Internal Lawyer Charts Career Twists One media post at a time

[ad_1]

Few attorneys show a more passion for social media than in-house attorney Colin Levy, who uses the platform to voice views on career ups and downs, legal technology, and the power of music.

When Levy lost his job last year, he talked about it on Twitter. For his thoughts on demystifying legal technology, there’s a podcast on Spotify. Measure the quality of legal services? See LinkedIn.

“It’s more important than ever to be involved with your professional community and always build relationships,” Levy said in an interview. “You’ll never know when one of those relationships might be the one you need to tap into for help or support.”

A willingness to talk to others on different platforms, via video interviews, social media or podcasts, led Levy to share his career story and discuss the skills and technologies needed for internal consultants. The interactions helped him establish a reputation as a thought leader on legal innovation and technology.

Levy also has his own website, where he has posted interviews with people like legal news pioneer David Lat and other prominent figures in the legal and tech world, such as longtime head of the legal department Jeffrey Carr, who retired the year. last.

The tool Levy uses the most is LinkedIn, where he launched his monthly newsletter. The inaugural issue that aired on December 2 focuses on legal technology and technology-enabled legal practice.

On LinkedIn last month he announced his new job as legal director and evangelist for contract management startup Malbec Solutions Inc. The Somerset, NJ-based company, which operates under the Malbek name, uses intelligence-based products. artificial to help law firms and other clients.

LinkedIn is by far the most popular platform for lawyers. Of those who take part in social media, 90% use LinkedIn, with Facebook dropping to second place at 29%, the American Bar Association said last month in its 2021 technology survey.

“Why the tears?”

Sharing personal details on social media isn’t unusual for Levy.

She shared last week that tears started flowing as she listened to some of her favorite songs the night before.

“I was taken aback. I kept wondering why. Why the tears? Why at this moment? “

He concluded that it was because the songs carry “memories and emotions” that “they came back to me”.

When Levy announced last year the loss of a job as a business consultant at Salary.com LLC, a data and compensation software company based in Waltham, Massachusetts, he turned to another media platform: Twitter.

“It was brutal,” Levy tweeted about the loss. “I have been unemployed before. This time it’s different. It is in a period of uncertainty about everything ».

While refusing to disclose details of his firing at the time, Levy discussed with commercial publication Corporate Counsel about what it was like to start looking for a new job just as Covid-19 shut down operations and started disrupting the economy. global.

Happy, satisfied

After losing his job, Levy said he repeatedly wondered what made him happy and accomplished in an internal environment, where many lawyers felt exhausted during the pandemic.

She decided to engage others on the subject through social media and let the answers to these questions guide her job search.

“Taking this approach has helped my community help me,” Levy said. “They had a specific idea of ​​what I was looking for and could provide suggestions and guidance.”

From that network, Levy learned that the best types of legal jobs are often the ones not published publicly.

Levy switched to LinkedIn in August 2020 to announce his first new job since he was fired from Salary.com. He was a consultant position at the cybersecurity firm Lookout Inc.

He spent six months at Lookout before joining WordRake Holdings LLC, a legal technology company, where Levy spent another six months earlier this year in a non-legal role as director of marketing and business development.

It was after leaving WordRake over the summer that Levy surpassed 13,000 followers on LinkedIn. It now exceeds 14,000.

By continually updating his LinkedIn profile and sharing the information he gathered during his time at home, Levy said he was able to connect with others and learn from shared experiences.

“Don’t be afraid to reach out for more,” Levy said. “Listening is essential”.

[ad_2]