For the first time, SuperConference has offered an In-House Young Professionals special session throughout Day 1. With three topics covered throughout the day, attendees got substantive advice on building and maintaining successful legal department careers.

In the morning session, “Managing the Transition,” three speakers discussed adapting to an in-house culture, ways to become a legal and strategic partner, and managing your in-house career track. 

In the first after-lunch session, “Not Letting Perfect Get in the Way of Good,” Dick Mosher of the Association of Corporate Counsel's Dallas Chapter, gave attendees tips on best practices for working in a legal department. They included understanding the business, determining the company's goals, creating a law department business plan (either for the entire department or for one project) and being careful not to use “lawyer-speak” when talking to business people.

In the final session of the day, “Climbing the Corporate Ladder,” two in-house counsel from Allstate Corp. offered attendees advice on getting ahead in their legal departments and careers. Performance is only 10 percent of success. Exposure (60 percent) and image (30 percent) make up the rest of the success pie. The speakers also underscored the importance of soft skills, such as networking internally and externally, possessing political savvy and displaying confidence. They added that it's important to strive for top-notch service for clients and develop rapports with them.

More sessions and keynote addresses at SuperConference run through the end of the day tomorrow, and there is still time to register. For more information, visit SuperConference.

Check back on InsideCounsel.com for more stories about SuperConference, and follow InsideCounsel on Twitter @InsideCounsel and look for #SuperCon11.