Landing Well, Leading Strong
Watch On-Demand
Your first 90 days as General Counsel can set the tone for everything that follows. In this on-demand session, seasoned GCs share the exact moves that helped them earn trust fast, align legal with business goals, and build a durable operating plan for the year ahead.
What you’ll learn:
- How to run discovery in your first 30/60/90 days (who to meet, what to ask, and how to turn notes into action).
- Early-win tactics that build credibility without chasing vanity metrics.
- Turning interviews into a Legal Roadmap aligned to OKRs—and getting executive buy-in.
- Preparing for your first board meeting and presenting enterprise risk like the expert in the room.
- Moving from triage → transformation: ship a V1, set a “good enough” bar, then iterate.
- Building influence by embedding legal in the business and “marketing” your team’s work.
- Trust builders: confidently say “I don’t know—will revert,” then close the loop.
- Biggest mistakes new GCs make (overcommitting, misaligned priorities) and how to avoid them.
In this webinar, we cover:
00:00 Welcome address
02:02 Moderator & speaker intros
04:04 Nithya’s path: AppNexus → Diligent; why the first year feels intense
07:44 Selena’s path to GC at Seismic; law-firm → in-house shift
08:57 Framing the first 100 days: map the business, clarify expectations
12:43 Your first board meeting: you’re the legal expert—own enterprise risk
13:34 Use the “ask-anything” license of the first 100 days
16:30 Early wins vs. vanity wins—what actually builds credibility
18:06 Show progress by Day 90: five concrete checks off the list
21:39 From discovery to Legal Roadmap/OKRs; secure exec alignment
22:30 The 90-day executive debrief practice (Grammarly example)
26:46 Triage vs. transformation; setting a “good enough” standard
28:35 “Market the legal team”: perception, comms, and intake hygiene
33:07 Reactive → strategic: embed counsel with product/GTMS functions
39:30 Trust moves: say “don’t know” confidently, then close the loop
44:41 Rapid-fire + audience Q&A
45:09 Biggest mistakes new GCs make (and fixes)
51:02 Most rewarding parts of the role; impact stories
55:30 Handling competing priorities; aligning stakeholders
59:41Wrap-up
References:
- The First-Time GCs Survival Guide: https://www.spotdraft.com/first-time-gc-checklist
- The Counsel Corner: https://www.spotdraft.com/blog-topics/the-counsel-corner
- 5 Things you should know about being a General Counsel: https://www.spotdraft.com/blog/5-things-to-know-about-a-general-counsel
04:04 Nithya’s path: AppNexus → Diligent; why the first year feels intense
07:44 Selena’s path to GC at Seismic; law-firm → in-house shift
08:57 Framing the first 100 days: map the business, clarify expectations
12:43 Your first board meeting: you’re the legal expert—own enterprise risk
13:34 Use the “ask-anything” license of the first 100 days
16:30 Early wins vs. vanity wins—what actually builds credibility
18:06 Show progress by Day 90: five concrete checks off the list
21:39 From discovery to Legal Roadmap/OKRs; secure exec alignment
22:30 The 90-day executive debrief practice (Grammarly example)
26:46 Triage vs. transformation; setting a “good enough” standard
28:35 “Market the legal team”: perception, comms, and intake hygiene
33:07 Reactive → strategic: embed counsel with product/GTMS functions
39:30 Trust moves: say “don’t know” confidently, then close the loop
44:41 Rapid-fire + audience Q&A
45:09 Biggest mistakes new GCs make (and fixes)
51:02 Most rewarding parts of the role; impact stories
55:30 Handling competing priorities; aligning stakeholders
59:41Wrap-up
References:
- The First-Time GCs Survival Guide: https://www.spotdraft.com/first-time-gc-checklist
- The Counsel Corner: https://www.spotdraft.com/blog-topics/the-counsel-corner
- 5 Things you should know about being a General Counsel: https://www.spotdraft.com/blog/5-things-to-know-about-a-general-counsel
04:04 Nithya’s path: AppNexus → Diligent; why the first year feels intense
07:44 Selena’s path to GC at Seismic; law-firm → in-house shift
08:57 Framing the first 100 days: map the business, clarify expectations
12:43 Your first board meeting: you’re the legal expert—own enterprise risk
13:34 Use the “ask-anything” license of the first 100 days
16:30 Early wins vs. vanity wins—what actually builds credibility
18:06 Show progress by Day 90: five concrete checks off the list
21:39 From discovery to Legal Roadmap/OKRs; secure exec alignment
22:30 The 90-day executive debrief practice (Grammarly example)
26:46 Triage vs. transformation; setting a “good enough” standard
28:35 “Market the legal team”: perception, comms, and intake hygiene
33:07 Reactive → strategic: embed counsel with product/GTMS functions
39:30 Trust moves: say “don’t know” confidently, then close the loop
44:41 Rapid-fire + audience Q&A
45:09 Biggest mistakes new GCs make (and fixes)
51:02 Most rewarding parts of the role; impact stories
55:30 Handling competing priorities; aligning stakeholders
59:41Wrap-up
References:
- The First-Time GCs Survival Guide: https://www.spotdraft.com/first-time-gc-checklist
- The Counsel Corner: https://www.spotdraft.com/blog-topics/the-counsel-corner
- 5 Things you should know about being a General Counsel: https://www.spotdraft.com/blog/5-things-to-know-about-a-general-counsel
04:04 Nithya’s path: AppNexus → Diligent; why the first year feels intense
07:44 Selena’s path to GC at Seismic; law-firm → in-house shift
08:57 Framing the first 100 days: map the business, clarify expectations
12:43 Your first board meeting: you’re the legal expert—own enterprise risk
13:34 Use the “ask-anything” license of the first 100 days
16:30 Early wins vs. vanity wins—what actually builds credibility
18:06 Show progress by Day 90: five concrete checks off the list
21:39 From discovery to Legal Roadmap/OKRs; secure exec alignment
22:30 The 90-day executive debrief practice (Grammarly example)
26:46 Triage vs. transformation; setting a “good enough” standard
28:35 “Market the legal team”: perception, comms, and intake hygiene
33:07 Reactive → strategic: embed counsel with product/GTMS functions
39:30 Trust moves: say “don’t know” confidently, then close the loop
44:41 Rapid-fire + audience Q&A
45:09 Biggest mistakes new GCs make (and fixes)
51:02 Most rewarding parts of the role; impact stories
55:30 Handling competing priorities; aligning stakeholders
59:41Wrap-up
References:
- The First-Time GCs Survival Guide: https://www.spotdraft.com/first-time-gc-checklist
- The Counsel Corner: https://www.spotdraft.com/blog-topics/the-counsel-corner
- 5 Things you should know about being a General Counsel: https://www.spotdraft.com/blog/5-things-to-know-about-a-general-counsel
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