In-House Counsel

Yeah, Yeah: Relationships Matter

Lawyers must be integral to the business. In-house, personal relationships matter.

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There are people-people and non-people-people.  They approach things very differently.

People-people think relationships matter: “How do you land a new case?  Have lunch with an in-house lawyer!  If you can build a relationship with an in-house lawyer, you’re set.  All the rest is nonsense.”

Non-people-people beg to differ: “An in-house lawyer is gonna hire you after he (or she) has lunch with you???  Do you think in-house lawyers are idiots?  That’s crazy.  The way to get hired is to build a reputation for yourself.  Win some cases; write some impressive articles; teach some classes on a subject.  Once you’re established as an important person in a field, then you could have lunch or send an email, just so the in-house person remembers that you exist.  But personal relationships are vastly over-rated; relationships are worth very little on their own.”

Wherever you come down in this debate, the view is different if you’re an in-house lawyer.

In-house, relationships matter.

First, if people like you, they just may come to you for advice.  You’re in the business of giving advice; it’s good to have people ask for some.

Second, and perhaps more important, is the relationship between the law department and the business generally.  In some companies, the business folks simply don’t care about the law folks.  The law department is not respected; the individual lawyers are not respected; the CEO thinks that he (or she) is occasionally obligated to talk to the law department because of some silly rule, but the CEO would much rather run the company without having lawyers get in the way.

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In companies that are running correctly, the business folks feel just the opposite.  Business people are asking lawyers for advice early and often.  New products and services receive a legal review before they hit the market; business opportunities are vetted intelligently.  The general counsel and the CEO meet frequently.

In that environment, everyone can be fairly certain that, when appropriate, the law department’s view will prevail.

Suppose the police in some banana republic come to your local office, start poking around, and then comment on how hard it is to make a living working as a police officer in the republic.  Should your local employees pay the bribe or risk getting arrested?

The legal answer is obvious: Do what’s right, and put yourself at risk.

But the practical answer may be much less clear.

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In that situation, it’s critical that the company listens to and respects the law department.  Employees, within and without the law department, must know that you will follow the law; if an issue is escalated in the company, senior management will insist that you follow the law; and the full authority of the company will support you in those times when following the law is inconvenient.

Employees are confident that the law matters in companies that respect the law department; employees are less certain elsewhere.

If you want — and expect — folks in the law department to make hard, but unpopular, decisions, then the law department’s voice must be heard and respected.

That voice and respect are not earned by writing articles, giving speeches, or developing a reputation in the field.

The general counsel and the CEO must get along.

Lawyers must be integral to the business.

In-house, personal relationships matter.

Mark Herrmann spent 17 years as a partner at a leading international law firm and is now deputy general counsel at a large international company. He is the author of The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Practicing Law and Inside Straight: Advice About Lawyering, In-House And Out, That Only The Internet Could Provide (affiliate links). You can reach him by email at inhouse@abovethelaw.com.

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