GeneralCounselNet
These days being a sole general counsel for a business is one of the more demanding challenges for a lawyer. Multinational corporates like Exxon or IBM have large legal departments and big budgets to engage expert external counsel if they have a work crisis. However smaller organisations cannot afford this luxury but do benefit from an in-house legal service.
So they will typically engage a company secretary, a lawyer and maybe a paralegal. If they are any good the sole lawyer will rapidly be seen as a valuable resource by all and sundry and if not careful may find the job even more stressful than the private practice they may have come from.
The great thing about working in house is the opportunity it provides not only to escape from the tyranny of time sheets but to work closely with a business and its senior management. If this ambition is frustrated by the pressure of the work itself then it defeats the benefits of going in house in the first place.
So how can this be overcome? First prioritising what really matters is crucial. Any business or organisation will have issues that are critical to its development and sometimes even survival and others that are more routine. The art of being in house is to work out what matters and to focus resources on this. The best way to do this is to be close enough to the senior management of the business to understand what matters to them. Sitting on whatever passes for the management board of the company or relevant division gives this insight even if it means listening to some irrelevant and mundane matters at times.
Secondly being ruthless with time management of work and focusing on what matters to the organisation. If, for example, an agreement needs to be reviewed then an in house lawyer can adopt a "what really matters" approach by reference to the business issues that really count. So if protecting intellectual property is essential to a software business then amend those clauses and accept others which might have legal risk but in areas that are unlikely to bother the business.
Thirdly by seeking help from others, not just potentially expensive external law firms, but by networking with colleagues and contemporaries and finding out how they might approach a particular problem. You can start by posting a problem or maybe a solution to an issue you experience as a general counsel using the form below which can then be shared with others facing a similar situation.
So they will typically engage a company secretary, a lawyer and maybe a paralegal. If they are any good the sole lawyer will rapidly be seen as a valuable resource by all and sundry and if not careful may find the job even more stressful than the private practice they may have come from.
The great thing about working in house is the opportunity it provides not only to escape from the tyranny of time sheets but to work closely with a business and its senior management. If this ambition is frustrated by the pressure of the work itself then it defeats the benefits of going in house in the first place.
So how can this be overcome? First prioritising what really matters is crucial. Any business or organisation will have issues that are critical to its development and sometimes even survival and others that are more routine. The art of being in house is to work out what matters and to focus resources on this. The best way to do this is to be close enough to the senior management of the business to understand what matters to them. Sitting on whatever passes for the management board of the company or relevant division gives this insight even if it means listening to some irrelevant and mundane matters at times.
Secondly being ruthless with time management of work and focusing on what matters to the organisation. If, for example, an agreement needs to be reviewed then an in house lawyer can adopt a "what really matters" approach by reference to the business issues that really count. So if protecting intellectual property is essential to a software business then amend those clauses and accept others which might have legal risk but in areas that are unlikely to bother the business.
Thirdly by seeking help from others, not just potentially expensive external law firms, but by networking with colleagues and contemporaries and finding out how they might approach a particular problem. You can start by posting a problem or maybe a solution to an issue you experience as a general counsel using the form below which can then be shared with others facing a similar situation.
Other Sources
Personal Examples
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