No matter what eventually happens, the controversy surrounding General Motors' defective ignition switches and the company's alleged failure to recall the product when needed will continue to resonate for in-house counsel in the decades-long struggle to define their dual public and client responsibilities.

As of this writing, the GM law department is being hurled into the vortex of accusation and investigation, especially when, on May 17, The New York Times ran the front-page story, “Inquiry by General Motors is Said to Focus on its Lawyers.”

The very existence of such prominent coverage underscores a few essential themes regarding the evolving profile of in-house counsel.