BarkerGilmore asked board members and chief legal officers what boards actually want from the top lawyer, and the answer is mostly not law. Directors want a business partner first. They want the general counsel or CLO to bring the bad news early, explain it in plain English and still be trusted in the room when the conversation gets uncomfortable. Easy to say. Harder when the CEO signs your bonus.
The practical bits are the good bits: talk to directors before and after meetings, help onboard new ones, and stop assuming a seat at the table equals influence. If you are aiming for the top job, this is the job description nobody posts. Our guide to becoming a general counsel covers the rest, and there are plenty of General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer jobs open right now.
“BarkerGilmore’s 2026 GC-Board Alignment Gap, which gathered perspectives from 157 Chief Legal Officers and 34 board members representing 191 companies, examined how legal executives and directors perceive the General Counsel’s role in strategy, governance, and enterprise value.”
Read: What Do Corporate Boards Really Expect from Their General Counsel? at BarkerGilmore