Episode 46. In-House Outside the Box: Heather Stevenson on leaving BigLaw, Career Pivots and in-house practice in VC land
About Our Guest:
In this episode, Mel connects with Boston-based lawyer and creator Heather Stevenson for a candid conversation about career reinvention, online visibility, and modern in-house leadership. Heather shares her journey from Big Law litigator at Sullivan & Cromwell to juice-bar founder, to General Counsel at Red Cell Partners, a venture firm building companies in healthcare, cybersecurity and national security.
Together, they talk about taking unconventional career paths, how social media has reshaped opportunity, and why being “too nice to be a lawyer” is a myth worth retiring.
Key themes:
Moving from Big Law to entrepreneurship to in-house
Learning business by building one
The role of LinkedIn in modern career growth
The future of in-house law and innovation
Purpose, identity, and redefining professional success
Outsourcing, boundaries, and building systems that work for your life
Favourite moments:
Heather explaining how she pitched her way into the Boston Globe after running a juice bar
Why she believes “done” is better than “perfect” on LinkedIn and in leadership
Her philosophy on using LinkedIn as scalable mentoring
The rise of GC-plus roles like GC-COO and GC-Chief Strategy Officer
Why “too nice to be a lawyer” is ✨not✨ a weakness
Connect with Heather:
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Connect with Mel:
Counsel Podcast Page on LinkedIn
Instagram: @theinhouselawyer
TikTok: @theinhouselawyer
Or search ‘Counsel’ wherever you get your pods!
