Susan Barrett’s Simple Strategy: Do Good Work

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Susan Barrett has blazed a unique career path. Barrett is Monte Nido & Affiliates’ first ever in-house general counsel. She attributes her success to the relationships she’s built over the years and a simple philosophy. Every young attorney’s goal, she says, should be to do good work. “Then, the work finds you. You have more leeway to choose which clients you want to be working with, and which partners you want to be working under,” Barrett says.

Never satisfied with performing menial tasks, such as diligence processes, as a young lawyer, Barrett aspired to run deals with clients and operate at a higher level—aspirations that required her to gain experience at the lower echelons. “For me, it was finding mentors in the firm and clinging on to them and learning as much as I can from them. Equally important was finding sponsors, ones who wanted to take me to client events, wanted to help me develop relationships with clients and become a trusted advisor and trust me to do things and put faith in my skills,” Barrett says.

She would say “yes” to a project, even if it meant having to work extra hours or extend herself a bit thin. To her, the experience was worth it. 

That plan paid off. When Monte Nido was searching for a general counsel, they reached out to Barrett directly. “It wouldn’t have happened that way if I didn’t spend all the time building a reputation and becoming a trusted advisor as a young attorney,” Barrett says. 

Being the only lawyer at Monte Nido, which delivers clinically comprehensive, research-backed treatment to adults and adolescents with eating disorders, the breadth of Barrett’s duties is wide and varied. “I deal with any aspect of the business…I’m touching it all. I’m part of the conversation,” Barrett says.

She loves having a seat at the table with other trusted members of the executive team, being involved in broad company decisions. “Even if it’s not directly legal related, I’m still able to help the company manage risk because I’m listening and I can call things out that others may not think of,” Barrett says.

“Even if it’s not directly legal related, I’m still able to help the company manage risk because I’m listening, and I can call things out that others may not think of.”

Susan Barrett

Prior to arriving at Monte Nido in 2022, Barrett worked in mergers and acquisitions with a focus on the private equity space and specifically on healthcare acquisitions and transactions.

Those experiences allowed for a seamless transition to Monte Nido. “If you’ve never seen healthcare regulatory work ever, you’d have a really hard time at a healthcare company because there are so many issues. It’s a really complex area and highly regulated,” Barrett says.

Her work in mergers and acquisitions demanded that her team perform due diligence on every deal and she acted as a project manager, while being exposed to every aspect of the target business when assessing legal compliance. “You’re advising on how to mitigate risk for anything from employment to IP to real estate to benefits to data privacy to environmental, whatever it’s going to be. It’s up to you to find the very best way to advise your client on how to mitigate that risk and clean it up going forward once the company is bought,” Barrett says. 

Typically, when a woman becomes a trusted member in the C-suite, she is the only woman at the table. Not so at Monte Nido, which is led by a female CEO and a primarily female executive team. Even Barrett’s twelve-member quality and compliance team is all women, all of whom bring their unique skills.

Given the common challenges that women face, her team members have formed a common bond and a unique sense of understanding. Her leadership style is collaborative with her team, and they all have the common goal to create a culture of compliance in which all levels of employees are comfortable reaching out. On her own team, Barrett’s team members have become so comfortable with her that team members reporting multiple levels down offered Barrett parenting advice at the virtual baby shower they planned for her. “That’s the kind of culture I wanted to foster on my team. In that moment I can say to myself, ‘We did it.’” Barrett says.

“Do good work and identify over time those people who have skills you admire. Make yourself indispensable to them.”

Susan Barrett

When Barrett is not helping Monte Nido manage risk, she’s cultivating the next generation of lawyers as an adjunct professor. “I’ve had so many fantastic mentors throughout the years to help me get to where I am. So, I’m able to pay that forward, even if it’s just two hours on Monday nights for twelve weeks,” Barrett says.

Whether offering advice as a professor or as a mentor at work, Barrett’s advice stems from her personal philosophy. “Do good work and identify over time those people who have skills you admire. Make yourself indispensable to them,” says Barrett. “If you have a goal of being a general counsel, I’m a good example that it’s not something out of reach,” says Barrett.

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