What led you to join Elevate Flexible resourcing as a legal secondee?
I joined Elevate as a legal secondee because it allowed me to work in my chosen industry as a commercial lawyer.
What are the most compelling aspects of working as an Elevate Flexible lawyer?
Working as a flexible lawyer with Elevate provides a combination of varied projects, the opportunity to make an immediate impact, and the chance to learn far beyond what other roles allow. The variety of work keeps me engaged and lets me work with different companies in industries that interest me.
What have been the highlights of your secondments?
Being a secondee means working as a colleague with a company’s full-time employees with real responsibility for a wide range of substantive matters. My secondments have included being the lead lawyer for a company’s business development activities to expand their geographic footprint and revenue streams and serving as the lead counsel on all product development, manufacturing, and supply operations for a company’s technical operations business unit. I have also led the work on a $500+ million deal, been a member of a business’s C-suite leadership team, and served as the managing counsel of a business transforming transaction to change the distribution model for a company.
What have been the similarities and differences between your secondee positions?
Each secondment is unique, but in all of them, I worked side-by-side with the client’s employees as part of a team. This enables me to take ownership of and be accountable for my work and deliver the results the client needed. High performance, in turn, builds a relationship of trust and respect. Forging those sorts of relationships remains the prominent – and most rewarding – similarity across my secondments.
What are some key insights you have gained about how to thrive as a legal secondee?
Clients need a secondee to provide pragmatic and nuanced solutions to the problem at hand. To thrive as a secondee, you must have more than legal knowledge. Experience is crucial. Often, my in-house colleagues face a type of situation that is new to them but that I helped tackle at several other companies. I bring an informed perspective along with a fresh outlook and creative approaches. That combination is invaluable to clients.
What aspects of a secondee position are most important/interesting to you?
I thrive on variety and enjoy scaling the learning curve that accompanies every new assignment. Secondments provide ample opportunity for both. Working in a flex capacity with Elevate enables me to gain familiarity with different industries and choose the types of work that match my interests and expertise.
What is an important aspect of secondments that people who haven’t done any might not realise?
Adding value beyond legal knowledge is crucial because the most valuable secondees help solve business problems. Long-time employees often get locked into certain assumptions and ways of thinking that prevent coming up with the best solution or innovative approaches. A good secondee is simultaneously part of the client’s team yet can also step back, see the situation with fresh eyes, and draw on lessons learned handling similar challenges at other companies.
To anyone thinking about becoming a secondee, what advice do you have?
Prospective secondees should understand the differences between that role and working as an employee of a law department. Secondments provide flexibility and allow you to specialise in a particular practice area. In contrast, working as a law department employee provides the possibility of rising through the department’s ranks to positions involving, for example, greater management responsibilities. My advice is to begin by clarifying both your professional and personal goals. Being a secondee can be a great way to achieve the balance you want between your personal and professional lives and still have a rewarding and fulfilling career.