BigStock image

I recently sat down with in-house counsel at a number of prominent organizations, like Facebook and PepsiCo, to chat about a whole host of questions that commonly face lawyers at law firms—especially litigators in BigLaw—who are considering going in-house.

We discussed everything from “why go in-house” to “how to go in-house” to “what an in-house role involves.”

A number of important themes emerged from these conversations. Below are three key ones that cut across these questions and conversations. To check out the full conversations, organized by question and category, visit our Going In-House: Q&A Resource Center.

Theme 1: Take Stock of Your Skills—Leverage and Grow Them

As you’re gearing up to explore opportunities to go in-house, think about how your experiences to date might translate to help you be effective in the new role. As Alex Middleton (assistant general counsel at A.T. Kearney) explained, “Take a step back and think not in terms of the exact specific work you’ve done but what you learned from that and how that could apply to the ongoing operation of a business.” For example, Middleton further explained, “Maybe you’ve been a litigator, but you’ve done a lot of witness interviews—maybe that can help you pitch yourself for a compliance role.”

The good news is you’re not limited by your experiences to date if you don’t let yourself be. Take the view of Cynthia Shereda (vice president & chief counsel, global operations, M&A, and R&D technology at PepsiCo), for example, “I’ll hire talent any day over experience. That said, you need to be able to show how the experience you do have is relevant. For example, if you are a litigator looking to do transactional work, reach out to your transactional colleagues and friends to learn what they do. Then, reflect on your experiences—particularly if you have done commercial litigation, you will have seen firsthand how contract language/negotiation history plays out in a dispute.”

Regardless of your prior experience, the requirements of your new role will likely mean having to learn new substantive areas and skills. Your interviewers know this, which is why this advice from Melissa Hung (associate general counsel at HotelTonight) is worth heeding: “Demonstrate a willingness and enthusiasm for broadening your practice.”

Theme 2: Get Cozy With the Business

A common motivation for going in-house is to work more closely with the business. This includes having the opportunity to learn more about the company’s products and services and the people who work in the functions that develop, provide, and support them.

That’s good news because these conversations also made clear that learning about the business functions supported by the legal department is critical for having success as in-house counsel. As Shereda (PepsiCo) put it, “I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to truly understand the business so you can translate the impact of your advice. Lawyers come in thinking they have their specialty and don’t need to learn how the business actually works … Make the effort.”

The process you go through to do this learning should include listening and getting to know these businesspeople. Indeed, this is so important that, as general counsel, Peter Katz (formerly general counsel of Duo Security, which was recently acquired by Cisco) would “give them a list of folks to schedule meetings with.” Done well, this listening process will help build trust with those folks who will be, practically speaking, your internal clients. And that trust—that you care about understanding the business context in which you’re operating and the perspective of your internal clients—will encourage your internal clients to bring you in earlier in the process of a new project or an emerging problem. This means you’ll be better equipped to help proactively avoid legal problems and spot existing issues that might go unseen until they’ve caused additional damage you could have helped avoid. As Katz put it, “The idea that a business client should know what a legal question even is, is unrealistic.”

This also means that, on any given matter, you’re taking the time first to understand the business’s goals and concerns, before jumping to spotting legal issues. This will make sure you’re crafting legal solutions and delivering legal advice in a way that’s relevant to your audience and helpful for accomplishing those goals.

Theme 3: Bring the Solutions

Related to building trust so that you can become part of the business team is an orientation toward solutions. That doesn’t mean the right answer is always, “yes,” but, as Hung (HotelTonight) explained, “Don’t just give your advice and walk away—commit to being in the trenches with your client and help them figure out the best way to implement your legal advice.” As Jennifer Broxmeyer (associate general counsel-privacy at Facebook) helpfully framed it, “To be effective in-house, you have to understand yourself as part of the team and your job as helping to get over the line lawfully and ethically.”

So, be ready to roll up your sleeves and help figure out how to accomplish the business’ goals (which requires first understanding those goals, see Theme 2). But don’t stop there. You also need to communicate and produce work product that is actionable. That means communicate and produce work in a way that’s useful for the intended uses of those who will use it. Start with those users and uses in mind and build backwards from those goals. Lose the jargon. Cut the case law and the detail not needed by your audience. Give your clients the tools and advice they can use to make decisions and take action.

* * *

That only scratches the surface of the practical, candid advice and perspective shared by the in-house counsel I recently interviewed. Check out these conversations, organized by question and category, at our Going In-House: Q&A Resource Center.

Michael Bloom is the founder of Praktio, a provider of modern training—practical, interactive, self-paced, online—for reviewing and drafting contracts and other legal documents.