In this episode
Transcript
Introduction: 00:00
- Introducing Evan Ferl, Chief Strategy Officer and GC, Bambee
Finding your passion for working in legal: 02:14
- Jumping from interest to interest in undergrad in order to learn what you really like to do.
- Taking a legal writing class and finding a passion for formulating arguments.
- Finding a path to law school based on understanding your interests.
Starting his career at NASA with a cold email: 06:23
- Looking for work you’re passionate about when you live somewhere with limited options.
- Taking a chance and reaching out to GCs at organizations you’ve always loved.
- Learning how to use legal as a means to positively influence an organization.
Exploring work at big and small companies: 11:10
- Disregarding the boxes people want you to put yourself in and finding the right attitude.
- Looking beyond titles and allowing what excites you most to guide your career choices.
Expanding beyond legal: 14:06
- Seeing legal as a way to get as close to the core business as quickly as possible.
- Building your resumé by taking on tasks that your organization’s GC doesn’t want to do.
- Improving yourself until you feel confident enough to expand beyond the traditional GC role.
Approaching strategy and corporate development from a legal perspective at Poshmark: 19:05
- Engaging in constructive conversation with the CEO and CFO about the state of the business.
- Being transparent about the direction you want to take your career and leaning in.
- Using the GC role to inject positivity into your organization.
Finding ways to activate creativity: 23:48
- Overcoming the fear of embarrassment as you try new things.
- Observing how the boldest people in your organization speak up.
- Becoming comfortable with outspokenness.
Transitioning into a strategy role at Bambee: 26:12
- Casting off the “attorney” label to focus on a new path.
- Opening up about his goal to become a CEO one day.
Identifying the inflection point to begin a new venture: 28:39
- Capitalizing on excitement and executing ideas the moment you have them.
- Refusing to defer action for the future.
Launching the Neatworking newsletter: 32:23
- Creating a project that allows you to connect with people and rebuild relationships.
- Going deeper with people and getting to know them beyond roles and titles.
- Creating a product that helps others grow as much as it helps you.
Improving your writing and creativity: 37:23
- Getting started and figuring out how to capture your own voice.
- Being unafraid to make mistakes and owning the mistakes that you make.
- Knowing that the point of creativity is “doing”.
Advice for younger lawyers: 40:34
- Ignoring titles and finding what you love to do.
- Finding the power in owning your own mistakes and not taking your job too seriously.