Building Legal Success: Mentorship, Leadership, and Balance with Jennifer Armstrong
Key Takeaways
Non-linear legal careers offer unique strengths – Armstrong’s path from private practice to national regulation showcases adaptive growth.
Empowered teams produce better outcomes – leadership is about trust, collaboration, and enabling subject matter experts.
Partnership is the future of legal advisory – external counsel must prioritize bespoke advice and practical business alignment.
Work-life balance is active, not static – forecasting commitments and honest prioritization are key to sustainable leadership.
Regulatory careers build strategic insight – early exposure to public-sector legal work enriches private practice and in-house roles.
What makes Jennifer Armstrong’s story especially instructive for in-house counsel?
She’s one of few GCs who’ve helped shape national regulatory mergers, while managing legal, risk, and public affairs across one of Canada’s largest SROs.
What practical advice does she give on legal leadership?
Armstrong emphasizes empowered teams, early-career secondments, and partnering with outside counsel for solutions, not memos.
How can younger lawyers apply these insights now?
By building trust, seeking cross-functional exposure, and embracing complexity; especially in regulated or high-stakes environments.
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