Chapter § 1.13 Life as In-House Counsel

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Publication year: 2020

§ 1.13 Life as In-House Counsel

Describing the difference between working in-house and at a law firm, a former in-house lawyer said, “[It’s] different in a fundamental way. In the old paradigm, success was winning the case; the new paradigm is selling more product. In-house counsel have to understand that they live and breathe to advance the business objectives of their company and that the people of their company probably view you as a cost center.”¹⁰³ In-house, lawyers are not considered profit centers the way they are at law firms. Instead, they are considered a necessary cost of doing business.

In-house lawyers need to ensure they are closely aligned with the business and that they are “considered players” by their businesses’ senior executives. The goal is to be viewed by the business as a trusted partner who is committed to helping the business achieve its business objectives, ethically and compliantly. In-house lawyers do not have much time to focus on their outside...