Lessons Relearned: Escaping the Department of No

In this instalment of our Lessons Relearned in Law recap series, Scott revisits four past conversations on a reputation many in-house teams are trying to shake: the Department of No. It isn't a personality transplant, and it doesn't mean changing your approach to risk. It comes down to a few learnable habits in how you answer questions and take answers back to your stakeholders.

The episode opens with Alex O'Connell on why "is it legal?" is almost never the right question, and why the better move is to unpack what the business is actually trying to do.

Next, Douglas McClure on understanding what you're being asked, why, and what the company's attitude to risk is. Scott's practical step: before saying no, write down the risk you're assessing and find one route that gets the business most of what it wants. Even if the answer stays no, you've tried to get to yes.

Daniel Winterfeldt, General Counsel for EMEA and Asia at Jefferies, adds that almost every problem has a solution. Scott pairs it with a simple exercise: find out your stakeholder's number for the quarter, whether revenue, launch date or headcount, and treat it as your North Star.

Finally, David Flavell, General Counsel at PepsiCo, on putting commercial solutions on people's desks rather than problems. He prefers four bullet points (the issue, the concern, the proposed solution, can we talk) to a five-page memo, and shows his working afterwards.

Scott closes with a reminder to keep a log of the problems you've solved. It becomes your greatest-hits list for the next promotion or interview.

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.

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