Recently, I left an organization where I had served as its general counsel for over five years to work for another organization. The decision to change organizations was not an easy one. You see, for me, working for that organization was more than just a job. It was a calling. I believed with all my heart and soul that my work for that organization was important work. The work meant something to me. Just as importantly, it meant something to the other people in the legal department who showed up every day to do that work with me.

On the evening before New Year’s Eve, we met again for what I thought would be a final goodbye — one last hurrah. Of those of us that had gathered, there were some of us who had made the difficult decision to leave years before; there were others of us who, like me, made the difficult decision to leave recently; and there were still others of us who were still in the throes of making a decision.

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As the evening wore on, I realized that we were no longer bound together by an employer and a shared purpose. We were now bound by a shared experience.

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How did our legal team come to be?

Our legal team was not created overnight. Our legal team was built slowly over time.

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• With each new addition, we built and nurtured connections that grew into solid working relationships.
• We expected nothing more from each other than what we expected from ourselves.
• We respected each other and the unique skills and abilities we each brought to our work each day.
• While I was charged with serving as the lead for that team, I was by no means the only leader. There were moments when each one of us stepped up and stepped in when the job called for it.
• While we all had different roles to play, no one person was more important than any other person on our team.
• While we worked hard, we also played hard. We did what we could to take time to blow off steam and laugh a little. Sometimes we did it together, but sometimes we did it on our own.
• While we did not always see problems in the same way, everyone had a voice when we worked together to find a solution.
• When the chips were down, I had no doubt there was always someone ready to jump in and help shoulder the burden.

Make no mistake. It was not always rainbows and unicorns. We had more than our fair share of highs and lows, but through it all we knew we could count on each other. We were, after all, a team.

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When the evening drew to a close, everyone walked out to their cars together. It was in that moment I realized that this long goodbye was really not a goodbye after all. It was just the beginning of something new.

Who knows what 2023 will bring, but I am ready for it.

Goodbye, 2022. Hello, 2023.

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Lisa Lang is an in-house lawyer and thought leader who is passionate about all things in-house.  She has recently launched a website and blog Why This, Not That™ (www.lawyerlisalang.com ) to serve as a resource for in-house lawyers.  You can e-mail her at [email protected] , connect with her on LinkedIn  (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawyerlisalang/) or follow her on Twitter (@lang_lawyer).

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In-House Counsel, Lisa Lang