If this was an easy job, anyone could do it. That's the adage. But for lawyers, it understates the true picture. The levels of complexity and challenge faced by lawyers are not at a steady state. Nor do they grow evenly. They spike without warning or preparation. Yes, of course the job gets harder every year for a host of reasons, but then there are these big "transitioning moments" when the skills gap can be enormous.

Transition training, or rather the lack of it, is one of our big themes at Lean Adviser. From law student to newly minted attorney, from associate to partner and even from partner to of counsel. They're all transitions. Later this year, we'll run a mini-series on these transitions, and how unsupported lawyers can be.

But for now, this lesson is about the in-house sector. We often discuss the plight of the modern GC. Having trained as a lawyer, and maybe even done time in a law firm, the GC is now expected to be a business strategist, often in pursuit of investor demand for improved quarterly performance. Meanwhile, the GC also has to protect the company in an environment of difficult legal challenges, regulatory changes and complex compliance demands.