Lessons I Learned in Law

In this instalment of our Lessons Relearned in Law recap series, Scott revisits four past conversations that tackle a question raised at nearly every legal conference and within The Lodge community: how do lawyers earn a genuine seat at the top table?

The episode opens with Steph Lopes, Chief Legal Officer at Volt, on the idea that you're a business leader as well as a lawyer — the business needs more than just your legal brain. Scott builds on this by noting that a recent report found around 45% of GC and CLO appointments are internal versus 55% external, and that visibility with the people around your immediate stakeholders is often the deciding factor.

Next is Emilie Mathieu, General Counsel at Checkout.com, whose episode explored how GC appointments really get made. The practical takeaway: the people most likely to open your next door don't necessarily sit within legal, so mapping your stakeholders, picking two to genuinely help this quarter, and being deliberately visible in your work matters more than traditional networking.

The third clip features Anoop Joshi, at the time of recording Chief Trust Officer at Trustpilot and now SVP, Legal at Airalo, on the discipline of "it starts with a table" — mapping the key elements, issues and owners of a project before diving in — and progress over perfection: get work to 80% and ship it rather than waiting for it to feel ready.

The final clip is Katja Fenton, General Counsel at Fugro in the Netherlands, recorded shortly after she stepped into the role, on reframing imposter syndrome as a sign of growth rather than something to suppress — a feeling that shows up precisely because you're stretching into something new.

Scott closes with the same thread running through all four: nobody lands on the exec table by accident — most had to ask for it, and being visible is what gets you there.

This episode is brought to you in partnership with Wordsmith AI — the legal AI platform built specifically for in-house teams.

Resources & Links Mentioned in This Episode

Register your interest in joining The Lodge In-house Legal Community: https://bit.ly/TheLodgebyHB
Heriot Brown: https://heriotbrown.com/
Wordsmith AI: https://www.wordsmith.ai/
Legal Engineering Project Application form: https://wordsmith.fillout.com/legalengproject

Listen to the Podcast

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/61xrrepWuWxNsnXIaYxsj5
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lessons-i-learned-in-law/id1563397804
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@HeriotBrownInHouseRecruitment

Connect with Heriot Brown https://heriotbrown.com/

About Heriot Brown:

At Heriot Brown, we help lawyers find fulfilment in their careers. Beyond recruitment, we foster a thriving community of in-house legal professionals who share insights, experiences, and growth opportunities.

Enjoyed this episode? 

Subscribe to Lessons I Learned in Law, leave a review, and share it with someone building their case for a seat at the table.

Alistair Day is General Counsel for International at AECOM, the US-headquartered construction and engineering business, leading a team of 65 lawyers across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia and New Zealand. He joined AECOM seven years ago and stepped into the international GC role three years ago, having started out covering the UK and Ireland before his remit grew to include India, Europe, and beyond. Before AECOM, Alistair trained as a litigator and made partner in private practice, before moving in-house to Bechtel.
In this episode of Lessons I Learned in Law, Alistair talks about what makes for a genuinely embedded legal function, why the litigator-to-in-house move is often underrated, and how AECOM is putting AI and legal ops to work.
His three lessons: first, confidence in having a voice — the best in-house lawyers don't just advise on the legal risk, they engage with what the business is trying to achieve, and that confidence builds over time and repeated exposure to the exec table. Second, flexibility and embracing change — there's never been a more exciting time to be an in-house lawyer, but that means genuinely engaging with AI and technology rather than assuming the job stays the same. Third, have a real passion for the industry you're in — people can tell whether a lawyer actually cares about what the business does, and that interest is what earns trust and buy-in.
He also shares due-diligence questions for lawyers considering a move in-house — including whether legal reviews decisions or actually approves them — and reflects on why litigators often make excellent in-house hires.
This episode is brought to you in partnership with Wordsmith AI — the legal AI platform built specifically for in-house teams.
Resources & Links Mentioned in This Episode
Register your interest in joining The Lodge In-house Legal Community: https://bit.ly/TheLodgebyHB
Heriot Brown: https://heriotbrown.com/
Wordsmith AI: https://www.wordsmith.ai/
Legal Engineering Project Application form: https://wordsmith.fillout.com/legalengproject
Listen to the Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/61xrrepWuWxNsnXIaYxsj5
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lessons-i-learned-in-law/id1563397804
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@HeriotBrownInHouseRecruitment
Connect with Heriot Brown
https://heriotbrown.com/
About Heriot Brown:
At Heriot Brown, we help lawyers find fulfilment in their careers. Beyond recruitment, we foster a thriving community of in-house legal professionals who share insights, experiences, and growth opportunities.
Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to Lessons I Learned in Law, leave a review, and share it with someone building their career in legal leadership.

In this episode of Lessons Relearned in Law, Scott looks back across the Lessons I Learned in Law archive to explore what happens when in-house legal careers move beyond the traditional boundaries of the legal role.
This recap episode brings together clips from previous guests, each offering a different perspective on how lawyers can build careers that go beyond legal advice alone. The common thread is that none of these career moves were presented as superhuman or perfectly planned. Instead, they came from deliberate choices, uncomfortable opportunities and a willingness to think more broadly about what lawyers can contribute.
Scott reflects on James’s point that meaningful career change often starts with one honest question: are you in your current role because you chose it, or because it was simply the next thing available? From there, the episode turns to Pola’s lesson on choosing discomfort, and why messy, challenging work can teach lawyers more in a few months than years of routine business-as-usual activity.
Finally, Jim Reid shares why senior lawyers need to step away from being the expert in every detail and start thinking like the person who runs the room. For aspiring legal leaders, the message is practical: choose deliberately, pick discomfort, and watch how your CEO operates — then try it for yourself.
Resources & Links Mentioned in This Episode
Register your interest in joining The Lodge In-house Legal Community: https://bit.ly/TheLodgebyHB
Heriot Brown: https://heriotbrown.com/
Wordsmith AI: https://www.wordsmith.ai/
Legal Engineering Project Application form: https://wordsmith.fillout.com/legalengproject
Listen to the Podcast
Spotify: [LINK]
Apple Podcasts: [LINK]
YouTube: [LINK]
Connect with Heriot Brown
https://heriotbrown.com/
About Heriot Brown:
At Heriot Brown, we help lawyers find fulfilment in their careers. Beyond recruitment, we foster a thriving community of in-house legal professionals who share insights, experiences, and growth opportunities.
Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to Lessons I Learned in Law, leave a review, and share it with someone thinking about what their legal career could become next.

Christie McCluskey is Chief Legal and People Officer at Ooni, the pizza oven and cooking products company, having joined in 2022 as its first in-house lawyer. Before Ooni, she spent almost six years at William Grant & Sons, home to brands including Glenfiddich and Balvenie whisky and Hendrick's Gin, after training and qualifying in Scotland.
In this episode of Lessons I Learned in Law, Christie talks through building a legal function from scratch at a fast-growing, founder-led business, and the shift in mindset that came with moving from a 130-year-old institution to a younger, more agile one.
Her three lessons: first, that legal is only one lens — good in-house lawyers give firm advice while recognising there are other legitimate factors at play, and that the job is to navigate risk rather than eliminate it entirely. Second, that it's okay to say "I don't know yet" — slowing a decision down to get it right is different from blocking it, and confidence and self-doubt can coexist productively. Third, to find your passion within the role — for Christie, that's the relationship-building that comes from sitting across every part of the business — because a sustainable legal career needs more than just the technical work.
She also reflects on Ooni's growth from Scotland to Austin, Texas, and the value of building a strong network within Scotland's legal community.
This episode is brought to you in partnership with Wordsmith AI — the legal AI platform built specifically for in-house teams.
Resources & Links Mentioned in This Episode
Register your interest in joining The Lodge In-house Legal Community: https://bit.ly/TheLodgebyHB
Heriot Brown: https://heriotbrown.com/
Wordsmith AI: https://www.wordsmith.ai/
Legal Engineering Project Application form: https://wordsmith.fillout.com/legalengproject
Listen to the Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4H4tBzknDSCejrvIqKxKyi
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lessons-i-learned-in-law/id1563397804
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@HeriotBrownInHouseRecruitment
Connect with Heriot Brown
https://heriotbrown.com/

Umar Aziz, Partner, Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel at DG Partners, joins Scott Brown to share lessons from a career that nearly took him into shipping brokerage before a major life event brought him back to law.
In this episode of Lessons I Learned in Law, Umar reflects on how personal circumstances shaped the start of his legal career, including his decision to return to Clifford Chance after initially turning down his training contract. His first lesson is that there is more to life than work. Drawing on his own experiences of loss, family responsibility and high-pressure legal environments, he discusses the importance of building a full life outside the job — and why excellence matters across work, family, friendships and personal pursuits.
His second lesson comes from advice he received early in his career: learn from the best bits of the lawyers around you. Umar explains why every lawyer you work with has something worth copying — and something worth leaving behind.
His final lesson challenges the idea that lawyers should always try to “win” every point. Whether negotiating with clients, managing internal teams or building long-term business relationships, Umar argues that sustainable success comes from fairness, trust and mutual respect — not squeezing every last drop out of the other side.
Along the way, Umar discusses moving from litigation into funds, the transition from private practice into DG Partners, his COO and GC role, and why full-contact karate helps him stay disciplined, present and switched off from work. 
This episode is brought to you in partnership with Wordsmith AI — the legal AI platform built specifically for in-house teams.
Guest Recommendations
Sport: Full-contact karate 
Sauce of choice: Buffalo or curry sauce 
Resources & Links Mentioned in This Episode
Register your interest in joining The Lodge In-house Legal Community: https://bit.ly/TheLodgebyHB 
Heriot Brown: https://heriotbrown.com/ 
Wordsmith AI: https://www.wordsmith.ai/ 
Legal Engineering Project Application form: https://wordsmith.fillout.com/legalengproject 
Listen to the Podcast
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/
 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/4
 YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/
Connect with Heriot Brown
https://heriotbrown.com/ 
About Heriot Brown:
At Heriot Brown, we help lawyers find fulfilment in their careers. Beyond recruitment, we foster a thriving community of in-house legal professionals who share insights, experiences, and growth opportunities.
Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to Lessons I Learned in Law, leave a review, and share it with someone building their career in legal leadership.
Chapters:
 00:00 Intro – Umar Aziz & DG Partners  
 03:40 Turning down Clifford Chance twice  
 09:28 From private practice to GC & COO  
 16:12 Lesson 1 – There’s more to life than work  
 24:03 Karate, resilience & switching off  
 30:08 Lesson 2 – Learn from great lawyers  
 34:22 Lesson 3 – Winning isn’t everything  
 39:55 Building long-term relationships  
 44:31 GC, COO & wearing multiple hats  
 56:42 Hot or Not, AI & closing thoughts