January 2026 (5-min read)

The Loneliest Job in the Company

By Brett Colvin, CEO of Goodlawyer

“The buck stops with somebody… and sometimes there’s no one else in the room who can make the decision.”

I said that last week on the Legally Speaking podcast about the CEO seat. What surprised me wasn’t the reaction. It was who reached out afterward: General Counsel and senior in-house leaders.

Because here’s the truth most companies avoid saying out loud: loneliness at the top isn’t emotional, it’s structural.

When organizations don’t know where to send ambiguity, it floats up. Not because leaders seek it. Because ambiguity has to land somewhere. It concentrates in the role that can’t pass it on.

And ambiguity isn’t free.

Every unresolved decision carries a cost: slower execution, diluted accountability, talent attrition. Delay doesn’t remove risk. It concentrates it on the one person who can’t opt out.

You see it when:

• A deal everyone wants to close, but no one wants to bless

• A product launch that’s “mostly ready,” except for the risk no one can quantify

• A decision discussed endlessly, but never actually owned

The CEO is where strategic ambiguity lands: competing priorities, imperfect data, timing risk, and the consequences of being wrong.

The GC is where institutional ambiguity lands: legal risk that isn’t binary, ethical grey zones, regulatory uncertainty, and decisions that can’t be fully de-risked, only owned.

I see the overlap because I’ve lived on both sides. I spent years practicing as a corporate lawyer, including time in-house, before starting Goodlawyer and becoming CEO by default. The title changed. For the first time, the ambiguity was fully mine.

Here’s the part organizations don’t like admitting: responsibility is easier to share than to own.

Most organizations default to structures that preserve optionality and spread accountability. Decisions get refined, socialized, and pressure-tested until they reach the one role expected to exercise judgment when certainty isn’t available.

When everyone “owns” the decision, no one truly does.

Deferred decisions don’t reduce risk. They quietly reassign it, slow execution, and push high-agency people toward the exits.

Consensus doesn’t eliminate risk either. It obscures accountability, one of the most expensive costs in any organization, even if it never appears on the income statement.

The opposite extreme isn’t leadership.

High-impact decisions made without input aren’t decisiveness. They’re guesswork with authority. Real leadership isn’t unchecked intuition. It’s judgment exercised with context.

Here’s the rule I’ve learned the hard way:

Before any consequential decision, get three inputs. Then decide.

• Someone closest to the work

• A peer who’s made a similar call

• A stakeholder who will live with the result

That’s perspective without paralysis.

Input without abdication.

If you don’t fix the architecture, loneliness doesn’t stay emotional. It becomes operational. Decisions slow. Risk compounds. And eventually, the organization pays — not for making the wrong call, but for avoiding the responsibility to make one at all.

Different seats, same burden. The CEO and the GC are where ambiguity ultimately has to be owned.

That’s the loneliest job in the company.

Brett Colvin
CEO, Goodlawyer

Driving Change in Cars, Fatherhood, and Lawyer Mental Health

By Zak Biggs

Steven Ngo, Senior Counsel at Rivian, sat down with Zak Biggs to discuss lawyer wellness, the stigma surrounding dads taking parental leave, and why his work is more tech than tires.

ZB: What would surprise our readers about your work at Rivian? 

SN: Most folks hear Rivian and think EVs, but the business is actually more about tech than cars. I spend my days alongside engineers, product managers, and coders. I’m the lead Canadian lawyer and part of a team of over 100 lawyers globally. My focus is on everything from software and AI chips to privacy and regulatory issues. 

ZB: What’s one time you turned a legal “no” into a better business move?

SN: When Rivian wanted to launch in Quebec, the province’s strict French-language laws seemed like a legal roadblock. Instead of just flagging the problem, I pushed us to fully embrace localization: we translated everything and ensured our customer experience truly resonated with Quebecers.

We turned this compliance matter into a major business win. Our launch was a hit, the media loved it, and customers felt seen. 

ZB: What made you speak up about mental health in law?

SN: A few years into my legal career, I was living the so-called dream—working abroad, posting glamorous photos—but inside I was completely burnt out. I started opening up to peers and realized many of us were quietly dealing with anxiety and depression, but nobody felt safe talking about it. 

So I launched “Beyond the A,” organizing panels at law schools across Canada. At our first event, the lecture hall was packed—proof that lawyers were hungry for these conversations. My goal is to make it easier for others to get the support I wish I’d had.

ZB: What needs to change about how law sees fatherhood?

SN: Law needs to drop the stigma around parental leave for dads. Even now, if a male lawyer takes time off for a new child—especially if he’s on the partnership track—people question his commitment. That old-school thinking is out of touch with reality: most families today need two incomes, and parenting isn’t just a “mom’s job” anymore.

Firms are struggling with high attrition, and one reason is that lawyers often don’t feel supported as parents. To keep great talent, firms need to normalize dads taking leave.

Follow Steven Ngo on LinkedIn.

Building the Most Desirable Way to Practice Law

What’s it like to be inside Goodlawyer’s 2026 Strategy Session or Investor Holiday Party?

Our latest vlog captures the team, including Chad Aboud and Pauline Chan, as we reflect, strategize, and celebrate a year of pushing legal innovation forward.

Watch the video.

LEGAL EVENTS

32nd Annual Advertising and Marketing Law (Toronto, Jan. 28-29)

Canada’s leading conference on advertising and marketing law — with the newest member of the Goodlawyer team on stage. Let us know if you’ll be there. We’d love to connect.

Dinner for CPG & Retail GCs (Toronto, Jan. 29)
A private dinner for senior in-house leaders in CPG and retail. Hosted by Brett Colvin and Chad Aboud. You’ll leave with a few new ideas, a few new names in your phone, and a glass worth refilling.

GOOD VIBES

Starting the year with focus and flow. This playlist helps.

Listen on Spotify

BEFORE YOU GO

Have an idea — or a person — we should feature next?

Just hit reply. 

Until next time,
Brett & Zak

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