In
early
2025,
I
wrote
about
professional
life
feeling
like
a
raging
wildfire.
I
encouraged
in-house
lawyers
to
stop
wrestling
with
what
they
cannot
manage
and
to
focus
on
navigating
forward
instead.
That
message
still
holds
true.
I
have
since
been
thinking
more
about
what
navigating
forward
actually
looks
like
day
to
day.
Accepting
that
the
environment
is
unpredictable
is
the
first
step.
Performing
well
inside
that
unpredictability
is
the
harder
one.
The
Environment
Has
Not
Calmed
Down
If
anything,
the
pace
has
picked
up.
You
are
working
in
an
environment
where
there
are
reorganizations,
leadership
changes,
strategy
shifting,
and
conflicting
priorities.
None
of
these
are
new
for
anyone
who
has
spent
time
as
an
in-house
lawyer.
The
challenge
is
not
the
disruption
itself.
It
is
overcoming
the
belief
that
you
must
absorb
every
piece
of
it
personally,
without
boundaries,
without
pause,
and
without
acknowledging
that
the
ground
keeps
shifting
beneath
you.
Functioning
well
does
not
require
perfect
control
over
your
environment.
It
requires
a
steady
hand
in
how
you
respond
when
nothing
around
you
is
steady.
Work
The
Problem
I
learned
about
this
phrase
long
before
I
became
a
lawyer,
but
I
was
only
reminded
of
it
recently
by
a
close
engineer
friend.
Work
the
problem
without
emotion,
and
without
regard
to
office
politics.
I
have
learned
to
not
fixate
on
the
hypothetical
worst-case
scenario
someone
floated
in
a
hallway
conversation.
When
a
reorganization
launches
and
reporting
lines
change,
the
question
is
not
why
leadership
did
not
loop
you
in
first.
The
real
question
is
whether
your
existing
contracts,
delegations
of
authority,
and
compliance
obligations
still
align
with
the
new
structure.
That
is
where
your
attention
belongs.
When
a
new
executive
arrives
with
a
different
risk
tolerance,
the
issue
is
not
that
your
prior
guidance
is
being
second-guessed.
The
issue
is
learning
what
this
leader
needs
from
legal
and
how
to
recalibrate
your
approach
without
abandoning
sound
judgment.
Strip
the
situation
down
to
what
actually
requires
action.
Start
there.
Be
Prepared
To
Pivot
The
guidance
you
gave
last
Tuesday
may
not
hold
by
Friday.
That
is
not
a
failure
on
your
part.
It
is
the
nature
of
this
work.
Facts
and
circumstances
are
constantly
in
motion.
A
regulatory
interpretation
shifts.
A
key
witness
recants.
A
vendor
you
relied
on
announces
it
is
closing.
A
deal
term
you
negotiated
gets
reopened
when
a
member
of
leadership
raises
a
concern
no
one
anticipated.
The
most
effective
in-house
lawyers
I
know
do
not
anchor
to
their
original
position
out
of
fear
that
changing
course
looks
like
weakness.
They
review.
They
reassess.
They
revise
their
guidance
when
the
facts
call
for
it.
Consistency
matters.
Rigidity
does
not.
Knowing
where
that
line
falls
is
part
of
the
judgment
you
bring
to
the
table.
You
Are
Dealing
With
People
This
is
the
part
that
no
legal
training
fully
prepares
you
for.
You
are
not
managing
statutes
or
contract
provisions
in
a
vacuum.
You
are
dealing
with
human
beings
and
human
beings
are
not
predictable.
Employees
are
not
predictable.
Managers
are
not
predictable.
Executives
are
not
predictable.
Judges
are
not
predictable.
The
employee
who
seemed
perfectly
fine
during
last
month’s
performance
review
files
a
complaint
this
week.
The
manager
who
approved
the
policy
you
drafted
decides
to
ignore
it
when
it
becomes
inconvenient.
The
judge
who
signaled
a
favorable
ruling
at
the
hearing
issues
a
decision
that
goes
the
other
direction
entirely.
You
cannot
script
human
behavior.
You
prepare
yourself
for
variability,
and
you
build
enough
flexibility
into
your
guidance
to
absorb
it.
Check
In
—
Guide
—
Repeat
This
is
where
the
real
work
happens
for
in-house
lawyers
who
want
to
be
effective,
not
just
technically
correct.
Check
in
with
your
business
teams
regularly,
not
only
when
something
has
already
gone
sideways;
guide
them
before
the
decision
is
made,
not
after;
and
when
they
make
decisions
you
would
not
have
made,
guide
them
through
the
consequences
instead
of
reminding
them
you
warned
them.
People
do
not
come
back
to
the
lawyer
who
says,
“I
told
you
so.”
They
come
back
to
the
lawyer
who
says,
“Here
is
what
we
do.”
Do
it
again
tomorrow
and
the
day
after
that.
Showing
up
consistently
is
what
builds
the
trust
that
makes
your
guidance
worth
following
when
the
stakes
are
highest.
Panic
Is
Always
Optional
Chaos
will
find
you.
It
will
not
ask
permission.
It
will
not
wait
for
you
to
finish
the
project
you
are
already
behind
on
or
to
take
the
vacation
you
have
been
postponing.
When
it
arrives,
you
have
a
choice.
You
can
treat
every
tremor
like
a
personal
crisis
and
burn
through
whatever
reserves
you
have,
or
you
can
work
the
problem,
adjust
your
footing,
and
keep
moving.
The
in-house
lawyers
who
endure
are
not
the
ones
who
avoid
turbulence.
They
are
the
ones
who
have
learned
to
hold
steady
while
everything
around
them
does
not.
You
do
not
have
to
stop
the
fire.
You
have
to
keep
your
head
while
it
runs
its
course.
Lisa
Lang
is
an
accomplished
in-house
lawyer
and
thought
leader
dedicated
to
empowering
fellow
legal
professionals. She
offers
insights
and
resources
tailored
for
in-house
counsel
through
her
website
and
blog,
Why
This,
Not
That™
(www.lawyerlisalang.com).
Lisa
actively
engages
with
the
legal
community
via
LinkedIn,
sharing
her
expertise
and
fostering
meaningful
connections.
You
can
reach
her
at [email protected],
connect
on
LinkedIn
(https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawyerlisalang/).