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About the in-house market
The in-house market is competitive. Clients often have a good range of candidates from which to select.
The majority of in-house roles tend to focus on contracts and commercial law, the ‘bread and butter’ work in industry. That said, all but the largest legal teams, expect a commercial lawyer to advise on other legal matters including IP/trademarks, risk and compliance, corporate, litigation and employment, either directly or being overseeing specialist external lawyers in these areas.
Other specialist legal positions do come up and it pays to be pro-active and check our website/job boards and hard copy press frequently.
Making the move from private practice to in-house
If one of your favourite elements of your job is building the relationship with your industry clients, and finding out how a business works both commercially and strategically interests you, moving in-house could offer you a satisfying career.
In-house lawyers are integral to the business and are relied upon by other business functions to offer commercial legal solutions that will benefit the business as a whole.
If you also find yourself feeling frustrated by the lack of control your diary and working long hours, moving in-house may also offer you the chance to get back some of the work-life balance. That said, moving in-house should not be considered a soft option. The business relies on in-house legal advice to function. During busy periods or a time of strategic growth it will be all hands on deck and the legal team is no exception to dedicating long hours until the project is completed.
Preparing your CV for in-house roles
Clients are most interested in your commercial exposure and sector experience. It is important to list examples of work undertaken and to give details of clients for whom you have acted. Generic sector examples will suffice where confidentiality is in issue. Any secondment experience will give you a distinct advantage.
Flexibility is also key. List details of all areas in which you have gained legal knowledge, even if now outside your specialism. Clients like to take people that they feel can lend their hand to anything and who will not be phased if they are asked about an area of law that is outside of their expertise.
New challenges that you will face in-house
The culture in-house differs greatly from private practice. Gone is time recording and business development. Instead, you’ll be called upon by personnel across broader business functions to advise on a wide remit of legal issues, many often outside your level of expertise, and you’ll be expected to pick things up as you go.
Depending on the size of the legal team, you may be called up to advise on strategy, along with other decision makers for the business. You will need to think commercially about solutions that will best benefit the business and may be called upon to advise on risk on a regular basis.
Businesses grow and change regularly so you need to be flexible enough to accommodate, and often implement change. You may need to make decisions quickly and be commercial enough to pre-empt legal complications that may follow on from a growth period.
How will my career develop in-house?
You’re likely to spend a minimum period of one year in your first in-house role, possibly longer. Once you know the company you’ll be able to assess your current position and prospects for promotion.
You may be able to measure your performance by the savings made to the company’s legal expenditure or the changes that you have implemented to the legal function. You may justify a business case for expanding the legal team or suggest other cost-effective solutions. If during the company has grown significantly during your tenure, you look for advancement internally either by taking a step up the ladder to a deputy or head of legal role or you may aspire to taking responsibility for a larger geographical region.
If you’re in large team, you may now wish to consider moving to a smaller team where you’ll have more responsibility. Depending on the size of the company, you may wish to volunteer for an overseas assignment or to increase your current remit to a broader geographical region.
There are also often opportunities to move away from a pure legal into another area of the business.
When should I move in-house?
Entrants into the in-house arena commonly have one to three years’ pqe although NQ roles do exist. At this level, you’d be well-advised to join an organisation with an established legal team. Moving in-house can be daunting and a culture shock. Until you are confident in your abilities, it is re-assuring to have some team support and a mentor, such as a head of legal.
There are often in-house roles offered at the four plus pqe level and this is also a good time to take your skills in-house. You are likely to join an established team or come aboard as ‘No 2’.
The more senior in-house roles often attract high salaries and generous bonus and benefit packages. However, one point of caution is that companies will often steer clear of recruiting lawyers from private practice at this level, due to the risk of them suffering culture shock after many years working in private practice. However, exceptions prove the rule.
What are you waiting for?
Moving in-house at any level can offer the opportunity to work in a fast-paced and exciting environment that will provide you with a number of commercial challenges and fantastic rewards. Above all else, its likely to offer you a sense of being an integral part of the business and job satisfaction in helping to take that business forward.
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