Episode 95-Misty Leon on Going In-house With a Specialty

Counsel to Counsel - Career Advice for Lawyers

In the 25 years that I’ve been coaching attorneys, one of the common themes I hear is the desire to go in-house. We have spoken a number of times on this podcast about that.

Conventional wisdom says that going in-house means becoming more of a generalist and many of the in-house counsel I have interviewed have found that their work broadened a lot once they left private practice.

My guest in this episode, Misty Leon, took a different path. She has parlayed a niche practice into a great in-house role. In this interview, we talk about her path into a corporate law department, what it is like to be in a compliance role in a rapidly changing legal environment, and how her life has changed since leaving private practice.

What I love about having the chance to talk to Misty is that we have only met virtually. But since the pandemic, our paths have crossed many times on LinkedIn, on webinars, and in ways that would never have happened since Zoom took over the world.

Misty Leon is legal counsel to Texas Instruments in Dallas. She is a benefits attorney with 20 years of experience working with employer-sponsored retirement plans, health plans, and executive compensation plans. In 2021, she transitioned from being a partner at an employee benefits boutique firm to an in-house role. She also worked for several large law firms early in my career, and has represented both public and private employers, including governmental entities.

Additional Resources

• Episode 91-Transitioning Your Legal Career to In-house and Beyond With Amy Katz
• Episode 78-Transitioning to General Counsel-Career Lessons from a Litigator
• Episode 66-Going In-house with David Sclar
• What I've Learned as In-House Counsel
• Frequently Asked Questions About Going In-House
• Episode 49-Adapting to Change, Pivoting to In-house and DEI in the Legal Profession
• Episode 39-An In-house Career in the Life Sciences