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Community top of mind - David Sclar | February 2023 Newsletter
Soft skills are especially important for an in-house lawyer says David Sclar, author of Workplace Strategies for Technology Lawyers and Healthcare Compliance and Privacy Officer at WeightWatchers. "At a high level, I want to highlight three skills: problem-solving, communication and workload management."
As we've explained, today's lawyers need to have a multi-disciplinary toolkit for success, and in-house lawyers in particular. "Lawyers will learn the hard way that their excellent legal skill isn't enough to earn the trust of business colleagues, to avoid mishaps and misunderstandings, and get their advice implemented," says Sclar. He believes the sooner lawyers can appreciate the benefit of soft and non-legal skills, the better prepared they will be for success; most counsel are already in possession of numerous non-legal skills and keen to use them.
Working in-house is the perfect opportunity to extend oneself and develop non-legal tools. "Soft skills help me get things done with efficiency and even joy," he says.
Who doesn't want joy in their workday? Sclar's implementation of soft skills is broad and allows him to create accessible, usable advice for his colleagues. Connecting with people is crucial to his approach. "I follow up to see things through and get closure on outstanding items, so others feel like I have their back. And if I'm really on my game, I use humor and analogies to be as easy and fun to work with as possible."
Scalr also keeps his finger on the industry pulse and uses that to his advantage. "I stay up to date on news at the company and industry-wide trends. I use our products regularly and new features right away, and I use that knowledge to focus on what's most important and give legal advice in context."
Business acumen is also crucial to success. Leveraging the departments you work regularly with allows you to achieve this. "Let's say you work with marketing, engineering, product and sales teams regularly. You want to understand things like how marketing is measuring their budget and the impact of their campaigns. How engineering has assigned work to their roadmap and how to work with their 'sprints'. Which features the product team is excited about and what feedback they are getting from customers, surveys and focus groups."
Not to mention how sales are tracking against expectations this quarter and which clients and vendors are critical to the company. "Anyone can learn these things from just paying attention on the job, or they may be lucky to have a mentor in the legal department who walks them through it," he says.
Sclar's ultimate advice is to keep your eyes open, absorb knowledge from the business around you, be willing to learn, and invest time and effort into your relationships.
Soft skills are especially important for an in-house lawyer says David Sclar, author of Workplace Strategies for Technology Lawyers and Healthcare Compliance and Privacy Officer at WeightWatchers. "At a high level, I want to highlight three skills: problem-solving, communication and workload management."
As we've explained, today's lawyers need to have a multi-disciplinary toolkit for success, and in-house lawyers in particular. "Lawyers will learn the hard way that their excellent legal skill isn't enough to earn the trust of business colleagues, to avoid mishaps and misunderstandings, and get their advice implemented," says Sclar. He believes the sooner lawyers can appreciate the benefit of soft and non-legal skills, the better prepared they will be for success; most counsel are already in possession of numerous non-legal skills and keen to use them.
Working in-house is the perfect opportunity to extend oneself and develop non-legal tools. "Soft skills help me get things done with efficiency and even joy," he says.
Who doesn't want joy in their workday? Sclar's implementation of soft skills is broad and allows him to create accessible, usable advice for his colleagues. Connecting with people is crucial to his approach. "I follow up to see things through and get closure on outstanding items, so others feel like I have their back. And if I'm really on my game, I use humor and analogies to be as easy and fun to work with as possible."
Scalr also keeps his finger on the industry pulse and uses that to his advantage. "I stay up to date on news at the company and industry-wide trends. I use our products regularly and new features right away, and I use that knowledge to focus on what's most important and give legal advice in context."
Business acumen is also crucial to success. Leveraging the departments you work regularly with allows you to achieve this. "Let's say you work with marketing, engineering, product and sales teams regularly. You want to understand things like how marketing is measuring their budget and the impact of their campaigns. How engineering has assigned work to their roadmap and how to work with their 'sprints'. Which features the product team is excited about and what feedback they are getting from customers, surveys and focus groups."
Not to mention how sales are tracking against expectations this quarter and which clients and vendors are critical to the company. "Anyone can learn these things from just paying attention on the job, or they may be lucky to have a mentor in the legal department who walks them through it," he says.
Sclar's ultimate advice is to keep your eyes open, absorb knowledge from the business around you, be willing to learn, and invest time and effort into your relationships.
How to Make Your Boss Look Good When Reviewing Contracts
By David Sclar | June 15, 2022
As an in-house counsel, you will likely be highly dependent on the relationship with one boss a level above you – as opposed to multiple law firm partners, for example. Whether you are revising a contract or performing other in-house lawyer tasks such as providing product counsel, an essential skill of an in-house lawyer is to look good by making your boss look good. This article shares a few important techniques to keep in mind when you are reviewing contracts.
Keep up with product updates and industry standards that could affect your contractsYour boss probably won’t have time to understand each granular product change or how it applies to your analysis of a contract or question from the business. Your boss will rely on you to keep track of product developments, who decided them, when they are occurring, and their impact on client and vendor relationships. Context is everything, so the product details really matter to how you mark up a contract. A small change can alter the entire legal analysis or contractual risk. If you are on the sales side, then it is especially important that you understand the product or services your company is selling – and keep track of their updates.
Your boss will also rely on you to keep up with industry standards, and legal and regulatory changes that could affect contractual risk. Read up on those changes – through industry blogs, client alerts from law firms, webinars, podcasts, etc. These “macro” changes can influence what needs to go into a contract, how to comply with it, and how you negotiate provisions such as reps and warranties to comply with applicable laws, insurance required, the scope of audit rights, and appropriate liability caps. Again, this context can substantially influence the legal analysis and how you approach contract redlines.
Know and match your boss’s risk tolerance and review contracts accordinglyAs an in-house attorney, you are essentially an extension of your boss and your legal team as you work with other departments to review their contracts and provide both legal and business advice. Therefore, it pays to know your boss’s style and risk preferences and take a similar approach (as long as you’re comfortable with it).
For example, if your boss wants to avoid legal jargon, use plain speech in your comments on contracts and your emails framing contractual issues for business partners. If your boss feels strongly about certain contractual provisions, know which sections and which edits to prioritize. Likewise, if you observe your boss’s willingness to accept risk (or not), you can match your boss’s risk tolerance when giving advice in meetings your boss doesn’t attend or reviewing contracts your boss asks you to review independently.
Draft concise emails that frame issues, highlight recommendations, and provide context efficientlyA great deal of in-house work happens over email, especially when it comes to negotiating contracts. Part of your job as in-house counsel is to send your boss concise, clear, and informative emails to keep them updated on your work progress and the happenings of the organization. It is essential that your emails to your boss make clear your recommendation. Do not stop at issue spotting. Your boss (and everyone involved) wants a solution. In the context of contracts, your boss wants to know how you plan to resolve negotiated issues, not just the positioning of each side.
Your boss also wants context. They want to know things like: How did this contract come to the legal team? What are the deadlines? Who is involved, from which teams, and at what levels of the business? Which clients are affected and are they significant sources of revenue, likely to get frustrated because of previous issues, or subject to an upcoming contract renewal? What’s the reason this client is asking for a rushed review or insisting on using their template?
The challenge, of course, is to provide this context concisely. Make sure your recommendations, solutions, and asks are clear and upfront. If necessary, consider providing an appendix to your email with additional context. That way, your boss can focus on the important items first and they have additional information available as needed.
If your boss prefers a meeting instead of an email, bring an agenda to make the meeting more efficient and productive, and consider sending that agenda to your boss in advance.
* * *
Your job as an in-house lawyer is not only to be technically proficient, but also to make your boss (and your legal team) look good. You’ll be well on your way with these strategies.
Author: David Sclar
Website: https://www.amazon.com/Workplace-Strategies-Technology-Lawyers-House-ebook/dp/B08WVGRWLC
David Sclar is a technology and privacy lawyer and author of Workplace Strategies for Technology Lawyers: 36 Practical Tips on How to Communicate More Effectively, Work More Efficiently, and Give Better Advice as In-House Counsel at a Tech Company. You can email him at techlawyerdave@gmail.com, visit his website at davidsclar.com, and find Workplace Strategies for Technology Lawyers on Amazon.
'You Are Not the Star': Lawyer-Turned-Author Shares Insights on the In-House Life November 19, 2021 -- Trudy Knockless - Reporter
"There's very little out there that takes a careful look at what it really is like to be an in-house lawyer and what it will do for your career."
What You Need to Know
When you work for a company, your fortunes can rise and fall and that may or may not be a blessing.
Choosing a good manager is also really important.
Helping bring products to market is rewarding and fun.
Tech and privacy lawyer David Sclar said he loves being an in-house lawyer. But he said that to be successful in that career path, he had to develop strategies that he did not learn in law school or even at a law firm.
Sclar’s day job is serving as health care compliance and privacy officer at WW, formerly Weight Watchers. Before that, he was vice president of business affairs and legal and chief privacy officer of Rally Health.
But he’s also an author. In February, he published “Workplace Strategies for Technology Lawyers,” which offers practical tips on how to excel as an in-house lawyer at a technology company. And in October he released “Five
Reasons You May Not Want to Be an In-House Counsel: (And 10 Strategies for Succeeding in the Role Anyway).”
In his new book, he outlines strategies for being a successful in-house attorney but does so from the angle of whether the lawyer really wants to be an in-house counsel, what the trade-offs are, what’s easy, what’s better and what’s maybe worse.
Sclar met with Corporate Counsel to talk about the inspiration behind his latest book and to share strategies for success.
The following was edited for clarity.
TK: Who is your target audience and why did you write this book?
DS: I try to reach a broad audience. It’s definitely people who are in-house, already trying to make the most of their in-house career. It’s definitely people who are at law firms and are thinking about going in-house and wondering whether it’s right for them. But it’s also law students who are thinking about careers and planning ahead for where they might go—in-house vs law firms.
I wrote the book because I don’t think that there are a lot of resources on the soft skills of being an in-house lawyer. While there are resources out there about how to do corporate law or how to litigate or things like that, there aren’t in-depth resources looking at whether the lawyer really wants to do the job and how he/she can do it well.
My first book looked at how to do the job well, how to transition from being a law firm lawyer to an in-house counsel, and all the little micro-strategies to do that. And then the second book continues with micro strategies on how to do a better job in-house. There’s very little out there that takes a careful look
at what it really is like to be an in-house lawyer and what it will do for your career. And I felt like that was a gap to fill.
TK: This is quite a busy time to be working at the intersection of tech and health care. From your perspective, how have these areas of law evolved during your career and particularly since the start of the pandemic?
DS: I’m very attuned to tech because of my career. One of the things I talk a lot about in the first book is speed and keeping up with the quick pace of in-house questions, which doesn’t allow you to do as polished a work as you might do at a law firm but requires efficiency and triage.
In the second book, I talk about working remotely, which is the latest and greatest kind of influence of technology and technological change. Working remotely is a real challenge for in-house lawyers because the interpersonal relationships are so important.
Part of the joy of the job is working so closely with nonlawyers from across the organization, and that is really much more effective in person. When I was writing the book, one of the first trade-offs that I had is that, currently, the in-house job is not necessarily what it was for a lot of people.
TK: With the regulatory landscape in a sort of transitional period, what would you consider the primary challenges on the horizon in this area of law right now?
DS: That’s one of the things where, for in-house lawyers, it’s no cakewalk.
The workload can be similar and challenging in many of the same ways as being at a law firm. As the lawyer, you still have to keep up with all the latest
regulations and translate them for your business partners, who are looking for you to give direct business advice based on those regulations.
In my space, I’m a privacy lawyer, primarily, and that’s a perfect example of an area where there are now three different U.S. states with privacy laws, there’s increasingly new laws in other countries around the world, there’s talk of a federal privacy law that might or might not happen and I have to keep up and be able to react fast to the demands of the business.
TK: From your experience, having worked both in-house and in private practice, what do you consider to be the biggest opportunities in your field right now? What is it about in-house work that draws lawyers in?
DS: First of all, we’re in an interesting market where it’s booming for everybody. In my book, I wanted to make sure people know that I love being in-house—from the fact that you don’t have to bill your hours anymore, to working so closely with interesting people in the business, to the quick wins of solving many little problems really fast, to getting stock—equity is part of your compensation—to feeling a part of the mission of the company, having a team attitude and more.
TK: What are some of the challenges someone considering this line of work should be aware of, and what would you say is the number one reason not to move in-house?
DS: For me, the No. 1 reason is that you are not the star.
It doesn’t feel like you’re a star necessarily when you’re an associate at a big law firm but you kind of are in the sense that the whole firm is built around helping lawyers succeed. The work that’s celebrated with the firm is all the legal work that gets done.
In contrast, when you work in-house, the lawyers are not front and center. If anything, they might be viewed as a burden or an obstacle. It is rare that the CEO will get up and talk to the whole company about how great the lawyers are and celebrate what legal things they’ve done in the past quarter. They are much more likely to give that attention to something like sales and product and engineering, etc.
Also, there are some drawbacks in terms of money and career instability. It’s hard to keep up with the law firm salaries these days. When you work for a company, your fortunes can rise and fall, and that may or may not be a blessing. Legal departments tend to be a department that can be cut whenever there’s a need for budget cuts. In addition, politics are a big part of company life. It’s not enough to get to be a legal expert—you need to be able to navigate those politics deftly. So that can be a real challenge.
TK: On the flip side, for those who do want to work in-house, could you offer a little bit of insight into some of the strategies for success that you outlined?
DS: In my book, I tried to be responsive to the trade-offs. For instance, it’s very important to choose a company you believe in because if you’re not going to be the star, and if your fortunes are going to rise and fall with the company, you want to be at a company that you care about, that has a good mission and is going to be a good fit for you, so you can support everything that they’re doing.
Choosing a good manager is also really important. Your manager will help you navigate a career that doesn’t have the same natural progress like a fourth-year, fifth-year or sixth-year associate. You need someone to help shepherd your career and mentor you. From a money standpoint, it’s
important to negotiate your offer. I gave some advice on how to do that in the book as well as some of the things to think about, including equity, which is kind of confusing for a lot of people who aren’t used to getting equity.
TK: What is the most rewarding part of your in-house experience?
I love working on products that are getting brought into the world. It is incredibly fun when you get to bring to life an app or a partnership between companies that is making something new, making something that’s bigger than its parts.
"There's very little out there that takes a careful look at what it really is like to be an in-house lawyer and what it will do for your career."
What You Need to Know
When you work for a company, your fortunes can rise and fall and that may or may not be a blessing.
Choosing a good manager is also really important.
Helping bring products to market is rewarding and fun.
Tech and privacy lawyer David Sclar said he loves being an in-house lawyer. But he said that to be successful in that career path, he had to develop strategies that he did not learn in law school or even at a law firm.
Sclar’s day job is serving as health care compliance and privacy officer at WW, formerly Weight Watchers. Before that, he was vice president of business affairs and legal and chief privacy officer of Rally Health.
But he’s also an author. In February, he published “Workplace Strategies for Technology Lawyers,” which offers practical tips on how to excel as an in-house lawyer at a technology company. And in October he released “Five
Reasons You May Not Want to Be an In-House Counsel: (And 10 Strategies for Succeeding in the Role Anyway).”
In his new book, he outlines strategies for being a successful in-house attorney but does so from the angle of whether the lawyer really wants to be an in-house counsel, what the trade-offs are, what’s easy, what’s better and what’s maybe worse.
Sclar met with Corporate Counsel to talk about the inspiration behind his latest book and to share strategies for success.
The following was edited for clarity.
TK: Who is your target audience and why did you write this book?
DS: I try to reach a broad audience. It’s definitely people who are in-house, already trying to make the most of their in-house career. It’s definitely people who are at law firms and are thinking about going in-house and wondering whether it’s right for them. But it’s also law students who are thinking about careers and planning ahead for where they might go—in-house vs law firms.
I wrote the book because I don’t think that there are a lot of resources on the soft skills of being an in-house lawyer. While there are resources out there about how to do corporate law or how to litigate or things like that, there aren’t in-depth resources looking at whether the lawyer really wants to do the job and how he/she can do it well.
My first book looked at how to do the job well, how to transition from being a law firm lawyer to an in-house counsel, and all the little micro-strategies to do that. And then the second book continues with micro strategies on how to do a better job in-house. There’s very little out there that takes a careful look
at what it really is like to be an in-house lawyer and what it will do for your career. And I felt like that was a gap to fill.
TK: This is quite a busy time to be working at the intersection of tech and health care. From your perspective, how have these areas of law evolved during your career and particularly since the start of the pandemic?
DS: I’m very attuned to tech because of my career. One of the things I talk a lot about in the first book is speed and keeping up with the quick pace of in-house questions, which doesn’t allow you to do as polished a work as you might do at a law firm but requires efficiency and triage.
In the second book, I talk about working remotely, which is the latest and greatest kind of influence of technology and technological change. Working remotely is a real challenge for in-house lawyers because the interpersonal relationships are so important.
Part of the joy of the job is working so closely with nonlawyers from across the organization, and that is really much more effective in person. When I was writing the book, one of the first trade-offs that I had is that, currently, the in-house job is not necessarily what it was for a lot of people.
TK: With the regulatory landscape in a sort of transitional period, what would you consider the primary challenges on the horizon in this area of law right now?
DS: That’s one of the things where, for in-house lawyers, it’s no cakewalk.
The workload can be similar and challenging in many of the same ways as being at a law firm. As the lawyer, you still have to keep up with all the latest
regulations and translate them for your business partners, who are looking for you to give direct business advice based on those regulations.
In my space, I’m a privacy lawyer, primarily, and that’s a perfect example of an area where there are now three different U.S. states with privacy laws, there’s increasingly new laws in other countries around the world, there’s talk of a federal privacy law that might or might not happen and I have to keep up and be able to react fast to the demands of the business.
TK: From your experience, having worked both in-house and in private practice, what do you consider to be the biggest opportunities in your field right now? What is it about in-house work that draws lawyers in?
DS: First of all, we’re in an interesting market where it’s booming for everybody. In my book, I wanted to make sure people know that I love being in-house—from the fact that you don’t have to bill your hours anymore, to working so closely with interesting people in the business, to the quick wins of solving many little problems really fast, to getting stock—equity is part of your compensation—to feeling a part of the mission of the company, having a team attitude and more.
TK: What are some of the challenges someone considering this line of work should be aware of, and what would you say is the number one reason not to move in-house?
DS: For me, the No. 1 reason is that you are not the star.
It doesn’t feel like you’re a star necessarily when you’re an associate at a big law firm but you kind of are in the sense that the whole firm is built around helping lawyers succeed. The work that’s celebrated with the firm is all the legal work that gets done.
In contrast, when you work in-house, the lawyers are not front and center. If anything, they might be viewed as a burden or an obstacle. It is rare that the CEO will get up and talk to the whole company about how great the lawyers are and celebrate what legal things they’ve done in the past quarter. They are much more likely to give that attention to something like sales and product and engineering, etc.
Also, there are some drawbacks in terms of money and career instability. It’s hard to keep up with the law firm salaries these days. When you work for a company, your fortunes can rise and fall, and that may or may not be a blessing. Legal departments tend to be a department that can be cut whenever there’s a need for budget cuts. In addition, politics are a big part of company life. It’s not enough to get to be a legal expert—you need to be able to navigate those politics deftly. So that can be a real challenge.
TK: On the flip side, for those who do want to work in-house, could you offer a little bit of insight into some of the strategies for success that you outlined?
DS: In my book, I tried to be responsive to the trade-offs. For instance, it’s very important to choose a company you believe in because if you’re not going to be the star, and if your fortunes are going to rise and fall with the company, you want to be at a company that you care about, that has a good mission and is going to be a good fit for you, so you can support everything that they’re doing.
Choosing a good manager is also really important. Your manager will help you navigate a career that doesn’t have the same natural progress like a fourth-year, fifth-year or sixth-year associate. You need someone to help shepherd your career and mentor you. From a money standpoint, it’s
important to negotiate your offer. I gave some advice on how to do that in the book as well as some of the things to think about, including equity, which is kind of confusing for a lot of people who aren’t used to getting equity.
TK: What is the most rewarding part of your in-house experience?
I love working on products that are getting brought into the world. It is incredibly fun when you get to bring to life an app or a partnership between companies that is making something new, making something that’s bigger than its parts.
How a Cooley associate learned the skills to thrive in-house
Caroline Spiezio
REUTERS LEGAL
March 8, 2021
(Reuters) - When David Sclar jumped from Cooley to a gig at company Rally Health, it was a crash course in succeeding in-house. As an associate focused on tech and healthcare, Sclar had technical legal skills to spare. But he realized fast that he needed soft skills that aren't taught in law school.
Now the privacy officer at WW International Inc, formerly known as Weight Watchers, Sclar has published a book he wishes he'd had when starting his in-house career: "Workplace Strategies for Technology Lawyers."
Reuters recently spoke with Sclar about the skills lawyers need for a successful in-house career and how they can get them. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
REUTERS: What was your first year in-house like?
SCLAR: There was a lot of responsibility. [Law departments] are very lean. I was the second lawyer and I was responsible for all of privacy. My concern was, can I figure out what the legal issues are? I could. But I learned that wasn't enough. The business team wasn't happy just being told, 'Hey, there's an issue with the HIPAA marketing rule.' They wanted to know, 'Can we launch this product or not? What do we need to change?' They wanted to know right away, because engineers didn't want to work on something that would be fruitless.
I had to learn to provide advice that was fast and actionable. And the third thing - I was used to writing for lawyers. I had to learn to write emails that had the conclusion up front with headers and bullet points that made the message clear for somebody who's not a lawyer.
REUTERS: How do you bring up data privacy legal risks to non-lawyers - stress the importance without being seen as someone slowing the business down?
SCLAR: You have to pick your battles. Pick times where the legislation is clear, or somebody else has been fined. If you've got similar facts to those situations, that can be quite persuasive to the business team.
It helps to use some non-legal topics - common sense, 'What would you think, if your sister or brother were using this app.'
The other thing I've found useful is asking, 'What if there's a client that is particularly aggressive about data privacy? How's that client going to feel?'
REUTERS: Most of your colleagues are in New York but you're in Washington, D.C. Has working remotely changed your approach to the in-house role?
SCLAR: If I were living in New York, I might see if there are colleagues in my neighborhood and get coffee with masks.
I would also recommend asking people proactively, 'How can I help you?' You want to be plugged into people's workflow, so that you give advice as it's happening.
REUTERS: A lot of your job seems built on trust. How do you develop that?
SCLAR: Really know the business. Know the product. Use the product. Know the industry, know who the biggest customers are, things like that.
REUTERS: Can and should law schools and firms teach these skills?
SCLAR: It would be helpful for law students to get a sense of whether in-house is for them - you might not want to go to a place where the legal issues are just table stakes and the real issues are navigating an escalation over email.
At a law firm, they certainly don't want to push their own best associates out the door. But I think outside counsel would give better advice if they understand how in-house works.
Caroline Spiezio
REUTERS LEGAL
March 8, 2021
(Reuters) - When David Sclar jumped from Cooley to a gig at company Rally Health, it was a crash course in succeeding in-house. As an associate focused on tech and healthcare, Sclar had technical legal skills to spare. But he realized fast that he needed soft skills that aren't taught in law school.
Now the privacy officer at WW International Inc, formerly known as Weight Watchers, Sclar has published a book he wishes he'd had when starting his in-house career: "Workplace Strategies for Technology Lawyers."
Reuters recently spoke with Sclar about the skills lawyers need for a successful in-house career and how they can get them. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
REUTERS: What was your first year in-house like?
SCLAR: There was a lot of responsibility. [Law departments] are very lean. I was the second lawyer and I was responsible for all of privacy. My concern was, can I figure out what the legal issues are? I could. But I learned that wasn't enough. The business team wasn't happy just being told, 'Hey, there's an issue with the HIPAA marketing rule.' They wanted to know, 'Can we launch this product or not? What do we need to change?' They wanted to know right away, because engineers didn't want to work on something that would be fruitless.
I had to learn to provide advice that was fast and actionable. And the third thing - I was used to writing for lawyers. I had to learn to write emails that had the conclusion up front with headers and bullet points that made the message clear for somebody who's not a lawyer.
REUTERS: How do you bring up data privacy legal risks to non-lawyers - stress the importance without being seen as someone slowing the business down?
SCLAR: You have to pick your battles. Pick times where the legislation is clear, or somebody else has been fined. If you've got similar facts to those situations, that can be quite persuasive to the business team.
It helps to use some non-legal topics - common sense, 'What would you think, if your sister or brother were using this app.'
The other thing I've found useful is asking, 'What if there's a client that is particularly aggressive about data privacy? How's that client going to feel?'
REUTERS: Most of your colleagues are in New York but you're in Washington, D.C. Has working remotely changed your approach to the in-house role?
SCLAR: If I were living in New York, I might see if there are colleagues in my neighborhood and get coffee with masks.
I would also recommend asking people proactively, 'How can I help you?' You want to be plugged into people's workflow, so that you give advice as it's happening.
REUTERS: A lot of your job seems built on trust. How do you develop that?
SCLAR: Really know the business. Know the product. Use the product. Know the industry, know who the biggest customers are, things like that.
REUTERS: Can and should law schools and firms teach these skills?
SCLAR: It would be helpful for law students to get a sense of whether in-house is for them - you might not want to go to a place where the legal issues are just table stakes and the real issues are navigating an escalation over email.
At a law firm, they certainly don't want to push their own best associates out the door. But I think outside counsel would give better advice if they understand how in-house works.
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Privacy Attorney Offers Guide for New In-House Attorneys
David Sclar said one of the best pieces of advice in his book is to answer every question with an "implied because." He said answering the question "why" proactively will help in-house attorneys build relationships with employees outside of the legal department.
By Dan Clark | February 26, 2021 at 04:59 PM
David Sclar, health care and compliance privacy officer at WW (formerly Weight Watchers), wanted to write a book that would help a younger version of himself going in-house for the first time.
Sclar first worked at Ropes & Gray, and then entered Pfizer’s legal department on a secondment. He continued to work as an associate at Ropes and Gray, and later as a senior associate at Cooley. He jumped into the in-house world full-time as the second attorney hired for a tech health startup, Rally Health, in 2014. He joined WW’s legal department in August 2020.
Recognizing that there was no guide for tech lawyers or in-house lawyers, Sclar wrote and published “Workplace Strategies for Technology Lawyers” to fill the knowledge gap for attorneys coming in-house from the government or a law firm.
“I wrote the book that I would have wanted,” said Sclar, who is based in Washington, D.C. “When I joined a tech company, I would have wanted this kind of guidance on how to make the transition, and what kind of skills would be most valuable.”
The book has 36 recommendations for new in-house lawyers. The text covers subjects from developing an appetite for risk to the best way to write emails to an internal client.
“People in the business want short and clear emails. They want bolded and underlined headings. They want something that tells them this is what they need to know,” Sclar said. “The [legal] recommendation should not be buried. I’ve become used to writing those kinds of emails. I think lawyers often write in paragraphs and that doesn’t work as well.”
There are several points to go over in the book, but one of Sclar’s favorite pieces of advice that he offers new in-house attorneys is to have an “implied because” built into answers.
“At a tech company, the people from the other [company] teams are quick thinkers, and they’re aggressive,” Sclar said. “They’re going to ask you ‘why?’ and you do a lot of favors for yourself if you start conversations with: ‘This is because…’”
Answering the “why” question automatically lets people from other business functions know that the in-house lawyer is not just dictating orders, and helps to foster relationships with colleagues elsewhere in the business.
“So much of what you do as in-house counsel is about fostering relationships. If you’re the kind of lawyer who is providing context and explaining why, you’re going to win friends and partners, which will make your life a lot easier,” Sclar said.
Another key point of the book, Sclar said, is learning how to develop an appetite for risk. To that end, he said, finding context for a business initiative is a good first step.
“The more context you can find about a situation, the better you can go from a risk that feels hazy to a risk that is better understood,” Sclar said.
Secondly, new in-house attorneys should be collecting as much data as possible surrounding the risk. That could encompass anything from the timing of the launch of a new product to how many hours it may take to fix an issue.
“Things like that can help to frame the level of risk, and dialing it up or down as to whether you want to do something,” Sclar explained. “At the end of the day, you sort of demonstrate that you wrestled with the risk.”
The book is geared toward technology lawyers but the guidance in the book can apply to lawyers in all industries, he said.
“Elements of tech are creeping into all companies and will be relevant to all in-house attorneys,” Sclar said.
David Sclar said one of the best pieces of advice in his book is to answer every question with an "implied because." He said answering the question "why" proactively will help in-house attorneys build relationships with employees outside of the legal department.
By Dan Clark | February 26, 2021 at 04:59 PM
David Sclar, health care and compliance privacy officer at WW (formerly Weight Watchers), wanted to write a book that would help a younger version of himself going in-house for the first time.
Sclar first worked at Ropes & Gray, and then entered Pfizer’s legal department on a secondment. He continued to work as an associate at Ropes and Gray, and later as a senior associate at Cooley. He jumped into the in-house world full-time as the second attorney hired for a tech health startup, Rally Health, in 2014. He joined WW’s legal department in August 2020.
Recognizing that there was no guide for tech lawyers or in-house lawyers, Sclar wrote and published “Workplace Strategies for Technology Lawyers” to fill the knowledge gap for attorneys coming in-house from the government or a law firm.
“I wrote the book that I would have wanted,” said Sclar, who is based in Washington, D.C. “When I joined a tech company, I would have wanted this kind of guidance on how to make the transition, and what kind of skills would be most valuable.”
The book has 36 recommendations for new in-house lawyers. The text covers subjects from developing an appetite for risk to the best way to write emails to an internal client.
“People in the business want short and clear emails. They want bolded and underlined headings. They want something that tells them this is what they need to know,” Sclar said. “The [legal] recommendation should not be buried. I’ve become used to writing those kinds of emails. I think lawyers often write in paragraphs and that doesn’t work as well.”
There are several points to go over in the book, but one of Sclar’s favorite pieces of advice that he offers new in-house attorneys is to have an “implied because” built into answers.
“At a tech company, the people from the other [company] teams are quick thinkers, and they’re aggressive,” Sclar said. “They’re going to ask you ‘why?’ and you do a lot of favors for yourself if you start conversations with: ‘This is because…’”
Answering the “why” question automatically lets people from other business functions know that the in-house lawyer is not just dictating orders, and helps to foster relationships with colleagues elsewhere in the business.
“So much of what you do as in-house counsel is about fostering relationships. If you’re the kind of lawyer who is providing context and explaining why, you’re going to win friends and partners, which will make your life a lot easier,” Sclar said.
Another key point of the book, Sclar said, is learning how to develop an appetite for risk. To that end, he said, finding context for a business initiative is a good first step.
“The more context you can find about a situation, the better you can go from a risk that feels hazy to a risk that is better understood,” Sclar said.
Secondly, new in-house attorneys should be collecting as much data as possible surrounding the risk. That could encompass anything from the timing of the launch of a new product to how many hours it may take to fix an issue.
“Things like that can help to frame the level of risk, and dialing it up or down as to whether you want to do something,” Sclar explained. “At the end of the day, you sort of demonstrate that you wrestled with the risk.”
The book is geared toward technology lawyers but the guidance in the book can apply to lawyers in all industries, he said.
“Elements of tech are creeping into all companies and will be relevant to all in-house attorneys,” Sclar said.
A handbook for in-house lawyers? For many this could be just what they need to up their in-house game. While written by David Sclar from his perspective as an in-house lawyer focusing on technology issues, the book may be just as useful for a broader in-house audience as many of the tips and suggestions apply at all levels of in-house counsel life. The book is affordable, timely, and a resource all in-house counsel should consider adding to their library and sharing with their peers. For those already a fan of A Good Lawyer, which focuses on how to build a better lawyer, this may be the next book to add to your arsenal.
Attorney writes ‘handbook’ for in-house tech lawyers
By: Pat Murphy
New England In-House February 22, 2021
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly December 10, 2020
David Sclar is self-publishing the book he wishes he could have turned to for practical advice once his career course was set as in-house counsel guiding digital health and wellness companies on matters ranging from security and privacy to product development.
That book, “Workplace Strategies for Technology Lawyers,” will be available in January. Its subtitle, while a mouthful, reflects the down-to-earth insights Sclar seeks to convey: “36 Practical Tips on How to Communicate More Effectively, Work More Efficiently, and Give Better Advice as In-House Counsel at a Tech Company.”
“I wrote the book that I would have really wanted,” Sclar says.
He describes the landscape of books about working as an in-house lawyer as focusing on the “legal blocking and tackling” of the job — how to set up articles of incorporation or write offer letters for employees.
“That’s not the book I wanted to write,” Sclar says. “What I felt I needed to do was [help lawyers] understand how to do the job day to day.”
For example, the first issue the book addresses is how to give good, practical advice that provides decision-makers with solutions rather than issue-spotting.
“That is a skill set that doesn’t necessarily come naturally when you go in-house,” he says. “When you’re at a law firm, you’re typically dealing with a [corporate] lawyer who is bringing a legal question to you. In-house, you’re getting something from a business person who has questions you need to convert into legal issues and then solve.”
In Sclar’s view, good advice from an in-house lawyer provides guidance, closure and wiggle room. In explaining what he means by the latter, Sclar says it’s essential that the lawyer explain to the decision-maker the assumptions underlying any piece of advice and how changing circumstances may affect outcomes.
Some of the other topics he addresses in the book include how to avoid the “big mistake” and how to keep one’s head above water through effective management.
When a lawyer goes in-house, Sclar says, he has to prioritize getting to know the company he works for, the industry, the competition, the products and how those products are engineered.
“If you do that, you’re ahead of most of the in-house lawyers,” he says. “And often you’re ahead of other members of the business team who tend to focus on whatever is in front of them.”
Sclar also believes a tech lawyer needs to have a firm grasp of the “soft skills.”
“In contrast to being a lawfirm lawyer, when you’re working in-house, [advice] is given ‘quick and dirty,’” Sclar says. “You’re not shooting for an A-plus on everything. It’s fast, it’s judgment calls, it’s concise, it’s actionable. All of that is even more true at a tech company where things move so fast.”
Sclar sees his book as particularly timely given that dealing with tech has become a universal part of the in-house lawyer’s job.
“In some ways, all companies are becoming tech companies or at least have a strong tech component,” he says. “Software is a service, and so much of what companies are looking for from vendors is software they can use over the internet.”
Sclar has been a member of the Massachusetts bar since 2007, the same year he graduated from Harvard Law School.
In August, he became the health care compliance and privacy officer for WW — the rebranded Weight Watchers. But COVID delayed his move to the company’s New York City office, forcing him to work remotely from his home in Washington, D.C.
“I’m probably the only person at WW working from D.C.,” Sclar says.
Before joining WW, Sclar spent more than six years as VP for business affairs and legal/chief privacy officer for the startup Rally Health. Other career highlights include stints as a health care/life sciences attorney at Ropes & Gray in New York City and Cooley in Washington.
“I don’t have a tech background, per se,” Sclar says. “I’ve had a very conventional past. I went the big law firm route before eventually going in-house.”
Sclar says he’s always had a strong interest in health, which evolved into a focus on “digital” health — or health care that harnesses new technology for diagnostic functions, behavioral monitoring, and identifying the right medical provider.
His current career focus grew naturally from his work with tech startups while at Cooley, he says.
“What I’m really focused on is actually working at a company whose products and services are based in technology,” Sclar says. “For me, to be a tech lawyer you have to be comfortable with the technology in terms of security, privacy, intellectual property and service levels.”
Information on how to obtain Sclar’s book will be available on davidsclar.com next month. Sclar says he enjoys serving as a mentor and welcomes questions and feedback from other professionals via email at techlawyerdave@gmail.com.
By: Pat Murphy
New England In-House February 22, 2021
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly December 10, 2020
David Sclar is self-publishing the book he wishes he could have turned to for practical advice once his career course was set as in-house counsel guiding digital health and wellness companies on matters ranging from security and privacy to product development.
That book, “Workplace Strategies for Technology Lawyers,” will be available in January. Its subtitle, while a mouthful, reflects the down-to-earth insights Sclar seeks to convey: “36 Practical Tips on How to Communicate More Effectively, Work More Efficiently, and Give Better Advice as In-House Counsel at a Tech Company.”
“I wrote the book that I would have really wanted,” Sclar says.
He describes the landscape of books about working as an in-house lawyer as focusing on the “legal blocking and tackling” of the job — how to set up articles of incorporation or write offer letters for employees.
“That’s not the book I wanted to write,” Sclar says. “What I felt I needed to do was [help lawyers] understand how to do the job day to day.”
For example, the first issue the book addresses is how to give good, practical advice that provides decision-makers with solutions rather than issue-spotting.
“That is a skill set that doesn’t necessarily come naturally when you go in-house,” he says. “When you’re at a law firm, you’re typically dealing with a [corporate] lawyer who is bringing a legal question to you. In-house, you’re getting something from a business person who has questions you need to convert into legal issues and then solve.”
In Sclar’s view, good advice from an in-house lawyer provides guidance, closure and wiggle room. In explaining what he means by the latter, Sclar says it’s essential that the lawyer explain to the decision-maker the assumptions underlying any piece of advice and how changing circumstances may affect outcomes.
Some of the other topics he addresses in the book include how to avoid the “big mistake” and how to keep one’s head above water through effective management.
When a lawyer goes in-house, Sclar says, he has to prioritize getting to know the company he works for, the industry, the competition, the products and how those products are engineered.
“If you do that, you’re ahead of most of the in-house lawyers,” he says. “And often you’re ahead of other members of the business team who tend to focus on whatever is in front of them.”
Sclar also believes a tech lawyer needs to have a firm grasp of the “soft skills.”
“In contrast to being a lawfirm lawyer, when you’re working in-house, [advice] is given ‘quick and dirty,’” Sclar says. “You’re not shooting for an A-plus on everything. It’s fast, it’s judgment calls, it’s concise, it’s actionable. All of that is even more true at a tech company where things move so fast.”
Sclar sees his book as particularly timely given that dealing with tech has become a universal part of the in-house lawyer’s job.
“In some ways, all companies are becoming tech companies or at least have a strong tech component,” he says. “Software is a service, and so much of what companies are looking for from vendors is software they can use over the internet.”
Sclar has been a member of the Massachusetts bar since 2007, the same year he graduated from Harvard Law School.
In August, he became the health care compliance and privacy officer for WW — the rebranded Weight Watchers. But COVID delayed his move to the company’s New York City office, forcing him to work remotely from his home in Washington, D.C.
“I’m probably the only person at WW working from D.C.,” Sclar says.
Before joining WW, Sclar spent more than six years as VP for business affairs and legal/chief privacy officer for the startup Rally Health. Other career highlights include stints as a health care/life sciences attorney at Ropes & Gray in New York City and Cooley in Washington.
“I don’t have a tech background, per se,” Sclar says. “I’ve had a very conventional past. I went the big law firm route before eventually going in-house.”
Sclar says he’s always had a strong interest in health, which evolved into a focus on “digital” health — or health care that harnesses new technology for diagnostic functions, behavioral monitoring, and identifying the right medical provider.
His current career focus grew naturally from his work with tech startups while at Cooley, he says.
“What I’m really focused on is actually working at a company whose products and services are based in technology,” Sclar says. “For me, to be a tech lawyer you have to be comfortable with the technology in terms of security, privacy, intellectual property and service levels.”
Information on how to obtain Sclar’s book will be available on davidsclar.com next month. Sclar says he enjoys serving as a mentor and welcomes questions and feedback from other professionals via email at techlawyerdave@gmail.com.