The Power of Social Media For In-House Lawyers and Why Personal Brand Is Not a Dirty Word – Mel Scott – S5E14

00:00 Robert Hanna:

Welcome to the Legally Speaking Podcast. I’m your host Rob Hanna. This week I’m delighted to be joined by Mel Scott. Mel is part of the senior legal counsel at Megaport, a global technology company based in Australia. She is an in house adviser to the women laws Association in Queensland, in addition to serving as a member association of corporate counsel National Conference Committee, if that isn’t enough, now is a passionate advocate for in house legal roles, and has her own amazing podcast called Councils. So a very, very warm welcome now.

00:39 Mel Scott:

Thank you, Rob. And I must say it is 8pm here in Australia and your energy is giving me life, my friend. Thank you.

00:48 Robert Hanna:

The power of the time zones the power of the time zones, I’ve been super excited for this one. So before we dive into all your amazing projects, achievements and experiences to date, we do have a customary icebreaker question here on the legally speaking podcast, which is on a scale of one to 1010 being very real, what would you rate the hit TV series suits in terms of its okay, so

01:13 Mel Scott:

I must admit that I had a little think about this one. And I’ve got a number. And it’s in relation to the reality of legal practice here in Australia. And I have to give it a four out of 10. So we’re going to give some points for the beautiful office, the beautiful buildings, and the very capable paralegals and assistants, like Rachel and Donna, because we certainly have that in spades. But I have to deduct points for the glamorous, the glamorous nature within which everybody operates and that they resolve things within a very tidy 20 minute episode, because that certainly has not been my experience. And I have also not met a straight 10 like Harvey Specter. So I just had to take some points off there as well.

02:06 Robert Hanna:

I love how you’ve given that some analysis and thought and it really considered for so

02:12 Mel Scott:

I am a lawyer, after all. I mean, exactly.

02:15 Robert Hanna:

You’ve looked at the facts. You’ve made a judgment, He rolled with it, and I like it. Okay, well, we’re sticking with the four. But let’s move swiftly on then. So let’s start at the beginning. Could you talk us through your career journey? And tell us a little bit about your family background?

02:32 Mel Scott:

Yes, absolutely. So I grew up in North Queensland and a country town in very tropical Townsville. I am the eldest of five children, and naturally quite, quite the responsible leader, perfectionist, no bossy slash boss vibes. That was definitely my big sister gig. And I am the first person in my family to go to university and most certainly the first lawyer as well. So I didn’t know anything, but I knew I wanted to study law. And I figured out a way to get there. And hustled my way to a scholarship to university on the Gold Coast. So I tracked down 24 hour trip by train, and started there, made my way through my law degree. And then I came to graduation. Now I didn’t have any prospects, I wasn’t able to secure a training contract or clerkship or, you know, position within a law firm to kind of kick start my legal career. And that’s really common look at this was 10 years ago, and nothing has changed the supply and demand if the market is what it is. And I had a pretty fantastic resume in terms of social extracurricular, loved me in Association did not quite have the grades to get the attention of the big firms here in Australia for those very coveted graduate placements. And there’s very few of them. And I didn’t get one. So I said, Well, let’s go on Contiki tour, and off to your side of the world. I went and I traveled and went around Europe and spent a month in Spain over to the Greek islands and just had an absolute ball a real gap year, came back and I had run out of money. So it was most certainly time to to get some and to get cracking. Again, I didn’t have any prospects. I didn’t have any network. You know, I didn’t come from a family that had lawyers in the family or a fancy uncle who had connections in the big cities. So I did what I do best and I was resourceful and I I just took massive action, printed off my resume and walked around the city and dropped it off to 108 law firms from memory, big small, large barristers, chambers, whoever might need a junior, and that offer that that opened one door and that was the one opportunity I needed. I took that it just so happened to be in a Large, firm and national firm one of the big ones here. And I ended up finding my way into a graduate placement as a bit of a quick we need some extras because we’re busy. And, you know, it is what it is. But it was a long winded way of finding myself in a big commercial law firm. And that’s what I wanted. That’s what I thought I wanted at the time. So I did that for three years. And then I realized this is not, for me, I had the opportunity to go on to comment into a client and experience this thing called in house and I had no idea what that was. They don’t tell you that at university that there’s this entire other way of practicing. And it is called being an in house lawyer. So I had a little taste of that. And I was hooked. I made my way into my first in house role about seven years ago. And I’ve been working as an in house lawyer since through lots of different industries and experiences. And I’m safe to say pretty passionate advocate for this way of practice.

06:02 Robert Hanna:

Yeah, and thank you so much for sharing that. That’s their story. super inspiring. And I think that’s just another example of, you know, an overnight success. Not you know, you mentioned 180 applications getting out there hustling you know, you have to that’s real message to our listeners, you know, you want to make your own luck, go out and get it and you like you say that one door that one opportunity opened, and then that kick started your, your current incredible career. So thank you so much for sharing that. And as you mentioned, your niche initially did start in the world of private practice in corporate advisory, and then you have that comment and then transitioned into when house, what did you learn what skills from private practice perhaps equipped you or helped you with

06:42 Mel Scott:

Moving into it? And I will say that no experience is ever wasted. Now look, was it the most? Fantastic, you know, wonderful, Yeah, completely invigorating environment within which I could thrive? No, it’s certainly it wasn’t, that wasn’t my experience, it was, it was a very intense workplace, the hours were long, it was pretty typical of that. But I certainly learned a lot, I learned the rigor with which to proofread my correspondence. And little things matter the detail, understanding that you cannot send out an email without all of the correct attachments in PDF, beautifully presented, and that it does matter when it comes to being professional and to be received by the person receiving your email as an ambassador and an advocate of high quality work. So that experience was second to none, I understood, you know, the for better or for worse, or I understood the dynamics and the hierarchies the game that is private practice. And it is and I started to see where power lies and how it, how it moves around and the business of law that has put me in good stead being on the other side as a client and a consumer of these legal services. And I guess the networking as well cannot deny that I connected with some incredible junior lawyers, we felt like I suppose we were in the trenches together. And we just, you know, some of these people came to my wedding and have been will be lifelong friends. Because you go through an experience like that, and it bonds you in a way. So look, it was it was a feast or famine environment. I was in the mergers and acquisitions, the front end it was a little sexy, and then it wasn’t. But that was my experience. And I had a nice enough of a taste to realize that it probably wasn’t for me. Long term option.

08:43 Robert Hanna:

Yeah, no. And again, thank you for articulating that so beautifully. And you know, what people should be taking away or thinking about, if they are looking to move in house and all of those skills that can equip them. So fast forward, that, you know, you’ve worked in house across some amazing industries from aviation infrastructure, financial services, so you know, what experiences have you gained and perhaps what’s been your most favorite industry to work in?

09:07 Mel Scott:

Okay, hands down the industry I’m currently working in which is technology, and in an area of tech that is so new that no one even really knows what we do. But it took me a while to figure out what we’re selling in the cloud computing space in an interesting space where internet infrastructure meets software and gets data to the cloud, fascinating, very cutting edge that is my favorite without a doubt, but along the way, you know the, the lessons in in house again, adjust, never wasted. And it has to be about the diversity of the subject matter with which I get to become accustomed to working and practicing and I call myself, you know, a Jack or Jill of all trades and a Master of some and that is truly the essence of being an in house lawyer.

10:01 Robert Hanna:

Yeah, and that segues nicely, actually, I was gonna say more specifically, you know, what does being an in house lawyer mean to you, and perhaps What’s the best part of working in house.

10:11 Mel Scott:

For me, it is a way of practice that best suits my personality. And it’s not for everyone, to be able to be flexible and jump across multiple different subject matters within a day is not everybody’s cup of tea. And you have to get very comfortable with not being an expert. I am in fact, an expert of knowing my limits and understanding when I need to escalate to an expert to local counsel to a particular partner in a law firm, perhaps even direct briefing to a barrister. And that is very much my expertise, it is triage of legal matters and risk for a company. So that suits that suits me I strike myself and my employers, as a commercial. And a practical, pragmatic lawyer that understands that to do business means to have risk, and that it cannot be avoided, because the mere act of business is to take some risks, but we most certainly can, can mitigate this risk and take smart risk as well, and try and protect the company while moving forward. So like for me, again, it is a personality, and a way of practice that also fits my lifestyle, and my wellbeing. And that means I’m not billing, it’s not a billable unit based industry. And that’s a key difference. If you think about private practice, and in house, one of the key differences will be typically you will be measured on the quantity of your output in private practice, how many billable hours on the clock, for in house, we typically do not build our time, we are measured by the quality of our input, the value that we provide to the business and that will look different to every business. And that will look different to every one of your clients and your internal colleagues within the business and what they deem to be valuable. But it’s certainly a different proposition. And I personally do not miss recording my time in six minute units. I had that for three years of my life. And look, never say never. But it isn’t for me, I don’t think ever again.

12:28 Robert Hanna:

Yeah, and you raise so many great points there. And I could just sense from speaking to you know, how important you your network is, you know, we hear the cliches all the time network, and you know, you’re prepared to go out there communicate with people find the answers really leverage that network, I think that’s a really key message to be to be passing on. So to the present day, you now work at Megaport, you know, as a global technology company, as you mentioned, specializing in areas of cloud computing, and virtual networks. Super, super exciting. But could you tell us more about the type of work you do and what it involves maybe a day in the life of now?

13:03 Mel Scott:

Absolutely, I must certainly can. I cannot serve I cannot give you a typical day because every day is different. And it is very much dependent on what’s in my inbox and who has slacked me what overnight. So being a global company, of course, I wake up to my US colleagues and North American colleagues online and they’ve waiting, they’re ready for me to drop in Mel, Mel. And then we work through the needs of the day. And then my APAC colleagues in the Asia Pacific and Australia region, they’ll get some love. And then as I’m winding down, my European colleagues are winding up. And we have offices in London and Berlin. So they will need some legal love as well. So with that, that ebb and flow of the day, I can often start earlier in my day and finish later and sometimes take a longer lunch break and almost like a split shift. Other days, it will be a really early start for a 6am meeting for someone in New York, but I’ll finish it two or three. And I get to design my days depending on the requirements of of the day and the meetings. Now within those days, look, it could be customer contract review, it could be drafting an employment agreement and explaining to a new candidate why we can or cannot accept their negotiated position. It could be giving advice to the investor relations team because we are a listed company on the Australian Stock Exchange. And of course, that means there are constant updates and matters that need to be announced to the market and in very, very specific guidelines and timelines to be met. So there will be listing rules and exchange rules to be followed and you just cannot miss those ones up. So that’s pretty serious stuff. And then I might be doing a team meeting I might have a coffee catch up in. In the real world. When we were all back in the office. There would be lots of networking into the City for a CLE or a CPD seminar at a law firm or a provider of legal services, and, you know, there’s lots of privacy law, certainly data protection in our space, and everything in between. So I hope that gives you some sense. The other thing that just came to mind, of course, is intellectual property. For a tech company, you would expect typically, some patents, perhaps, trademarks, etc. And the source code, you know, the software that we actually have out there is our most valuable asset that we need to protect with copyright and, and other things. So when, when there are competitors that might crop up there can be some action required there. So lots of lots of things, my friend, I wear many hats and as I have become more senior into my career, I’m now starting to manage people who were really doing that work and helping them grow and learn. And it’s becoming quite a privilege of mine actually, just recently to have two juniors underneath me or don’t like to really say underneath, but, you know, they report to me as their people leader, and now I get to have the honor of growing them into the professionals that they would like to be in and doing it in a way that is empathetic and compassionate, which is some new terms for some people, leaders in the law. But that’s, that’s my mission, at least.

16:26 Robert Hanna:

Yeah, and it’s so true, though those words, and hopefully they will become more common. Over the years and weeks and months to come. I know a lot of us are campaigning for that. And he talked nicely because you had a very progressive career. And we talked a lot about career moves, decisions and progression on the legally speaking podcast. So you know, prior to joining, you know, mega port where you have the senior role, we only now are looking after people, you worked as part of the legal counsel, Brisbane and Brisbane Airport Corporation. So what did that role entail, whilst part of the council there? And were there any transferable skills that you learned from your time at Brisbane Airport, that how helped you with your transition to make a poor?

17:08 Mel Scott:

Absolutely. So that role was my first in house role. And I was still relatively junior at you know, that three years post admission experience. So I was still cutting my teeth. I was also thrown in the deep end, I had to go and meet with clients directly without any layers of hierarchy. There was no associate, Senior Associate partner, etc. Between me and the client anymore. It was direct. And I had to learn very quickly, that I do not know everything, I’m not expected to know everything. And that when I don’t know the answer, I best not pretend. And then it’s best to say, look, I don’t know. But I will check and come back to you and then follow up in due course, that was a lesson I learned trying to fudge it through or no way. There is nothing wrong with saying that you don’t know everything, because the areas of the law that we must be across are just so, so large and continuously expanding. So our clients don’t expect us to know everything, but they do expect us to be honest, and then to come back with it with a helpful answer when we get a chance. So that was my first experience and working for an airport and in the infrastructure space was phenomenal. It is essentially a mini council I got to look across anything you would expect. Water storage, construction property, obviously, airline and commercial negotiations there. There was a huge runway project billion dollar 12 year project that I worked on for the four years that I was there, incredible nation building project, as they say, and an opportunity of a career. And that really helped me solidify myself as a solid and useful legal counsel, the piece that was missing was the tech piece. And that’s how I found my way into mega port because I really wanted to round out my experience there. Now in terms of the transferable skills, I will say that I had some resistance in moving within industries. And I thought I couldn’t do that, you know, I’m now an aviation lawyer. I’m an infrastructure lawyer. How could I go and think that I could be a tech lawyer? Well, you absolutely can. The transferable skills are many problem solving is problem solving. And understanding the needs of a business doing research and coming back with something that’s fit for purpose and adds value is a timeless skill that you could apply to probably any job in any position. And of course, the legal research, the writing the drafting, you know, the communication skills as well. Those were all being honed and developed and it’s a craft you know, it’s, we call it legal practice for a reason. It is a practice and it takes time. And those early years we’re just putting in the hours, the sets and the reps and crafting and hurting us skills. And then that helped me jump into the new industry. And I had a lot to learn because I, I did not understand computer networking and the foundation of which the internet is built. And then I went on a site visit to a data center and went, Oh, so this is where the internet lives. Okay, great. You can see and touch it, you know, that was blowing my tiny brain. So I have a lot to learn. But being curious is, you know, being an a lifelong learner is something that I always want to be and it helps jumping around into different industries, getting outside of your comfort zone really, really helps with that.

20:42 Robert Hanna:

Yeah, no, and thank you so much for sharing that, and a very useful resource might I add, I think, you know, you’ve done some incredible works. And you know, what you’ve achieved is really, really inspirational. And a lot of people are going to be super excited to be listening in to this particular episode. And on that, you know, we talked about the theme of networking and community voting, which you’re just wonderful at doing. You’re also the in house adviser to the Women Lawyers Association in Queensland. And so how did you join the association? And what does being a member of that mean to you?

21:13 Mel Scott:

That was something that came to me and was a lovely honor that I essentially was invited to, to fill that role. And I think it probably came about because there aren’t that many women lawyers in Queensland, working in house that are quite as prolific online, and particularly on LinkedIn. So that really elevated my personal brand, to be honest, is probably what got that opportunity. sent my way, when they were thinking, well, we better have some diversity, and some people that aren’t in law firms on this committee, let’s get that you know, and family lawyers and boutique law firms and in house and government and really trying to round out everyone having a seat at the table. I suppose I was top of mind, perhaps maybe I wasn’t maybe there were others that were lost. And they came to me on a list. But it was, I suspect it was just being out and about and being a proud in house.

22:20 Robert Hanna:

No, and I think that’s such an important message because I keep banging on about the importance of a personal brand. You know, things will happen in your journey. Throughout your career, you will have some great moments, you will have some bad moments, but nobody can take away your personal brand. And the more that you invest in that and put yourself out there and build community, the more opportunities that will fly out come towards you. So really, really important message. Thank you so much for, for sharing that. And you describe your legal career as a marathon, not a sprint. So could you explain what you mean by that?

22:53 Mel Scott:

Absolutely. That’s one of those things that I tell myself often. And I tell all of the lawyers and students that I’m coaching or guiding or mentoring in some way. Our careers are marathons, and they are not sprints. We don’t need to have it all figured out straightaway. And quite honestly, I don’t actually think anybody does. You know, I’ve been doing this for 10 years now. And I know some really senior GCS, and general counsel’s and law firm partners and barristers and some really, really fantastic practitioners. And I think we’re all just trying to figure it out as best we can. Because every day is new, and the law is evolving and changing. And so must we, but I think it helps take the pressure off. Because we are ambitious, by nature, and it’s the human condition to strive and to want to have it all figured out. And we like certainty, we like comfort. It’s probably why we studied law, and things that are rooted in history in the past, and although changing, largely stay the same, and changes slow, slow, perhaps. So you know, personalities that are drawn to this profession, you know, were a particular type. And I think it helps take the pressure off. We can have dreams and goals and be ambitious. But we need to just temper that with the reminder that life is long, hopefully God willing, and that our careers are long, and we get to take a windy road, we get to take opportunities that look different to how we thought that they might, if we’re open to different things that might be not what we thought they would be when we were 21 and fresh eyed straight out of law school. We ended up in in really interesting, fascinating places. And I think for me, it’s just about patience and just having that that macro view, giving myself time to sort things out and being led by more and more as I kind of am into my 30s Now don’t know how that happened, but it did. And here I am going you know what I’m going to be led by what why Meet up what brings me joy, what I enjoy doing, I get to spend 4050, etcetera, hours a week doing this work. This is my main hustle. Where do I want to be? What kind of people do I want to be surrounded by? What’s the energy and is that me. And as we get to know ourselves and we grow in self-awareness, we can find opportunities that suit. And that’s been my experience. I certainly am not the lawyer I thought I would be when I was, you know, struggling out of law school, looking at the big ivory towers, and wanting to conquer some kind of, I don’t know what it was it was, it was very glamorous, and it was very untrue was probably suits was probably my thoughts suits was. And now being where I am and doing what I’m doing makes so much sense and only looking backwards. Can we see what all of the little steps added up to but looking forwards, being guided by a sense of patience. And what just kind of feels right for me is as the next right step is. So far, it’s working out pretty well, I’d say.

26:09 Robert Hanna:

Yeah, I’d say very well. And that kind of I always echo this, this is well known expression. Yeah, run your own race at your own pace. And I think you’ve just articulated that beautifully. And we’ve touched on LinkedIn. But to educate more people about in house roles. You use Instagram and LinkedIn very well. I might add, do you think there’s a need for people, especially students to learn there are a range of opportunities available in the legal sphere? Now? Is there any advice you would like to give to our listeners, perhaps considering an in house career?

26:38 Mel Scott:

Absolutely. I think that, to answer the first part of your question, without a doubt, if you want to have relevance and an understanding of modern communication, as a lawyer, or as any type of professional, you need to be on social media and have an online presence. Now that will look differently for everyone. Depending on your internal privacy settings. I have no privacy settings and talk about everything everywhere. But that’s not everybody style. But to be visible on LinkedIn, to have a voice to create content in a way that suits you and your personality, I truly think is non-negotiable. I really I know I made a bit of a forefront here, but you live and breathe in this space for and I’m sure you would agree that starting to dip your toes into having a network online and building a personal brand online is non-negotiable, because what it really is, is your reputation and what people will think of when they think of you it’s not a dirty word. It sounds a little salesy or sleazy and sometimes it has an ick factor when you think of the word personal brand, but I think it’s deeper than that, I think it’s about being known for certain thing and crafting that that message for yourself and thinking about your brand as separate from your employer, because it will be with you for your career, no matter who you’re working with. So that’s something that I really only got around my head around, maybe two years ago, seven or eight years into my career, it’s like, oh, wait a minute, I’m not necessarily wedded to the brand of my employer, I have my own separate brand, and what could that look like and let’s start to play and I certainly do enjoy creating content online and with the podcasts. And I think to the second piece being online and having a presence and connecting you will two things happen you know, you create opportunities, they find you your people find you when you shine bright and you show who you are and what you’re learning and what you’re interested in. And you do see job opportunities, internship opportunities, things that are presented informally, or in a way that you would otherwise maybe not come across so often I’ll see things on Instagram that you would previously only have really seen on LinkedIn and I feel like it’s been more casual the I suppose the proliferation of content legal content and legal jobs as well so trying to go where you think that content that’s of interest to you will be is something to think about and I’m not gonna lie It’s even now on TikTok like there’s a whole legal TikTok thing going on that I’m dipping my toe into finally after some resistance is wild New World my friend but I’m here for it. And you know I guess to round it out sorry I’m dragging this one out but you come in to my real my real passion in the social media stuff. And it is it is a passion it’s something that has bringing immense joy brought us together connected us and here I am speaking to you from the you know the other side of the world to speak to your listeners and hopefully add some value it would not have been possible if not for probably clubhouse Send LinkedIn, you know, like, it’s, it’s fantastic.

30:05 Robert Hanna:

It’s amazing. And you’re absolutely right. And I think the, the message I take from that is, you know, reputation. You know, and I say this quite verbosely You know, word of mouth counts for nothing these days. And what I mean by that is we’re not in physical office, we’re not physically having those exchanges as much as we once were, you know, it’s more about the best known will always beat the best and a lot of people disagree with me with that. But if you’re out there and you’re visible, you know, you know, if you’re not first you’re last get out there produce a personal brand and all these opportunities. You’re absolutely right now we came together through connection community building, we I liked your content, you saw some of my content, we have a discussion, we see lots of social people within on social networks, we start discussions, and it’s so so important for your career. So the sooner you start, the better at being absolutely, you’ve got to get comfortable being uncomfortable getting on Tik Tok, doing some edutainment. It’s one of the fastest growing things right now. And so couldn’t agree more. And thank you for, you know, for someone so senior who has achieved so much to really articulate that message, not only to your peers and people above and below you, it’s going to inspire a lot of people. So really appreciate you doing that. And you did touch on in that message, your podcast. So during the pandemic, you launched your very own podcast called counsel, which I’m a massive, massive fan of, and I encourage a lot of people to go and check it out. What inspired you to start your own podcast? And what do you hope for your listeners to learn?

31:25 Mel Scott:

I love a good podcast, if it’s not in a podcast, like I’m not going to really learn about it. That’s how I get all of my news, media entertainment. You know, I’m in a bit of a podcast world, I just love that medium. And I am a naturally curious person. So I really wanted to understand how you make a podcast. And then I thought, well, why couldn’t I make a podcast? And that was about two years. Before I actually started, I was in my head and thinking about this podcast idea and blah, blah, blah, and just intention, intention, intention and no action. And I think looking back, it was all it was all fear based. I know exactly why I didn’t start a podcast, I was worried a little bit about the time and the requirements. And then there was the well, I don’t know how to do it. But I also figured out, you know, I could Google it and probably figure it out. But the real fear was that being a beginner again, it’s something I’m not a sound, it’s her an audio editor, I’m, I’m certainly not someone who understands the equipment and the Edit thing at the post production. And it all felt very scary for someone who likes to put myself out there as being probably pretty polished and all put together. It’s the lawyer in us. And so I leant into that was like, this is a challenge. This is a personal growth thing. Let’s move through this. Then we were sent home, we had our first lockdown here in Brisbane in April 2020. And I had nothing to do and, and I was real sick of social zooms, and drinks over zoom real quick. So I ordered myself a microphone, the one I’m using here, and it was $100 from Amazon. And then I Googled how to start a podcast and I documented the journey on my Instagram ever since. And that has been a phenomenal project. I’m obsessed with it. It’s so much fun, it’s become a side hustle, I now have some wonderful sponsors I work with and make a little bit of cash that I can spend on outsourcing the editing. And now I have my own producer. I brought back some of my time on the weekends when my husband would go to golf and I would edit. So that’s been nice. It took me 18 months, but I got there. I hope that my listeners really understand that there is this way of legal practice called in house practice. And that is pretty fun. And there is an awesome opportunity. The area and the sector is growing without a doubt because companies understand the value of having your legal resources in house and dedicated to the one entity. The price and the cost savings alone are phenomenal. But the advice you receive is extremely specialized because you just understand the context. Because you live and breathe one business at a time, not multiple businesses or multiple clients. So understanding that, Hey, there’s this way to practice you probably weren’t taught about a taught it at law school. And it might be for you it might not but at least at least understand that there are so many other ways of being a lawyer that we were not actually taught about. So if there’s anything more than that, then that’s amazing. I certainly love talking about legal tech in particular how we’re using it in house, that’s a growing trend as well. There is some resistance and it can be difficult for legal counsel to get the budget and to show that Add value so we have a lot of conversation about showing value in house. And really I think just showing up and being modern in House lawyers for companies that that demand more and more from us with, with less and less. That’s a whole topic. Yeah, I’ve got a whole podcast about it we can anyone’s Welcome to listen.

35:27 Robert Hanna:

And thank you so much for sharing your podcast story there. Now that reminds me of so many things. Mentors have said to me, every winner was once a beginner, every master was once a disaster, fear no more dreams than failure ever will love. All of that is so true and relevant to everything you said. And you know, when the student is ready, the master will show and in your case, Google and action, right. So I love it. I love it. I love it. I love it. So finally, for anyone wanting to listen to your podcast, understanding more about the experiences in house roles, how can they access it?

35:59 Mel Scott:

Absolutely, it is everywhere, you know, just search Council, you’re going to find it on any podcast player, Council. podcast.com is another way to access it online on your desktop. And to see more visually who I’ve interviewed and what we spoke about. There’s 26 episodes now. And I have interviewed a huge range of in House lawyers, and people from across different industries in different countries. There’s a couple of bonus episodes where I just deep dive into particular experiences and talk ad nauseum. And, and just, I suppose take the liberty because I’ve got the mic, but people seem to like those ones as well. And of course on social. I’m so loving Instagram at the moment at the in house lawyer is me. I’m obsessed with stories and sharing behind the scenes of my life. And know some of the exciting bits. There’s not too much I can share in terms of my day to day work, unfortunately, but I try to give some really high level insight there. And I am also enjoying Tik Tok at the in house lawyer. It’s very new. It’s very cringy it’s corporate millennial vibes, you know, she’s serving cringe, but she’s trying. And I’d love to get some feedback there from your listeners on how I could really serve on that platform. LinkedIn, Mel Scott, you’ll find me there as well.

37:29 Robert Hanna:

Awesome. Please everyone, make sure that you check out all of Mel’s social media handles and it’s a great example of being omnipresent as well and having different communication channels and getting yourself out there and I’m sure it’s not cringy on Tik Tok. I’m sure it’s lots of fun and entertainment. And at the end of the day, we’re all humans. And we’re all just trying to get by and we’re all just trying to help one another. So I love it. Mel. It’s been an absolute pleasure having you on the Legally Speaking Podcast. Thank you so much for coming on. We would like to wish you lots of continued success with your career and all of your wider pursuits, but from all of us on the show for now, over an hour.

38:07 Mel Scott:

Thank you so much. What a treat!