What does it take to move from being a lawyer to becoming a true business leader?

In this episode of In-House Counsel Chronicles, I sit down with Cary Zimmerman, Chief Legal & Compliance Officer at GBX Group, to discuss her 21-year legal career spanning law firms, startups, public companies, and executive leadership.

Cary shares insights on transitioning from legal advisor to strategic executive, developing leadership skills, and growing into what she calls your "executive self." She also discusses building credibility with business leaders, leading through organizational change, and the evolving role of legal departments.

The conversation explores the impact of artificial intelligence on the legal profession, the future of legal operations and analytics, and the skills today's attorneys need to remain relevant and effective leaders in a rapidly changing environment.

In this episode, I sit down with Natasha Bowman, General Counsel of NeilMed Pharmaceuticals to talk through her transition from litigation to leading the legal function of a family-owned business.

We discuss: building legal systems from scratch; navigating the realities of being the sole in-house counsel; how AI is actually being used in day to day legal work; practical advice for networking and career growth; and unique considerations when supporting a family-owned business

Her perspective as a sole GC in a family-owned business is especially insightful.

In this episode, Valissa Turner Howard, Chief People Officer & General Counsel at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank and I talk about:

• Building a nontraditional path from law school to executive leadership

• Lessons from the Inspector General’s office that still shape her decisions today

• What it really looks like to lead both legal and HR

• Using your legal career as a vehicle for community impact

One of my favorite takeaways: “Think intentionally about impact—not just title”