Episode 91-Transitioning Your Legal Career to In-house and Beyond With Amy Katz

Counsel to Counsel - Career Advice for Lawyers

Over the last 25 years, I’ve spoken to many lawyers who have expressed interest in going in-house. When I graduated from law school in the late 1980s, opportunities to work in a corporate environment were more limited. Today, there are many more lawyers working in-house. So what has changed? And more importantly, what does it mean to leave behind a law firm job.

Since most in-house jobs are no guarantee of lifetime employment, how should lawyers position themselves for future career success after they shift their careers in-house?

My guest, Amy Katz, is someone whose career I’ve been following for over 20 years. She began her career in a large firm, but has experience working for a major biotech company, going back into private practice, and more recently, has been working in non-practicing roles as a recruiter.

Today, Amy is the Chief Talent Officer for Outside GC.

Prior to rejoining Outside GC she did in-house recruiting for Major, Lindsey & Africa where she focused on recruiting general counsel and other in-house attorneys in a wide range of industries, most notably life sciences and technology.

Amy’s career experience also includes over 25 years as a practicing employment attorney. Prior to joining MLA, Amy was a Member at Outside GC, advising employers on a wide range of employment law matters, conducting workplace and academic investigations, and designing and delivering compliance training. Before that, she served as senior employment counsel for Genzyme Corporation.

Amy began her legal career in the employment law department of the Boston law firm Foley Hoag LLP. Most importantly, she is someone who I consider a friend.

In this episode, Amy shares her insights about moving from private practice to in-house to a virtual law firm and finally into legal recruiting.

Additional Resources

• Episode 86-Career and Life Lessons from Jim Durham-A Pioneer in Legal Marketing
• Episode 78-Transitioning to General Counsel-Career Lessons from a Litigator
• Episode 66-Going In-house with David Sclar (see show notes for additional resources)