what is a secondment attorney

by Dr. Burnice Morar 6 min read

Secondments, arrangements whereby attorneys are temporarily reassigned to a client’s legal department or to one of the firm’s international offices, are enriching experiences that enable attorneys to better counsel clients and firms to differentiate their service offerings.

Secondments, arrangements whereby attorneys are temporarily reassigned to a client's legal department or to one of the firm's international offices, are enriching experiences that enable attorneys to better counsel clients and firms to differentiate their service offerings.Feb 26, 2016

Full Answer

How do I get a lawyer for free?

Mar 15, 2019 · A legal secondment is where a lawyer temporarily joins an in-house legal team of an organisation to help with a specific project, provide legal expertise or simply give a lift to existing teams with their day-to-day workload, without …

How to find a free lawyer?

Jul 21, 2021 · Law firm secondment arrangements are symbiotic when the goals of firm and client are aligned. For example, a secondment can sometimes offer a convenient avenue for in-house teams to embed knowledge...

What is it like to be a lawyer?

Jun 27, 2021 · A secondment is an arrangement where a law firm lawyer joins a client’s in-house legal team for a defined period of time. The secondee may be brought in to handle a specific project, to temporarily support the in-house legal team, or simply to strengthen the ties between the client and the law firm where the attorney works.

What are legal secondments?

Law firm secondment arrangements are symbiotic when the goals of firm and client are aligned. For example, a secondment can sometimes offer a convenient avenue for in-house teams to embed knowledge of the company at their law firm and for the law firm to gain greater visibility regarding its client’s needs.

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What is a secondment in a law firm?

A secondment is an arrangement where a law firm lawyer joins a client's in-house legal team for a defined period of time.Jun 27, 2021

What is a secondee?

An employee designation where the employee remains employed by the original (actual) employer, but is temporarily loaned to, and renders services for, a host company, which may or may not be affiliated with the actual employer.

What is an international secondment?

An international secondment is a critical part of many training contracts. On international secondment, the trainee is transferred to the offices of an overseas client (or in some cases a branch office of the same law firm) for a period of three to six months.Nov 24, 2021

Are secondments a good idea?

Employee secondments can benefit employers as a means of developing good business relationships and sharing and enhancing employees' skills. At the same time, they can offer employees a valuable career development opportunity, with the chance to make new contacts and gain experience within a different setting.Aug 19, 2014

How long can a secondment legally last?

2 yearsSecondments will normally be limited to a maximum of 2 years after which the individual will be expected to return to their substantive post. Secondments should normally be granted provided they meet the following criteria: that the secondment will provide personal and professional development for the individual.

Why is an international secondment important?

On a personal level, international secondments provide trainees with a unique opportunity to live and work in another country, absorbing the culture and language it has to offer.Aug 6, 2019

Why do you want to do an international secondment?

Working in a completely different country and environment will develop your skills and boost your knowledge. An international secondment will allow you to develop your knowledge of different global markets and the accounting issues surrounding them, which is a great opportunity to boost your professional skill set.Aug 13, 2019

What are white cases known for?

White & Case LLP is perhaps best known for its work on emerging markets and sovereign debt issuance, though the London capital markets group is increasingly involved in European and US debt issuance for both underwriting banks and corporate issuers.

What is a secondment in law?

Secondments, arrangements whereby attorneys are temporarily reassigned to a client’s legal department or to one of the firm’s international offices, are enriching experiences that enable attorneys to better counsel clients and firms to differentiate their service offerings .

How does a secondment work?

Through a corporate secondment the attorney gains deep awareness of the role the particular client plays in the firm’s client base , and through an international secondment the attorney learns the greater firm structure such that she will later be able to connect business opportunities with the correct person in the firm’s global network. Second, secondments allow the firm to know the attorney more. For attorneys with an eye on partnership, making connections with a diverse group of partners, whether that group includes internationally based partners or client-team partners, is advantageous.

What does secondment experience mean for an attorney?

Attorneys with secondment experiences posses a knowledge base that their peers usually do not. They understand the firm’s clients more deeply and the global legal market more broadly. On that basis, a secondment experience accelerates the attorney’s counseling skills.

What is corporate secondment?

A corporate secondment is often a placement at an important firm client, with the intent of maintaining the long-term relationship. Some secondments are established as long-term programs whereby the firm agrees to send the client an attorney resource indefinitely, often rotating a different attorney every six months or one year. These programs, which insert attorneys with familiarity of the business gained through outside counsel roles into corporate legal departments, can also be very helpful to clients as they manage headcount pressure. Long-term secondment programs maintain the firm’s presence at the client and generally lead to continued business opportunities for the firm.

What is international secondment?

If the firm maintains an international secondment program, whereby every year a new attorney is placed in a particular international office, over time the distance between the firm’s offices will shorten. The ultimate goal of all global law firms is to provide client service that is blind to jurisdictions and practice groups and international secondments help firms get closer to achieving such goal.

Benefits of Secondment

On paper, secondment is a practice that produces a desirable outcome for all involved. The client receives talented legal help and does not have to worry about the expense or uncertainty of billable hours to obtain that assistance.

Risks of Secondment: Imputation of Conflicts

As great an opportunity as secondment is for all involved, there are multiple ways in which it can create, or exacerbate, conflicts of interest problems for the law firm, the seconded lawyer, and the client.

Additional Risks of Conflicts During and After Secondment

The Committee also pointed out another way in which conflicts could emerge during the secondment: the seconded lawyer still owes a duty, under DR 5-108, to former clients of her law firm. Thus, the lawyer may not work on any substantially-related matter at the host organization adverse to the interests of such a former client.

Conclusion

Secondment is a process that bears meaningful rewards for the host organization, the law firm, and the lawyer who is seconded. These benefits, although not outweighed by them, need to be viewed against a number of complex conflicts issues that arise before, during, and after the secondment.

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Secondment Law and Legal Definition

Secondment refers to the separation of a person from their regular organization for temporary assignment elsewhere; a temporary transfer to another job or post within the same organization.

What are the legal issues with external secondment agreements?

Several legal issues arise in external secondment agreements. This is due to the fact that your employee is technically working for someone else, whilst still being employed by you. Some of these issues include (but are not limited to): 1 What happens at the end of the secondment 2 Who will monitor your employee’s performance 3 How to end the arrangement early 4 Who has a legal relationship with which party 5 Who is responsible for the employee’s safety 6 Termination of employee contract 7 What happens if the employee resigns 8 Laws that apply to the employee

Why is it important to have a secondment agreement?

Secondments allow you to develop your employees’ skills and nurture their professional growth . This has the added effect of bringing a wider skillset to your business and a more wholistic understanding of it. It is important however, especially with external secondments, to draft up a secondment agreement dealing with any legal issues that could eventuate.

What is transfer secondment?

Transfer secondment. On the other hand, a transfer secondment creates an employment relationship between the host company and the employee. The original employment agreement is generally terminated. In some instances, a dual employee arrangement is created if the original employment contract is put on hold.

Why are secondments important?

These arrangements are valuable because they encourage employees to develop professionally and widen their skillset. Along with this, employees will gain valuable insight into other businesses and bring this knowledge back to their internal role.

What department does Jane work in?

Jane is your employee and works in the marketing department. Jane receives an internal secondment to the human resources department for 3 months. This is because you want Jane to further develop her interpersonal skills and learn the recruitment process.

What is external secondment?

External secondments. An external secondment is where the employee moves outside, rather than inside, the business. The secondment can be local, or it can even be international. These often occur between businesses that have professional partnerships or offices interstate and overseas.

What happens if an employee resigns?

What happens if the employee resigns. Laws that apply to the employee. Jurisdictional questions can also arise for employees who are working overseas. Usually, if your employee goes overseas, the laws in that country will apply. Australian laws similarly apply if you receive an employee on secondment.

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