It some point of time in almost every lawyer’s career, he/she give some thought to the idea of the moving-in house from a law firm. The desire to escape the billable hours, the fear of business development obligations, timesheets, work/life balance and long predictable working hours, are all very attractive reasons to go in-house. I have put together the following practicaladviceand helpful tips for law firm associates considering the transition to an in-house role. It is not for everyone, but it may be the next logical step in your career.

• Understand the Business: Once you get on-board, invest considerable time in learning about the Company, business model, customers, competitors, strategies, operational and technical processes, organizational charts, growth plans and work atmosphere. Be humble, ask questions and feel free to spend time conversing with the business folks, management teams, andvertical heads to gain a deep and thorough insight of daily business operations.
• Know your Role: Always remember, you are not joining the legal department, you are joining the business. The better you understand the business of your organization, you will be more transparent and precise to set-up your responsibilities, goals, demands and pressure points. A major attraction of working in-house would be that you will witness the direct result of your advice to the business. Your job is not to opine on legal issues; you are there to provide solutions.
• Be an Assets and get ready to engage beyond the Law: Your job as inhouse counsel is to develop strong relationships with your team members, team leaders, vertical heads and management team so that they view you as a problem solver and always find value in your advice and legal opinions. Always consider learning opportunities to enhance your technical legal experience by being opportunistic, resourceful and flexible. Keep communications short, precise and to the point.
• Develop Commercial Mindset: Post completion of a couple of months as inhouse counsel, you will find yourself often working with different business departments and variety of teams, which will demand your time as intense as in a law firm. You need to adjust and manage your time and deadlines very well. Just remember, your only client is the business and never be afraid to be proactive in building your network and skill set. The workenvironment is always business-centric.
• Family Friendly Working Hours, Bonus and Stocks will make you stay: In-house compensation is structured as a salary that is generally less than law firms. However, in-house counsels typically work on regular working hours, which will ease their work/life balance. Depending upon of the periodic performance review of in-house, the majority of the Companies offers variables, performance bonuses and grant stock options, which brings a huge financial stability to in-house counsels.
• Be clear with outside Counsels: Remember, you are now on the other business side. Managing and spending time with the outside counsels discussing what you expect from them will turn a great advantage and benefit in a long term. Guiding your outside counsels to understand your business issues and concerns will always help you become a better advocate for your Company.