Pearls On, Gloves Off #79 - In House Career Growth: Being a Great Lawyer Isn’t Enough
In this episode, Mary O’Carroll sits down with Rachel St. Peter, General Counsel at Nestlé Health Sciences US, to unpack a bold career move: stepping into legal ops mid-career to grow beyond the “good lawyer” baseline.
From leading global transformation out of Switzerland to reshaping her executive presence and business fluency, Rachel explains how ops experience changed her leadership—and her trajectory. They also dig into the future of in-house legal: AI realities, law firm pricing shakeups, and what the next generation of GCs must bring to the table.
In this episode:
- Why being a great lawyer isn’t enough—and what Rachel did about it
- How a legal ops role built her executive presence and changed her leadership style
- What she’s doing differently as GC—from tech tips in team meetings to smarter firm scoping
- The shift from client-service thinking to true cross-functional business partnership
- How law firm billing must evolve alongside AI adoption—and what real transparency looks like
- Advice for anyone considering a strategic detour: when to take the lateral move and why
If you’re thinking about how to future-proof your legal career—or how to lead with more impact—this episode will challenge the way you think about roles, risk, and reinvention.
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