The perks of going in-house (an outsider’s perspective)
With the on-going talent wars in private practice, it’s now, more than ever, important to consider your career outside of financial compensation.
A GC recently told me that a hire she made last year has gone back to private practice. The offer being double the salary they were earning as a senior legal counsel in-house.
You can’t blame this lawyer for jumping at that opportunity but to find fulfilment in your career, it’s important to consider each opportunity holistically and not just focus on the money.
My response to the GC in question was rambling on about why I think an in-house career is fulfilling and I thought I’d share with you.
Integration with the business
We’ve all chatted about the in-house counsel being seen as a business partner and some may say they’re bored of hearing about it. But it offers so much from the perspective of career development. Having the confidence to embed oneself into other areas of the business to support in a way that’s not just legal makes legal shine.
It’s also a thrilling feeling when your company has a huge win that you know that you contributed to, rather than just signing off the legal bits. It’s about enabling the business as well as protecting it. Get to know your company’s strengths, weaknesses and opportunities.
Advice: stay in contact with key stakeholders in the business – grab a coffee, work in “their area” of the office sometimes, catch up with them on Teams/Zoom about what they’re up to and how you can support – whatever you can do to stay present in their minds as a helpful resource will make your role much more rewarding.
ESG
Recently I’ve seen several senior in-house lawyers update their roles to include Sustainability. Now ESG is on everyone’s radar and it makes sense that legal take it on board, already having the G part covered.
One Legal Director I recently spoke to said she pitched herself as the PM for the ESG strategy to her CEO. A daunting experience but one that she’s excited about as it’s bringing a new element to her career. She also mentioned that in her view, counsel interviewing for senior in-house roles will need ESG initiative experience to progress in their career.
Over the last week or so, I’ve also seen in-house lawyers graduate from specific courses around this which adds another legitimate qualification to your wheelhouse.
Non-legal training
There’s a perk to having a HR team that’s not focussed on lawyers. Speak to your team about the options/partnerships that they have in place. For example, some companies will sponsor MBAs, mental health first aid training, or maybe you’d like to improve your excel skills.
For companies with an annual pay bill of more than £3 million, they will be paying into the apprenticeship levy meaning that there’s a pot of training cash at their disposal so it’s worth seeing what can be allocated to the legal team from this.
The role of an in-house counsel goes far beyond that of a lawyer, offering a wealth of development that private practice can’t. This is not to say one is better than the other. I’m saying that it’s a different ball-game.
I finish with something another GC said to me, “the joy of going in-house is it’s the first time in your career that you can say no.” What are your favourite parts of being an in-house lawyer?
