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A move in-house can be a big change for a lawyer whose prior career has been spent exclusively in private practice. Accordingly, it is not one that should be made without undertaking significant due diligence. However, notwithstanding such efforts, sometimes a career in-house simply does not suit a particular lawyer, although it is fair to say this only tends to happen in a small minority of cases. Some who make the move enjoy working in-house, but eventually decide they would like a return to a practice role. We are often asked about the prospects for an in-house lawyer looking to find a private practice job and what factors are relevant to their chances of finding something suitable. Like so much related to job hunting, to a large extent, prospects depend upon the state of the market. A firm's first choice when looking to fill a vacancy will usually be a lawyer currently fulfilling a similar role in a team of note at a respected competitor. However, such candidates are not always easy to find, particularly in a strong job market. There are a huge variety of in-house jobs. Some are very similar to practice roles whereas others can be highly focused on the business side with a limited amount of pure legal work. Most fall between these two extremes. Ignoring for the moment what one might call "other factors", those in-house lawyers with a practice-like position are obviously more suited to a return to a law firm role. Conversely, in the absence of anything further, those in largely business roles will generally find it hard to return unless perhaps their move in-house was only short lived and they can rely upon solid prior law firm experience. An additional advantage for in-house lawyers looking to return to practice is working in a highly specialized area of practice. Being a generalist is far less suited to commercial law firms in this day and age. In certain practice areas, such as various types of specialist finance work, lawyers with the requisite experience are rarely available and thus much sought after, whether they come from a private practice or in-house background. Notwithstanding the comments above, "other factors" do sometimes exist. At senior level, a law firm may consider hiring a lawyer from an in-house role for reasons of reputation, for his or her connections and the potential "rain-making" capacity he or she may bring. At such a level, any management skills learnt in-house will also be advantageous. However, such hires will usually be limited to high profile individuals from large, big name businesses, such as huge Multinationals or market leading Investment Banks. A lot of in-house lawyers will work quite closely with private practice teams, as a majority of in-house legal teams will outsource certain work to one or more law firms. This provides an opportunity for these lawyers to build relationships with the individuals who run the private practice teams and to impress them with their professional skills. As and when they decide to look for a move back to practice, such contacts may provide a good place to start looking for a job. That said, if the firm still works for the individual's current employer, the potential for political considerations is great and it is doubtful in such circumstances whether a law firm would offer a job to someone from an in-house team without the blessing of the corporation in question. However, lots of law firm appointments are one-offs, corporations regularly change their externals advisors and partners of law firms often move on to other firms who may well not have a relationship with the corporation in question. There is also a lot to be said for leaving a job on good terms. A former employer knows as well as anyone what you are capable of and if the circumstances are right may be willing to look at re-hiring a former employee who left to try a career in-house. Given that the original reason for leaving was to move in-house rather than to join a competitor, there does not tend to be the same feeling of disloyalty and the prospects for returning are thus far better. Like most things in life, prevention is better than cure. Therefore, try to make sure a career in-house is right for you before making the move. Once in-house, it is certainly possible to move back to a practice role, but, dependent on the nature of your role and the state of the market, it can be hard to find something suitable. |
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