A guide for prospective in-house lawyers
Guest post - Alison McKee, Associate Director, BCL
Why IH?
If you have already decided to become a lawyer you may have considered the areas of law you are interested in pursuing. Some ‘private client’ disciplines will take you naturally into private practice whereas other backgrounds will be more useful in taking you towards an in-house career. The first step is to decide why you want to move in-house, I often receive calls where some of the negatives of working for a private practice dominate the conversation-
“I want to work fewer hours and more flexibly.”
“I don’t want to have billing targets anymore.”
“I don’t want to follow the Partner route.”
Whilst these are all valid reasons to move in-house I am always left feeling a little cold. Consider the positives of a move in-house:
The opportunity to work with a business long-term, using your advice to influence the direction and success of critical strategies.
The chance to work closely with senior management and executive boards, increasing your understanding of how these people do business.
Access to work at all levels and in great variety, an in-house lawyer gains huge breadth of experience.
The chance to work for a business you are personally interested in.
Try to imagine why you would want to work for an in-house organisation rather than why you wouldn’t want to continue in private practice and you’ll be able to push your career in a much more positive direction.
Background
Without a doubt the majority of in-house lawyers come from a commercial background but I have been able to secure in-house roles for lawyers from a number of other disciplines including corporate, commercial litigation, real estate and banking. I recently placed a PI litigator into an in-house role because she had the perfect approach and personality for the team and business I was working for. Think about building your commercial skills but also how you best present the softer skills which will be invaluable in-house; relationship building, drafting skills and commercial acumen.
When should you move in-house?
A number of years ago it seemed fairly well accepted in the legal market that a lawyer should spend 2 years or more in private practice post-qualification in order to hone their technical skills. That simply isn’t the case anymore. It’s true that the majority of opportunities in-house fall to qualified lawyers but more and more organisations are providing training contracts as the size of teams increase and the ability to foster prospective lawyers improves.
Throughout a private practice training contract it will be useful to gain as many seats in commercial disciplines as possible, improving your drafting skills and knowledge in areas which are most useful in-house.
If you have decided to spend some time in private practice in a commercial discipline prior to moving in-house you will find you are in high demand, the bulk of our instructions are for lawyers from 2 to 5 years post qualified and lawyers at this level can find themselves with multiple offers.
The message is… if you want to be an in-house lawyer long-term it will not harm your career to start being one as soon as you can!
How do I find an in-house role?
Some in-house organisations do use their internal recruitment teams initially when starting the search for new in-house lawyer, so it’s always a good idea to be vigilant but there is no substitute for having a guide. Here at BCL we are focused on understanding the wide spectrum of businesses we work with so we can match the goals and personalities of the people we work with.
Some businesses are extremely fast-paced and sales driven and a lawyer must be able to give fast, accurate advice quickly, changing direction regularly.
Other businesses work in a collaborative fashion, often closely with regulators, and have the need for more detailed, thoughtful advice.
And everything in between!
We will:
Spend time understanding your background and your needs, be that agile working or fast-tracked progression.
Give detailed briefs of the role we are instructed on including information on the team dynamic, day to day role and career prospects. We have an unrivalled network which gives us a really useful understanding of the experiences of in-house lawyers past and present.
We will brief you carefully on interviews advising on how you should prepare and present.
We will negotiate an offer for you, from the beginning of the process to the end, ensuring we are open and financials are clear to your prospective new business. We also advise our clients as to ‘market rate’ based on the most extensive book of placements outside of London. You can find out more about in-house salaries here.
We will keep in touch! We are not just here for you when you are looking for a new role, we will be with you throughout your career in whatever way we can help. We also add value to the in-house market with our unique programme of in-house events.
You can find further information on our website or get in touch to arrange a confidential discussion. Good luck!