What’s it all about?
A job ‘in-house’ or a job ‘in industry’ involves working as a solicitor for a company or organisation which is not a law firm.
While a career path to partnership in a law firm is a familiar role, some of you may feel like trying something different. For those of you who feel you are not suited to follow the path to partnership, a position in-house may be worth exploring.
In-house jobs were once considered ‘alternative’ career paths for people who couldn’t handle the pressures of private practice – this is no longer the case. Indeed, in-house jobs are now highly sought after.
More and more companies are realising the benefits of employing solicitors to work in an in-house capacity. In-house counsel can promote legal awareness throughout the company as well as providing legal input on the company’s day-to-day operations and corporate strategy.
The number of in-house solicitors employed by a company will depend upon factors such as the size of the company and the nature of the company’s business. Typically, the average number of solicitors companies employ ranges between 2 and 5. It is, therefore, a very different environment from a law firm. Quite simply, there generally aren’t as many lawyers around!
For more information about the pros and cons of working in-house, click here to read our article, 'why work in-house'.
And, for those of you thinking of becoming a General Counsel, why not get the inside story on what it’s like? We’ve spoken to Helen Fletcher Rogers, a former European General Counsel for Eastman Kodak Company, to come up with the Top Tips for Lawyers Looking to Become a General Counsel.
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