Bookmark Invocon GC Maryrose Delahunty's reading recommendations if you’re looking for inspiration, information, and new knowledge. #ACCDocket

Sometimes in-house lawyers need to do more than offer advice. Sometimes they need to carry the CEO across the finish line.

Realize that each message we send creates a to-do item on someone else’s list. Therefore, what we state and how we state it can directly affect the promptness of the response.

Maryrose Delahunty and her husband survived the recent Texas Freeze thanks to the kindness of family, friends, and strangers.

We build relationships by making the effort to engage in clear and frequent communication.

The current environment holds challenges for us all. Once it has passed, and it will pass, we will have to deal with the consequences. How we deal with these circumstances and what follows remains firmly in our hands.

We recover, we rebound, we restore, and we redeem this time by deciding to do one act of kindness for one person when presented the opportunity. One act could make all the difference for someone in need.

In this time of COVID, everything feels protracted even as the calendar pages spin faster than a carousel. The next chapter in history appears in no great hurry to arrive and yet, how can it be one month from the end of 2020?

What a year it has been! We have seen a series of events and any one of them would be history-making: a presidential impeachment trial, devastating wildfires, a worldwide pandemic, national protests, lockdowns, quarantines, the postponement of the Olympics, and cancelations of annual events that even world wars did not affect. Allow me to share with you some good news from this year.

As much as we need to impart the value of hard work and lead by example, that example should also include the importance of prioritizing what and who we value. We must show, not just tell, those who matter to us that they do matter to us.

You don’t have to be stuck; you can begin again. Think about what you need to do to get over the wrongs and get back to asking people: “How can I help you?”

Over time, one becomes accustomed and even proficient at taking on new work. Participating and contributing in functional areas outside of legal such as business development, procurement, and even accounting can be invigorating.

Some employees, ostensibly shielded by “protected class” status, behave badly and mistreat other employees. Companies allow fears of accusations of age-bias, race-bias, or gender-bias to keep us from dismissing or even disciplining a toxic employee.

Emotional awareness is an important, yet often overlooked, tool in life. Being cognizant of the emotional balancing act in our heads and taming those inner voices is a constant struggle as we interact daily with people at home, at the store, at the office, and in social settings.

Instead of waiting for an outside occurrence such as company merger or sale, a layoff or unexpected job opportunity to move the needle on our careers, we should take it upon ourselves to regularly conduct an assessment of where we are and whether or not we still want to be there.

How does one prevent a downward spiral in the midst of a pressure cooker with no apparent means of release? Reframe the circumstances.

Does working “above and beyond” mean that we must sacrifice our health, families, and mental state? Only if we let it. We train people on how to treat us.

How do we overcome this onset of boredom, this lack of enthusiasm? How do we change our rut into a groove? I think the answer is to change our life’s soundtrack. We can do that by trying something new.

In addition to making outside negotiation more effective, an outline also keeps you focused, calm, and levelheaded for internal negotiations.

Purposely recognize and remove the wrong thought before it grows into an emotional tumor that clouds your vision. Then you can see things truly as they are.

The question shouldn’t be, “Can I afford to attend a conference?” The question is, “Can I afford not to?”

What do law and bread baking have in common? Absolutely nothing. Isn’t it wonderful?

The one area of communication that is most often overlooked is communication with ourselves. How often do we take the time to perform an internal, periodic review?

It’s time that we find new songs, new voices, and new people who can speak to the potential joy that we crave in our lives.

My mother gave me some great advice many years ago, saying, “If you get mad, the other person has already won.” She was right and yet I would take that advice one step further: “If you get mad, you have already lost.”