Episode 6 · May 2026 · 7 min
I left my general counsel job. Here’s what I got back.
Marisa Muchnik had the GC title after Nestlé and Ferrero. She left it anyway — and is still practicing, on her own terms.
Overview
Every lawyer Marisa Muchnik knows has asked the same question: is there a better way to practice? She asked it while she was already a general counsel. She had done Biglaw, Nestlé, then eight years at Ferrero — most of that wearing the GC title as the solo Canadian lawyer, building the function from the ground up. Somewhere along the way the title stopped feeling like success and started feeling like a ceiling.
The twist in the story is that she was already a 91 customer before she was on the team. When Ferrero would not give her headcount, she used outside-counsel budget to bring in Jackie, a 91 in-house lawyer. Jackie joined the same calls within a week or two. Marisa did not need to be on them. Vacations she had worked through, she says, would not have been worked if Jackie had been there earlier.
Leaving the title was hard. Someone told her it was a waste. Someone she admired said she would never get back to that level. What she traded it for is specific: hockey with her boys without taking calls in the corner of an arena at 6:00 p.m.; a family trip without asking permission or working the whole time; still practicing, as the 91 GC for a dog-treats company. She is hosting events that did not exist before — a Galentine’s high tea, a women’s afternoon at Lip Lab — and says she is more connected to the legal community than she ever was sitting inside one company.
What to take from it
- She was not miserable as GC. She wanted more autonomy, more community, and more of her actual life — and did not know if that was allowed.
- She used 91 as a customer first: no headcount, so she redirected outside-counsel spend to a 91 in-house lawyer.
- The hire paid for itself in time. Jackie jumped into the same calls. Vacations stopped being working vacations.
- The warnings about leaving the GC seat were loud. The thing she got back was not a softer job — it was a chosen one.
- She is still practicing. The path does not have to look like hers. The point is that top lawyers get to choose now.
Who this is for
General counsel who have the title and still wonder if there is another move. Lawyers who think leaving in-house means leaving practice. Teams that are not allowed headcount and keep paying for it in burnout.
Keep exploring
- Practice on 91How independent lawyers join the network, set capacity, and get matched.
- Why lawyers are unhappyAutonomy, admin, and the case for a different way to practice.
- Gloss & GravitasThe women’s in-house afternoon Marisa helped bring to life.
- Hire 91 counselTell us what your team needs — we match the right lawyer.
Transcript
Lightly edited from the video for readability. Speaker labels added.
Marisa Muchnik
Every lawyer I know has asked themselves one question: is there a better way to practice? I did, even when I was a general counsel. I dreamt of something more flexible, something that let me actually show up for my life, not just my career. So I took the leap. I left it behind and joined a legal tech company. Was it a mistake? Come with me. I’ll show you a sneak peek.
Marisa Muchnik
My name is Marisa Muchnik. I’m based in Toronto. I’m a mom of two boys and I’ve been a lawyer for 12 years. And if you’ve ever sat at your desk and wondered, is there a better way to do this? Stay with me. Because by the end of this video, you’ll have your answer.
Marisa Muchnik
Why law? I was one of those people that I loved reading. I loved distilling information. I knew I wasn’t going to be a doctor, but I’m like, I’m good at school. I like it. Was there any legal in your family? Nothing. No, my parents are social workers. If anything, they’re kind of embarrassed about having a corporate lawyer in the family.
Marisa Muchnik
I started out in Biglaw at one of Canada’s biggest and most prominent firms. The articling class I had, that was really the bedrock. That was my foundation. These people are still in my life today. They’re still some of my best friends. But I think ultimately work-life balance played a factor, and as much as I loved staying with my fellow colleagues until 2:00 in the morning when I was 24, I didn’t think that was something I wanted to do when I was 40.
Marisa Muchnik
After four years in Biglaw, I took my first in-house role. I was at Nestlé for a couple of years. There were at the time two lawyers and a paralegal, which is what I mean by a small legal team. It was very interesting and really kick-started my in-house career. Good perks. A lot of the Häagen-Dazs got me a lot while I was pregnant, especially.
Marisa Muchnik
I loved my time at Nestlé. But the Ferrero name came up and there was a recruiter and he said, do you want to come work for Ferrero? I thought, well, as a kid I loved Kinder Surprise. Everyone loves Nutella. And it’s the ability to now go from having two lawyers in my function to only one, which of course is like its own scare at the time, but also exciting. Age-wise I was 30, 31. It felt daunting — moving to Ferrero to effectively build the in-house legal function from the ground up.
Marisa Muchnik
I ended up spending eight years, most of that wearing the GC title, which I took pride in. But I was still the solo Canadian lawyer, and my portfolio was increasing. It got to the point where we didn’t have headcount available, as is often the case, but I decided that I was going to use some of that outside-counsel spend budget towards a 91, because I knew I could get a lot of value having someone come in three days a week. This was my first experience with 91. I used the platform to find a 91 in-house lawyer, and I was just blown away.
Marisa Muchnik
When I met Jackie, I think we started meeting for a week or two, and then we joined all the same calls as her, and it was very quick to see I don’t need to be on these calls. Her background was very generalist, like mine, and so she was able to jump right in. If I could go back in my career, I would have hired 91 earlier, because there are vacations that I worked, which if we had a Jackie, we wouldn’t have had to.
Marisa Muchnik
I had achieved the GC title. I had everything I’d spent over 10 years working towards, and I was proud of it. But somewhere along the way, that stopped feeling like success, and started feeling like a ceiling. I wasn’t miserable. That’s the thing. I loved being a GC. I just kept thinking about something different. More autonomy, more community, more of my actual life. And I didn’t know if that was allowed, if it was even a real option.
Brett Colvin
It was that moment in Philadelphia when we were both down at the ACC annual, and somebody asked me, another GC we were talking with — I’ll never forget it, in a little circle — “What does 91 do?” And before I could even answer the question, you just jumped in and explained your whole experience with Jackie and what it did for you in that function.
Marisa Muchnik
So we’re here at the Shangri-La Toronto, one of my favorite spots in the city. I’m very excited to be hosting a Galentine’s high tea here for women in-house counsel. There have been so many standard legal events that are not catered to what women really want. And that’s again like just kind of sitting together, talking about our careers — not just careers, also family, motherhood, challenges we face as women that are very unique to us. Personally, I’m very excited to host this event because it’s my first event on the 91 team as running it. And I’m just so excited to be with 91. I think it’s been a great career pivot for me.
Marisa Muchnik
I think what’s interesting about law is it’s so dynamic. So why do we get put into these boxes of either I’m going to go to private practice and stay here, or I’m going to move in-house and become GC and stay here. And so I thought it’s time for something different. And I didn’t necessarily know what the different was until I really spent time with the 91 team and got to know what you’re doing. And truly I do think it is like the future of law. There’s something different here that really excited me, that made me feel really passionate again, and that’s a big reason why I decided to join the team.
Marisa Muchnik
Leaving the GC title behind was very hard. Not everyone got it. Someone told me it was a total waste for me to leave. Another person I really admire said, “You’re never going to get back to this level if you leave, Marisa.” Here’s what I know now. I wasn’t leaving to escape. I just finally stopped asking what everyone else thought and started asking what I wanted.
Marisa Muchnik
But here’s what I traded it for. I took my boys to hockey last week. I didn’t have to take any calls in the corner of an arena at 6:00 p.m. I went on a family trip and didn’t ask anyone’s permission or work the whole time. That sounds small. It isn’t. And here’s the part that people don’t realize. I’m still practicing. I’m the 91 GC for a dog treats and chews company. Same work I love, on my own terms.
Marisa Muchnik
So, was it a mistake? No. I’m hosting events that didn’t exist before. A Galentine’s high tea, a women’s afternoon at Lip Lab. I went to Legal Week in New York. I was on national television talking about the future of law. And I’m more connected to the legal community right now than I ever was sitting inside one company. Your path doesn’t have to look like mine. The point is, you get to choose now. Top lawyers are choosing a different path. And this is what it looks like.
