An alternative view

I am an LPC graduate and have been working in-house for three years. I am about to start a training contract within the legal department of an open cloud computing company. In this blog, I hope to give some insight into why working in-house shouldn't just be seen as a CV-enhancer for training contract applicants.

Compared to the traditional route of a solicitor, there is a distinct lack of information about forging a legal career in-house. This isn’t surprising; the number of solicitors in private practice greatly outnumbers those working in-house. I am reminded of wandering around the booths at my university law fair, dutifully going from firm to firm and knowing that I was getting first-hand information about a career in the legal profession. It was at this moment that I realised that working for a law firm was the norm for a solicitor. However, I became quickly disillusioned with this concept. I wanted something different from my career and, fortunately for me, working in-house has opened my eyes to what that is.

Variety

My first role out of university was working for a high-street firm as a paralegal to get some experience under my belt. The work was focused on divorce proceedings, Children Act matters and care proceedings. While this was valuable experience for me, I had a feeling of being pigeon-holed. Although the clients and their stories were different, the process rarely was.

Working in-house is a completely different world. In my roles to date within the IT sector (including web hosting and cloud computing companies), I have covered the areas of law you would associate with the industry - for example, data protection, intellectual property and contract. But I have also dealt with matters concerning employment, commercial property and civil litigation. The work is incredibly varied and I love that I never know what the next email or phone call will bring.

Responsibility

I have heard countless stories of both paralegals and trainees being tasked with paginating or photocopying bundle after bundle, never really getting to do any "real work". It would be a bare-faced lie to say that I have never had to do the more menial tasks in-house, but the time spent doing so is certainly in the minority. The work I have handled carries real weight and gives me a real sense of responsibility. Knowing that my advice and actions have consequences means more than just experience; it is job satisfaction.

Passion

Hopefully most people reading this post will share more than just an interest in law. While I enjoy all that the profession brings, I am (again) fortunate to be working in an industry that I am passionate about. The benefit of working in-house is that no matter what areas of law you love or loathe, if you are working within an industry and a company that you care about, the type of work will rarely (if ever) bore you.

This is down to the simple fact that it will always point back to the same thing - your industry and your company. This is the same opportunity available to anyone interested in working in-house, whether it be in publishing, scientific research, charity, media or otherwise.

Commercial exposure

A real challenge for any commercial solicitor is to be able to truly understand his/her clients. This is not to say that lawyers in private practice cannot understand their clients, but working in-house offers a chance to work with a huge range of talented people and to get to grips with what makes that business tick. I have worked with the HR, finance, marketing, office management and product management departments. The key word here is "with" and not "for". Working with these individuals makes for a thorough understanding of why things are done the way they are and what the processes are.

Legal experience

This is probably the most obvious benefit and would be a logical conclusion to sum up all of the elements above into how they make for an all-round legal experience. In the same way that working with other professionals across the business is a phenomenal learning experience, so too is working with a diverse team of lawyers every day.

In addition, the work with outside law firms is also valuable. Liaising with external counsel is a really eye-opening experience as it puts you in the role of a client. It has made me realise precisely what I need from the dialogue and what makes for sound advice. It gives me a real sense of perspective in relation to my own work - to understand what it is my client needs and to develop the self-awareness to know if I am delivering. This wider legal experience is something that truly sets in-house work apart.

Final thoughts

Working in-house certainly isn't for everyone. It has its challenges and is often steeped in commercial law, which is not to everyone's taste. For those with an interest and looking for a challenge, a career in-house becomes what you make it. Graduates should not view working in-house as CV-fodder, providing a stepping stone to private practice, nor should they view private practice as the norm. Developing a legal career in-house is a real alternative and has proved to be a real blast for me so far!

Joseph Stoker is a legal assistant, soon to be trainee, at Rackspace, the Open Cloud Company. If you want to find out more about working in-house, feel free to get in touch via Twitter @josephstoker.