In-House Counsel

Working In-House And Want To Switch Companies? Good Luck!

Even though you may be more marketable given your previous in-house experience, the application process can be a challenge.

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The playbook for moving between in-house and Biglaw is well known and pretty straightforward.

Want to switch from in-house to Biglaw?

Easy, kiss your personal time goodbye and be prepared to be a slave to the almighty billable hour.

Want to move from Biglaw to in-house?

Hasta la vista big paycheck and regular bonuses, who needs those anyways when you can count on being home in time for dinner with the family.

But if you are working in-house and want to move to an in-house role in another company, well, the playbook is not as clear and the path is a little more obscure. Even though you may be more marketable given your previous in-house experience, the application process can be a challenge.

First, when asked to interview with a competing company, you will immediately be struck with a nagging fear the new company only wants to meet you to gather intel on your present employer. We are attorneys after all, and we are known to be competitive by nature. Would you really put it past a fellow member of the bar to want to meet you only for their own gain?

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Second, even if the company really wants you for your brains, the interview process is a minefield. Think about it. How many of the most common interview questions can you really answer without running afoul of attorney-client privilege?

Tell me about the toughest decision you have had to make in the last six-months?

Well, that might be hard if your toughest decision related to steering your company clear of a lawsuit based on some fancy legal footwork you conducted with your current employer.

Tell me about a time you disagreed with a decision and how you handled it?

I’m pretty sure I can’t tell you about the time our CEO overlooked my legal advice in favor of a riskier route that ran us afoul of regulators.

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What do you consider to be your greatest weakness?

At the moment, it’s those darn rules of professional conduct that prevent me from really telling you how great I am while regaling you with stories of how I saved my current employer of a most certain doom and gloom.

So what is a current, now seemingly trapped, in-house counsel supposed to do if they want to leave for greener in-house pastures?

First, a bit of worn advice: network. Despite our companies being in competition with each other, I keep in regularly contact with my in-house counterparts at other companies. I can tell you which of them I would hire tomorrow if given the chance.

In-house life can be a bit lonely, so proving you are someone tolerable can go further to getting you a job offer than detailing your latest heroics.

Second, if faced with direct interview questions you believe you cannot ethically answer, answer the question at a more global level. As a healthcare attorney, the things the keep me up at night are likely the same as my competitors. You can demonstrate your understanding of the current pressure points in our field without revealing confidential information.

Finally, don’t be afraid to apply for a job outside of your respective niche. I may be a healthcare attorney, but I have negotiated enough employment and vendor contracts in my time that I am sure I could meaningful contribute to most in-house offices regardless of the company.

And when all else fails, complain about your non-legal colleagues.

Nothing will prove to me you understand what it takes to be an in-house counsel faster than your ability to relay the horror you are faced with every day as your respective company stumbles throughout the day as if the law did not exist.

Stephen R. Williams is in-house counsel with a multi-facility hospital network in the Midwest. His column focuses on a little talked about area of the in-house life, management. You can reach Stephen at stephenwilliamsjd@gmail.com.

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