What Makes a Great General Counsel? Key Traits to Look for When Hiring

The title "General Counsel" covers a wide range of roles. Some GCs are the company’s strategic right hand. Others are firefighting across multiple jurisdictions. Some build legal teams from scratch. Others keep the team small but focused.

But despite these differences, the best GCs tend to share a few core traits - and knowing what to look for can make all the difference when hiring your first (or next) legal leader.

Here’s what I’ve seen in the strongest General Counsels I’ve placed and worked with:

1. They’re commercially minded, not just legally sharp

Great GCs don’t just point out the risks - they understand the business context and help find a path forward. They know when to push, when to hold back, and how to tailor advice to their audience. Legal is there to enable, not obstruct.

If a GC talks fluently about revenue models, customer pain points, or product timelines - that’s a good sign.

2. They know how to build trust across the business

A GC isn’t just advising the CEO - they’re working closely with Sales, HR, Product, and Finance. The best ones build strong internal relationships and make it easy for colleagues to pick up the phone and say: “Can I run something by you?”

If people see Legal as a blocker, the GC probably isn’t winning hearts and minds. The best GCs strike the right balance.

3. They’re comfortable with ambiguity and pressure

No one calls Legal when everything’s going to plan. GCs are often dropped into fast-moving, messy situations. The successful ones stay calm, ask smart questions, and get to the heart of the issue quickly - even when the facts are incomplete.

A GC who thrives in chaos and knows how to prioritise is gold, especially in scale-ups or high-growth environments.

4. They hire well and build lean, smart teams

A great GC doesn’t try to do everything themselves. They build strong teams, delegate well, and bring in external specialists when needed. They know when to hire, who to hire, and what to outsource.

Look for someone who can articulate how they would scale the legal function - not just handle everything personally.

5. They have a strong sense of judgment

This one’s hard to teach. GCs are constantly weighing up legal risk against commercial needs. The best ones bring a pragmatic lens to everything they do - and can explain their decisions clearly to both legal and non-legal audiences.

Balancing risk, shaped by experience, is often what separates a good GC from a great one.

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There’s no one-size-fits-all GC profile. A fintech startup needs something different from a multinational insurer. But the traits above tend to show up again and again in successful GCs -regardless of industry or stage.

If you’re hiring a GC and want help defining the brief, benchmarking candidates, or understanding what ‘good’ looks like, I’d be happy to help.