When Leslie Slavich made the switch three years ago from a pharmaceutical patent litigator at Sutherland Asbill & Brennan to become the sole in-house counsel at Spanx, she says she received some valuable advice.

“You shouldn’t think of them [Spanx colleagues] as your coworkers,” Slavich says she was told. “You need to think of everyone that you work with as your clients when you’re in-house.”