what is.it.like.to.work in house attorney

“At its most basic, the job of an in-house lawyer is to apply his or her legal knowledge and skills to help a company succeed, while identifying and protecting the company against risks,” Yale Law School wrote. “The size and nature of the company will typically dictate the specific role of the in-house lawyer.

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What is it like to work in-house as a lawyer?

Jun 20, 2016 · While attorneys at law firms quickly learn to recognize the legal issues in, say, a business agreement, an in-house attorney will work more closely with the business people to establish business terms, identify legal issues and decide what …

Is in-house legal work right for You?

Dec 20, 2016 · In house attorneys represent revenue for the law firm that works for them and law firms praise these in house attorneys in the hopes of making these same attorneys feel good about themselves. While there are certainly exceptions, once you go in house you are likely to become more of a generalist than a specialist.

Why don’t attorneys go in-house?

Excelling in-house is about more than being an excellent lawyer – it’s about being an excellent general counsel. There are a raft of discoveries to be made and internalised in the first few months, to complement the legal talent that law school and law firms hone.

Can I get a job in another law firm after in-house?

Jan 08, 2019 · The in-house lawyer is a commercially driven, highly trusted legal adviser who works within an organisation, often having a seat at the decision-making table as well. In-house lawyers are ‘more than just lawyers’ – working on high value transactions and advising the boards on strategy and risk.

Are in-house lawyers happier?

Historically, most lawyers are happier in-house than in law firms. This is because there are NO BILLABLES. Although there are some trends suggesting companies may adopt timekeeping style metrics, I have always found that in-house lawyers work on projects that are not tracked in microscopic time increments.Nov 14, 2017

How do I succeed as in-house counsel?

Here are key steps that make for a successful in-house attorney:Join a business that you admire. Working as in-house counsel means that you not only need to know the law, but you need to know the business. ... Don't lose your credibility. Keep your credibility. ... Communicate. ... Be patient and sincere. ... Remember your language.

Are lawyer jobs stressful?

The Stress Deadlines, billing pressures, client demands, long hours, changing laws, and other demands all combine to make the practice of law one of the most stressful jobs out there. Throw in rising business pressures, evolving legal technologies, and climbing law school debt and it's no wonder lawyers are stressed.Nov 20, 2019

What makes a successful legal team?

Building strong relationships requires resolve, commitment, give and take, and good humour. When they work well, these relationships allow the legal team to keep its finger on the organisation's pulse and maintain its "risk intelligence".

What makes a great general counsel?

Cultural fit and integrity are the two most important qualities for an effective general counsel. To maximize the likelihood for a successful general counsel, there should be a clear understanding of the values and priorities for the organization and the GC, as well as input from diverse perspectives and stakeholders.

Is being a lawyer exhausting?

While legal work can be incredibly fulfilling, it can also, by nature, be stressful and downright exhausting. Industry wide, ultra-competitive professional cultures and excessive hours are leading to overworked lawyers and widespread wellness and mental health struggles.Jul 20, 2021

What are the cons of being a lawyer?

Disadvantages of Being an AttorneyLawyers often work long hours.You will often no longer have a life apart from work.Clients can be quite demanding.Working climate may be rather bad.You may get sued.Law school can cost a fortune.Digitalization is a threat to lawyers.More items...

What are the top 10 most stressful jobs?

The 10 Most Stressful JobsEnlisted military personnel. Job title: Army Private – E2.Surgeon. Job title: Surgeon. ... Firefighter. Job title: Firefighter. ... Commerical airline pilot. Job title: Commercial airline pilot. ... Police officer. Job title: Police officer. ... Registered Nurse – ER. ... Emergency dispatcher. ... Newspaper reporter. ... More items...

Why is in-house counsel important?

But because in-house counsel is responsible for such a wide range of matters, efficiency is highly valued. According to an in-house practitioner at a Fortune 500 company, "The in-house practice is more about setting priorities and doing the best you can with the time allotted.

Is a law firm a finishing school?

Well, because a law firm is viewed as a type of "finishing school" for a young lawyer. Of course, a lawyer's "finishing" will depend on the type of firm he or she works at. At a small firm, the environment may be much different than at a large big-city firm. The practice may be more general overall and the firm may not have a formal training ...

What does it mean to have a law degree?

As your parents may have told you when encouraging you to go to law school, having a law degree means you can do much more than simply work at a law firm. Of course, working at a firm can be terrific experience. Young lawyers are exposed to many aspects of the law and may even receive mentoring from senior partners.

How is working in house different from working at a law firm?

Working in-house can be significantly different than working at a law firm. First of all, in-house lawyers have only one client-the company they work for. That means there isn't any pressure to be a rainmaker or recruit new clients. And since your sole client pays your salary, you don't have to worry about billable hours.

What do young lawyers learn?

Your research and writing skills will get an excellent workout. You can develop a specialty and build a client list.

What are the expectations of a lawyer?

Law firms have a traditional set of expectations for attorneys. Lawyers inside large law firms are expected to go to a law firm and specialize quickly. Associates are expected to work hard and impress partners for 7 to 11 years, develop skills in relating with clients and then make partner, take a counsel position or move to a smaller firm. Throughout your time in a law firm, it is expected that: 1 you will become increasingly competent in your work; 2 you will be given increased responsibility; 3 because of your developing skills and efficiency, your billing rate will increase each year; 4 the firm's clients will rely upon and trust you to an increasing degree; 5 you will develop more and more contacts that you will be able to leverage into portable business. 6 you will develop management skills and be able to supervise younger attorneys and paralegals.

Why do people go in house?

It is your life and being in house can release you from much of the pressure of the billable hour requirement and other stresses of being in a law firm. In addition, being in house typically has more predictable hours.

What happened to attorneys during the tech boom?

Many attorneys who went in house during the "tech boom" were under the impression that they were invincible. Some were. It was not uncommon for third or fourth year associates in the Bay Area who went in 1997-1999 to have cashed out stock options worth $1,000,000 or several times more after less than two years in an in house environment. In fact, this happened enough times that many attorneys were under the impression that if they went in house this result was all but inevitable. The results these attorneys were able to achieve with their careers in such a short period of time are nothing less than remarkable. These results were also unparalleled at any other time in the history of the legal profession.

What happens when you go in house?

Very few attorneys realize just how much their skills are likely to deteriorate once they go in house. A large portion of the responsibility of many in house attorneys is to farm out challenging work to the appropriate law firms. Therefore, once you go in house you will often cease doing sophisticated legal work and, instead, merely hand off work to law firms. For some attorneys this is the ideal job. For other attorneys, this is not an ideal job because they no longer work directly on challenging legal work.

What is a young associate?

As a young associate, you will typically work for midlevel or more senior associates who will supervise you until you become increasingly competent. In most large law firms, the work you do is funneled up the chain of command and reviewed by partners to ensure the best possible work product.

Do law firms go out of business?

Obviously, it is not accurate to state the law firms do not go out of business. However, when a law firm such as Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison goes out of business, it is considered a "monumental" event in the legal community because it is so exceedingly rare for law firms to go out of business in the first place.

A walking cost centre

Private practice is where the glamour is – or at least that’s how the story goes. Fancy hotels, international travel, and the unlimited budget that goes with being part of the core business. But you go in-house, and suddenly you’re an expense. One legal head in Asia laughingly recounts her first experience of post-law firm life.

The loneliness of the corporate counsel

But having fewer pencils may be the last thing on a new in-house lawyer’s mind if they have been hired to launch a legal team. Many reported that without the moral support of a large group of law firm lawyers or a substantial in-house team, the sole company counsel can be a lonely position.

Take control

Taking control of your own needs is a key lesson to learn, particularly for the lone in-house counsel, or for those in smaller teams. This is crucial in an environment where being resourceful is a useful skill.

Out of the comfort zone

Junior in-house lawyers need to get used to being outside their comfort zone, more senior personnel point out. It’s out of the specialist law firm milieu and into the realm of the generalist – at least in the eyes of non-lawyer colleagues, as Munich-based OSRAM senior counsel Bradley Chait discovered in his first in-house job.

The bigger picture

Therein lies an important realisation that came late to many of the in-house counsel GC spoke to for this piece – often legal expertise is a given in the eyes of the business, which focuses instead on what else a lawyer can bring to the table.

View from the top

The ability to be firm therefore is an essential skill. But many GCs we spoke to struggled initially with the pressure of being parachuted into a leadership role after being a team member in private practice. Lina María Cortés, legal director of Fresenius Medical Care in Colombia found herself in exactly this position.