Leading a law firm is hard work – long hours, office politics, plus the challenge of keeping both clients and fellow partners happy. For those top firm lawyers tiring of the grind and looking for a second wind in their legal careers, could becoming a general counsel be a good next step?

It's a transition that a handful of high-profile lawyers have made in recent years, bringing their experience with how outside counsel operate to organisations that prove much more budget-focused and hierarchical than the partnerships they left.