After the abrupt exit of the team president, the Las Vegas Raiders’ general counsel became interim leader of the NFL team this week—another move highlighting how legal department leaders are often trusted to step into leadership positions at a moment’s notice, especially in the wake of the pandemic.

Increased board exposure and greater business acumen have led to more general counsel taking on interim and permanent CEO positions, said Mike Evers, the founder of the Chicago-based in-house search firm Evers Legal Search.