Top Legal Executives Exude Calm and Act Decisively

ABA Journal reports on findings from the Russell Reynolds Associates’ recent study about the characteristics of successful chief legal officers, Becoming the Calm Risk Taker: Attributes for Success in Today's New Legal Environment.

The best top in-house lawyers aren’t paralyzed by fear of risk, according to executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates.

The firm studied its database of 3,000 executive assessments and identified eight characteristics of successful chief legal officers, Corporate Counsel reports.

The characteristics include: socially bold, persuasive, decisive, not easily excited and “mischievous”—meaning the lawyers devise unconventional solutions and act on partial information.

Read the full study.