” said Trish Kenlon, founder of Sustainable Career Pathways, pointing to research on six archetypes that typically shape how corporations govern ESG and sustainability.   Focus on what’s material - “Does the sustainability team pay for itself through the cost-savings initiatives the team has identified, led or operationalized?” asked J.R. Siegel, vice president of sustainability for software company Worldly. “De-risking is equally important, but it's harder to put a financial number on that work. Empower other business leaders - “Sustainability professionals just spent the past few years understanding every minute detail of the business to repurpose that data for reporting,” said author Matthew Sekol, a Microsoft “sustainability black belt” who helps advise the company’s customers. “Don't squander the opportunity for improvements and innovations that you are sitting on.   Create a ‘brand’ book - “Every time you complete a project, deliver something on time or support a business win, take note of it and make sure your leadership team knows about it,” said Ashley Fahey, former senior manager of global product sustainability at Kohler, who left the company in May. “Don’t be afraid to toot your own horn.” More career advice: https://lnkd.in/eVGN2qVJ Desta A. Raines Ellen Weinreb

Here are three key pieces of advice for those beginning their careers in AI and Sustainability (drawn from my two decades of experience) ... 1. Master the fundamentals first In both AI and sustainability, foundational literacy is non-negotiable. Learn basic coding, critical thinking, understand materiality assessments, scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, as well as regulatory frameworks such as ... > the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) > Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) > Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) > the GHG Protocol 2. Invest in yourself The most sustainable asset in your career will always be you. Learn to learn. Attend quality and often free online training, join conferences, pick up general or specialized ESG certifications. Keep up with the latest thinking. Some notable annual events on climate action, social and environmental stewardship are … 📍Climate Week NYC 📍COP 30, United Nations Climate Change Conference  📍World Economic Forum (WEF), Davos Some of the most storied AI & ML Conferences include ... - NeurIPS, Neural Information Processing Systems - a focus on neural networks https://nips.cc - [ICML] Int'l Conference on Machine Learning, International Conference on Machine Learning - is focused on machine learning in general https://icml.cc - ICLR, International Conference on Learning Representations - with deep learning or learning representations as a thrust area https://iclr.cc 3. Seek interdisciplinary exposure The most valuable roles in the future may well be the emerging are "Sustainable AI Engineers" who understand both ML algorithms and environmental systems. And here's one important insight that’s often overlooked … Reach out to industry mentors who might be happy to guide you on your learning and experimentation journey. Their guidance can accelerate both your learning and impact. I hope that this serves as a useful starting point. Feel free to tag someone who might benefit from this advice! #Career #AI #Sustainability

The Trojan Horse approach for sustainability careers. Most sustainability professionals don't start in sustainability roles. They begin elsewhere and strategically integrate their environmental expertise into core business functions. They understand that companies are not hiring sustainability experts. They are hiring experts who think sustainably. They master essential business capabilities first, then embed sustainability thinking throughout their work. This strategic integration creates professionals who speak the language of business while advancing environmental goals, across multiple business functions. Financial Services: Analysts and bankers are incorporating climate risk modeling into investment decisions and developing innovative green financing products. Operations Management: Engineers are implementing waste reduction and circular economy principles and designs into manufacturing processes. Technology Development: Software developers are building ESG data platforms and creating automated systems for carbon tracking and reporting. Strategic Planning: Business strategists are embedding long-term environmental considerations into corporate planning frameworks. Marketing and Branding: Marketers are developing purpose-driven and sustainable brands, and focusing on stakeholder engagement and transparency. The professionals advancing in the sustainability market are those who have established credibility in core business areas while developing deep environmental expertise. This combination enables them to influence decision-making from positions of established trust and competence.

Core Skills & Careers 2030: What Do We Need to Prepare For? The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report paints a fascinating picture of how work will evolve by 2030. One thing is crystal clear: it’s not just about what you know anymore, but about how you think, adapt, and apply knowledge across contexts. Look at the framework: ⚒️Emerging Skills : networks & cybersecurity, environmental stewardship, design thinking. ⚒️Core Skills of 2030 : AI & big data, analytical thinking, creativity, leadership, resilience, empathy. ⚒️Steady Skills : attention to detail, service orientation, operations. ⚒️Out-of-focus Skills : manual dexterity, rote math, simple programming. 💡 Translation? The future is human + tech + adaptability. 🔑 The Skills Employers Will Pay For 1. AI + Big Data Fluency • Every career — finance, healthcare, marketing, sustainability — will need professionals who can interpret, not just operate AI. • Careers: Data-driven strategists, AI ethicists, business analysts, digital product leaders. 2. Creative & Analytical Thinking • When algorithms automate the “easy thinking,” value shifts to solving ambiguous, complex problems. • Careers: Innovation consultants, product designers, growth strategists, research scientists. 3. Leadership & Social Influence • The hybrid workplace needs leaders who can influence without authority, build culture across geographies, and manage change. • Careers: Organizational development leaders, change managers, startup founders. 4. Resilience, Flexibility & Agility • Career paths will no longer be straight lines but zigzags. Those who thrive will be quick to pivot, reskill, and reinvent. • Careers: Portfolio professionals, gig leaders, adaptive entrepreneurs. 5. Systems Thinking & Sustainability • Businesses will be evaluated not just on profit, but on impact. Thinking in terms of ecosystems is a career superpower. • Careers: ESG specialists, policy analysts, systems designers. 🧭 How Do You Prepare for This Future? 🧰Invest in Cognitive Agility → Focus less on memorization, more on problem-solving frameworks. 🧰Build Digital Fluency → AI, automation, cybersecurity, data literacy — not optional. 🧰Develop Human-Centric Skills → Empathy, influence, collaboration will be your competitive edge. 🧰Stay Perpetually Curious → “Learnability” may soon be more important than degrees. 🧰Think in Careers 2.0 → Instead of one career identity, prepare for career portfolios. You might be a consultant, creator, and strategist — all in one decade. 🌍 The Big Shift By 2030, careers won’t be chosen only by industry (finance, healthcare, tech). They’ll be shaped by skills ecosystems. Employers will ask: • Can you analyze and adapt? • Can you lead humans and leverage machines? • Can you sustain yourself through reinvention? Those who master these core skills will not just “fit” into future careers — they’ll create them. #careers #futureofwork #careerstrategy #growthmindset #upskill

Environmental Consultants & Ecologists: The Sustainability Skills That Will Define Your Career For years, environmental assessments were seen as a compliance exercise. 🔹A report to get a permit. 🔹A hurdle to clear before breaking ground. But here’s the reality: 🔹Environmental and ecological expertise is becoming central to climate strategy. 🔹Your insights don’t just inform impact statements—they shape decarbonization, resilience, and regeneration. 🔹If you care about relevance, influence, and future-proofing your work, this is the time to upskill. 🔹Because no matter where you are in your career—sustainability is no longer optional. Key Takeaways: 🔹 Environmental and ecological expertise is moving from compliance to strategic leadership in climate and sustainability. 🔹 Professionals who can connect impact assessment, nature-based solutions, biodiversity credits, and GHG accounting will be at the center of the transition to Net Zero. 🔹 Many of these skills are now embedded in major frameworks and expectations—IFC, IUCN, IPCC, TCFD, GHG Protocol—that increasingly shape project funding and approvals. 🔹 There are thousands of resources—books, free tools, paid courses, and online platforms. It doesn’t matter whether they’re free or premium. Knowledge is everywhere. The only question is whether you’ll decide where to start—and start. One step after the other. If you’ve already developed any of these skills, please share in the comments which course, book, or platform you used. Your experience might inspire someone else to begin. #EnvironmentalConsulting #Ecology #BiodiversityNetGain #NatureBasedSolutions #EIA #ClimateAction #GHGAccounting #SustainabilitySkills #ClimateResilience #EcosystemServices #NetZero #CareerGrowth #Decarbonization #ESG #FutureOfWork