{"id":165,"date":"2016-06-21T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-06-21T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insight.thomsonreuters.com\/mena\/legal\/posts\/in-house-counsel-career"},"modified":"2023-05-23T05:38:07","modified_gmt":"2023-05-23T05:38:07","slug":"in-house-counsel-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insight.thomsonreuters.com\/mena\/legal\/posts\/in-house-counsel-career","title":{"rendered":"Making the Switch to In-House Counsel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Billable hours, timesheets and work\/life balance are just some of the reasons lawyers leave private practice for an in-house counsel role. It\u2019s not for everyone, but it may be the next logical step in your career.<\/p>\n

Making the transition to corporate counsel<\/a> takes a level of self-awareness, as well as the right skills and resources. If you\u2019re considering a move in-house, here are some items you\u2019ll need in your survival kit.<\/p>\n

A specialist skill set<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Corporations seek in-house legal professionals based on their specialised areas of practice. If you have a background in capital raising and prospectus work, then a listed company may be the perfect fit.<\/p>\n

Similarly, if you have a strong compliance or litigation background, your skills may be suited to a debt collection or contract enforcement team.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, transactional lawyers may find their niche working for multinational property developers, financial services companies and stockbroking firms.<\/p>\n

Understanding your personal skill set and value proposition is the first step in making the right move to an in-house legal role.<\/p>\n

An up-to-date repository of forms and precedents<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

While having the right skill set is one thing, being able to quickly execute a task in the most efficient and legally effective way possible is something else entirely. An up-to-date toolkit of relevant procedures, regulations and rules, precedents and forms is essential in helping you deliver your best work on time and within budget.<\/p>\n

Many in-house legal professionals build this arsenal using both their experience (what has worked for them in the past) together with modern legal technology solutions<\/a> such as legal templates, precedents and checklists to ensure their work remains current and accurate.<\/p>\n

Tristan Ng, Senior Legal Counsel at an Australian oil and gas company, says that having an up-to-date repository of forms and precedents is essential to good business.<\/p>\n

\u201cStandard forms provide a high degree of certainty and transparency with contractual terms and requisite compliance standards,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf applied equally to all contracting parties, these forms could expedite the contract negotiation process; as the parties can expect to have a level playing field,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

Seamless billing and practice procedures<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Regardless of whether you work as the sole in-house counsel or as part of a large team, you need a way to manage your time and report your work completed, in progress and outstanding.<\/p>\n

While many firms have their own processes for legal tracking and reporting, modern software gives in-house professionals a method of seamlessly fulfilling their obligations while contributing to the overall strategic direction of the company. Legal tracker software<\/a> enables corporate counsel to set and report on budgets, receive and process invoices, track expenditure, record works in progress, ascertain the status of current matters and review progress by matter, sector and as a whole.<\/p>\n

An intuitive mind<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Experience comes with time, but knowledge is something you can actively gain right now. If you\u2019re considering making the transition to corporate counsel, find out how you can bolster your specialist skill set.<\/p>\n

This can include:<\/p>\n