A recent article on Lawyers Weekly highlighted that the In-House Legal Counsel life is high on the list of priorities for professionals. With numbers jumping from just 7,325 In-House Legal Counsel employees in 2011, to 13,360 in 2020, something is clearly driving professionals towards in-house legal counsel opportunities.
As Telstra Legal Business Partner, Sunil Paranikmath, said in the article, part of the appeal is because the corporations themselves are realizing the value of In-House Legal Counsel. “Most corporations are realising the value that in-house legal counsel can offer, the value that goes beyond that of a black letter lawyer. With an in-house team, you invest in a team of legal professionals that also become valuable commercial operators as they often know a lot about the intricacies of a business’ operations. You get more than a lawyer, you get so much more added value,” Paranikmath said in the article.
Meanwhile the lawyers themselves prefer in-house roles because there is the perception that it is superior from a lifestyle perspective. There is a perception that legal firms demand significantly more than the proverbial pound of flesh, and whether it’s an accurate perception or not, firms have been unable to shake the idea that the exceedingly long hours and often mercenary nature of the work doesn’t appeal to many modern lawyers.
“That lifestyle is a choice that more and more people are not choosing to take, as they value flexibility, a more manageable workload, a sustainable pace and avoidance of excessive pressure. In-house teams are also offering such a wider breadth of work to challenge lawyers to learn new skills and not get bored,” Paranikmath said in the article.
Finally, the career paths into in-house roles are much better now. When there were relatively few roles available, forging a successful career was more difficult, but the exponential growth in job demand has created new opportunities in decent years.
“I believe there’s now broader recognition by universities and the legal profession generally of the quality of training and experiences that can be provided to graduates and junior lawyers in an in-house environment,” WiseTech Global General Counsel, Katrina Johnson, said in the article. “Traditionally, this had been considered almost the exclusive domain of law firms, but that perception has been shifting in recent years.”
So, the lifestyle that an In-House Legal Counsel role offers is appealing, the career pathways are robust, and the employers themselves want these roles in their organisation. With these three factors combined, the growth in demand for In-House Legal Counsel is not going to ease in the near future.
Read more in the article on Lawyer’s Weekly here. Greenfields Recruitment And Search is able to help your organisation find the ideal In-House Legal Counsel roles! For more information, contact us today.
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