As
the
year
comes
to
an
end,
it
is
a
natural
time
for
some
pause
and
reflection.
Beyond
reviewing
and
reflecting
on
everything
you
may
have
accomplished
and
updating
your
“done
list”
in
anticipation
of
pending
performance
reviews
and
proving
your
value,
it
may
also
be
a
good
time
to
consider
the
three
S’s:
Stop,
Start,
and
Smart,
whether
you
do
this
as
an
individual
or
with
your
legal
team.
Stop
While
it
may
have
been
a
former
badge
of
honor
in
private
practice
to
do
as
much
work
as
possible
due
to
the
billable
hour
system,
when
you’re
in-house,
it
is
more
important
to
work
on
the
most
impactful
or
pressing
work
and
to
work
as
efficiently
as
possible.
Not
all
work
is
created
equal,
and
busy
work
for
the
sake
of
being
busy
is
wasteful.
With
that
perspective
in
mind,
as
you
reflect
upon
the
work
you’ve
done
all
year
—
what
should
you
stop
doing?
Is
there
low
value
work
that
should
stop
or
is
there
work
that
may
need
to
be
done
but
is
better
delegated
to
someone
else
or
outsourced
(presuming
you
have
that
ability)?
For
example,
could
you
create
a
checklist
or
template
so
that
your
clients
can
“self-serve”
and
only
seek
legal
assistance
if
complex?
Start
On
the
opposite
end
of
that
spectrum,
consider
what
should
you
start
doing.
After
reflecting
on
the
year,
take
some
time
to
also
look
ahead
—
are
there
projects
or
business
priorities
that
you
should
be
spending
your
time
on?
As
an
astute
in-house
counsel
who
is
aware
of
pending
legislation
and
who
anticipates
issues
and
trends
from
staying
on
top
of
legal
publications,
attending
conferences,
leveraging
your
relationships
with
outside
counsel
and
benchmarking
with
your
network,
what
should
be
at
the
top
of
your
list
for
2022
and
beyond?
For
this
question,
I
find
that
it’s
helpful
to
address
in
two
separate
segments.
First,
have
a
free
brainstorming
session
and
think
of
as
many
things
as
you
can.
You
want
to
start
with
a
comprehensive
list.
Second,
have
a
prioritizing
session.
Consider
your
resources
and
company’s
objectives
and
prioritize
accordingly.
Smart
My
favorite
“S”
is
smart.
For
the
work
that
you’re
currently
doing
that
needs
to
continue
—
consider
whether
it
can
be
done
smarter,
more
efficiently,
or
could
the
process
or
work
product
be
improved
in
some
way.
To
do
this
well,
you
have
to
deconstruct
the
why
—
the
reason
behind
the
work
in
the
first
place,
and
then
consider
whether
there
are
other
ways
to
achieve
that
why.
This
is
my
favorite
“S”
because
it’s
a
space
where
in-house
counsel
can
really
stand
out
by
using
their
creativity
and
natural
problem-solving
skills
to
better
serve
their
legal
department
and
business
clients.
And
if
you
geek
out
over
this
reflection
exercise
as
much
as
I
do,
you
may
even
consider
how
to
apply
this
outside
of
work
and
in
your
personal
life.
Meyling
“Mey”
Ly
Ortiz
is
in-house
at
Toyota
Motor
North
America.
Her
passions
include
mentoring,
championing
belonging,
and
a
personal
blog:
TheMeybe.com.
At
home,
you
can
find
her
doing
her
best
to
be
a
“fun”
mom
to
a
toddler
and
preschooler
and
chasing
her
best
self
on
her
Peloton.
You
can
follow
her
on
LinkedIn
(https://www.linkedin.com/in/meybe/).
And
you
knew
this
was
coming:
her
opinions
are
hers
alone.