Printer Friendly

Questions to ask when considering a move in-house

Eyeing a corporate-counsel opportunity? Decide whether or not you are suited to an in-house counsel role, and research your prospective employer.

By Beth Raymer

So, you’ve been toiling away as a junior in private practice, wondering when the hours will slacken and when, if ever, you’ll catch a break. Moving in-house as a corporate counsel may be an appealing option, but don’t assume the hours will necessarily be less. Being a corporate counsel can be just as demanding as private practice, and the transition from private practice to in-house can be substantial.

While any job-seeker should check out a potential employer diligently, this is particularly true for a young lawyer already employed by a law firm who is considering moving to a corporate-counsel position. The stakes are high, but the risk may be well worth it.

What to expect as a corporate counsel

“What most people find attractive about in-house,” says Linda Robertson of Advocacy Legal Consultants in Vancouver, “is the opportunity to concentrate on the practice of law” without the challenges of looking for clients and maximizing billables.

Robertson, who spent most of her career as a general counsel in British Columbia, says in-house work often means work as part of a business team and opportunities for more “collaborative practice.”

Don’t bet the farm on achieving reduced hours. In many companies, a lawyer may be working almost as many hours as in private practice. The 2010 In-house Counsel Barometer, a survey of corporate counsel done by the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association and Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, indicates in-house counsel work an average of 41 to 51 hours per week. The difference is, there is only one client: the company/employer.

From ‘revenue generator’ to ‘cost centre’

“Within that one client there’ll be multiple demands on your time, and you are still juggling competing interests,” says Robertson. But because employees are all working for the same “client,” and have a better idea of what projects to expect, “it’s easier to manage that time … and you don’t have to meet a payroll depending on the work that’s being brought in. In-house, the company is managing the payroll.”

On the downside, “by moving from private practice to in-house, you go from being a revenue-generator for your employer to being a cost centre,” says Adam Pekarsky, a third-generation Alberta lawyer and president of legal recruiter The Pekarsky Group in Calgary. “If you thought the pressure of the billable hour and timesheet was getting to you, wait until you become a cost.”

The varying roles of ‘Legal’

Also, in private practice “your opinion really matters: the clients are paying you for that advice, so will probably listen to you,” says Pekarsky. “When you go in-house, your opinion is interesting, but not necessarily determinative. At the end of the day, the business people will make a business decision and may choose to ignore you. That’s difficult for people coming from private practice to come to terms with.”

Not all companies value their lawyers or legal department equally. In some, legal may have merely a compliance function, and be a necessary evil. And if you won’t be working in a larger legal department, you may find yourself reporting to, for example, an engineer in the “land group.”

De facto business advisors

Finally, don’t go in-house too soon. “In-house, there are no resources to assist a lawyer in developing his or her professional skills, unlike in private practice,” says Carol Fitzwilliam, founder of Fitzwilliam Legal Recruitment in Montreal. “If one is going to go in-house, one had better have the skills firmly under one’s belt first.”

In-house counsel also need good business sense, as they act as a de facto business advisors. The largest challenge, says Fitzwilliam, “is to remain first and foremost a lawyer, giving sound legal advice, but always tempering and adapting that advice to the business environment. You can’t forget that and become just a business advisor; the lawyer was hired for his or her legal expertise.”

Interview preparation

The more you know about the firm in advance, the better, Robertson says. Employers appreciate lawyers who are “already up to speed on all aspects of the company’s business.” Demonstrating a desire to keep learning is also key: one of Robertson’s clients is convinced he landed an in-house job by saying in the interview that he wanted to learn the company’s business thoroughly, and asking if there’d be opportunity in the first few months to sit with other departments and learn the business.

“I tell clients that companies are looking for people to work hard, because the hours can be as long” as in private practice, Robertson adds. “Companies are looking for team players, people who’ll work well in a collaborative environment. They’re also looking for lawyers who won’t come up with a list of reasons as to why things won’t work: they want an in-house legal department that will work with business managers to find solutions.”

Corporate structure

At the interview, ask about corporate structure: will you be reporting to a general counsel, vice-president, or the CEO? That may affect your scope of responsibility. How will they use you? Will you join the executive team, or are you reporting to some other position in the company? “If you’re the senior person going in-house, it’s crucial to know the reporting relationship,” notes Robertson – including access to the CEO and the board of directors. “That will affect your effectiveness.”

Find out if you are joining a legal team, or if you will be the only lawyer. According to the In-house Counsel Barometer, the average in-house law department has 11 lawyers and six support staff.

However, nearly one-quarter of in-house counsel are the sole practitioner in the organization; that situation may not be suitable for a candidate who is a junior lawyer, Robertson suggests.

Outside counsel

Contact with outside counsel is also an important consideration. Since companies will use external lawyers for specialized information, ask who the external counsel is, so you’ll know what your backup is if it’s a very small company.

Compensation

You should also ask how the compensation is structured, Pekarsky suggests: “In a publicly-traded company, there may be an equity piece [stock options], and they may not give much base salary at all.” Other in-house benefits may include car allowances, guaranteed targets on short-term incentive programs, and sophisticated HR groups “where your future is communicated to you clearly, and there’s a path forward for you.”

Company forecast

Read the company’s annual report, and ask about the company’s finances (frame this as a query about a section of the annual report) and its stability: if it is a subsidiary of a U.S.- or European-based company, you might ask about the future of the Canadian office. With economic contractions, “there are a lot of legal departments being closed in Canada,” Pekarsky reports. If a company is publicly traded, you might query a stock-market analyst about it.

Get out in the field, Robertson stresses. “Tell them you want to spend time out in branch operations, time with clients, in finance, in customer service,” she says. If there are regional offices, get out to the regions. “Sit in the [regional] office and listen to the sales people: you need to observe the business, and build relationships.”

Beth Raymer is a freelance writer.