Lessons Relearned: Earning Your Seat at the Table

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.