In this episode, guest host Stephanie Sanders, Global Patent Operations Chief at Kilpatrick Townsend, speaks with two professional development experts about how to become the CEO of your legal career.

Katie White is the Director of Employer Outreach at the George Washington University Law School and the principal at KT White Law Careers, a career coaching firm specializing in working with attorneys embarking on new careers. Before joining GW Law, Katie was Chief Attorney Recruiting Officer at Akin Gump, and prior to that role, she worked in attorney recruiting and professional development at a number of firms, including Dickstein Shapiro, Morgan Lewis, and Cleary Gottlieb.

Colleen Bear is the Senior Professional Development Manager at Kilpatrick Townsend. She has more than 20 years of experience in professional development, including organizational development and change talent assessment, leadership development, performance improvement, sales effectiveness, strategic planning, program management, and facilitation. She is an expert facilitator, and a highly impactful executive coach, and strategic consultant.

In short, our two guests are the ideal people to speak with when you need career advice.

In this episode, we’re going to discuss the challenges and opportunities that all lawyers face, regardless of whether they are just starting out or are more advanced in their careers. From upleveling yourself as a lawyer to effective networking strategies to making good career choices in the moment to speaking up and creating the right work environment for yourself, this episode is all about how – and why – you should take charge of your career in 2022.

Highlights include:

• The evolution of law firms (3:33)
• Taking advantage of professional development opportunities (4:37)
• Building relationships at all stages of a legal career (8:24)
• Accruing career equity by contributing to the firm and the legal profession (10:12)
• The value of being visible and engaged (13:20)
• Diversifying your work portfolio (20:35)
• How to economy-proof your job (24:58)
• Succeeding as an introvert (26:46)
• Growing a network of loud fans (29:44)
• Becoming aware of the thousands of individual choices that create our career (34:20)
• The importance of speaking up for yourself as a woman attorney (40:57)
• Recognizing and accepting informal mentorship (46:40)
• Managing first impressions for best impact (49:28)
• Learning to be more observant in order to become a better lawyer and leader (52:09)