As associate general counsel (APJ) at Boomi, I’ve navigated across various tech companies over the years. Earlier in my career, my focus has always been on delivering high-quality, speedy legal advice. I stayed within my legal lane, ensuring my work was sound, efficient, and valuable to the business. The feedback was consistently positive, and I took pride in being the go-to legal expert within the business.

Then, one day, a mentor casually asked, “Have you thought about getting on global projects?” I dismissed it at first. I thought I had it all figured out.

But over time, I realised that the biggest opportunities for growth weren’t in mastering what I already knew; they were in surrounding myself with people who were experts in areas I knew little about. That moment of epiphany made me realise that I had been operating in a comfort zone, excelling at what I knew but not stretching myself into areas where I could learn from others with different expertise that would broaden my impact and influence on the business.

Eventually, I participated in a global project with finance, sales, and strategy, and I began to see how much more there was to learn beyond the law. Every meeting became a learning opportunity. Instead of trying to be the smartest person in the room, I became the most curious – and that made all the difference.

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This shift in mindset has transformed my view of what success means as an in-house counsel. It’s about how effectively I can bridge legal expertise with business strategy to drive meaningful outcomes. True impact comes from understanding the bigger picture – where legal knowledge is just one piece of the puzzle. When I understood why we had the specific sales targets, I began structuring my contract reviews differently – prioritising must-have terms versus nice-to-haves to accelerate critical deals. Sitting with finance taught me that payment terms aren’t just legal boilerplate; they directly impact our cash flow forecasts and growth projections into new markets.

In my early days, when presented with a master services agreement, I focused solely on perfecting the liability caps and indemnities. Now, I first ask about the strategic importance of the client, our account plans, and how this deal fits into our quarterly objectives and annual operation plans. This context helps me structure agreements that protect us legally while supporting our growth targets, balancing risk and reward. What used to be a back-and-forth negotiation with the customer’s legal team is now a collaborative discussion focused on mutual business objectives.

As I grew into a legal leadership role, I realised that driving broader business impact meant taking ownership of projects beyond the legal realm. I volunteered to lead our efforts in entering the public sector market, which required orchestrating work across legal, sales, and security teams.

While the legal aspects were familiar territory, I had to learn about our capabilities, customer case studies, and government procurement processes. This cross-functional leadership not only expanded my understanding of the business but positioned legal as a proactive business enabler rather than just a risk gatekeeper. The project’s success went beyond compliance; it opened up a new revenue stream and established our credibility in the public sector market.

For peers in-house looking for career progression, don’t be afraid to ask questions – volunteer for that cross-functional project, put your hand up to sit in on a strategy meeting, request a business mentor, and curiously question the business model to understand the financial metrics. At first, it can be quite daunting as you start hearing new business terms such as “churn”, “pipeline – 2x or 5x?” or “attach rates”, to name a few.

I remember sitting in my first sales strategy meeting, feeling out of my depth as the team discussed conversion funnels and customer acquisition costs. But pushing through that initial discomfort was worth it. Understanding that a high churn rate could deeply affect the business helped me prioritise contract renewals differently. These insights transformed how I approach negotiations, shifting from a purely risk-mitigation mindset to balancing legal protections with commercial objectives.

Sometimes, the path to greater impact is about being curious and having the courage to be a learner in the room.

Evana Diep is an associate general counsel (APJ) at Boomi.