In-House vs. Law Firm: Elizabeth’s Story

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This one’s for the lawyers — if you’ve ever pondered in-house vs. law firm (and specifically which one is best), Elizabeth offered to share her thoughts on the two jobs with us. Huge thanks to Elizabeth! – Kat

After over a decade in law firms, I moved to an in-house position almost two years ago. It was a great move for me, both personally and professionally, and I get a lot of questions from friends who are considering similar moves. The most frequently asked are 1) how I got the job, and 2) whether in-house life is better than law firm life.

How I Got My In-House Job

The short answer to how I got the job is that the company had been a client at my previous firm, and when there were some retirements and leadership transitions, the folks who I had worked and socialized with for years were now in charge. They called and asked me to join them, and it’s been a really great fit.

If I could give any advice to folks early in their careers, it would be that there is real value in building relationships with your fellow junior-level employees. I’ve been fortunate to have great mentors and sponsors, but some of my best opportunities came because my peers knew that I did good work and was pleasant to be around.

As for whether in-house life is “better” than law firm life, the answer is that it’s better for me, but it may not be for everyone!

In-House vs. Law Firm: Which Is Best?

Pros of In-House Positions

Goodbye, billable hours

Tracking your life in six-minute increments is an absolutely bonkers way to live.

As a junior partner, I spent a lot of time working with associates, serving on committees, and doing firm administration work that couldn’t be billed. These things were an important part of the job, but they didn’t “count” because they weren’t billable, so I was working nights and weekends to make it up.

Now, I don’t have to parse which parts of my job “count” and which don’t. I do my work and I go home when I’m done.

(And that’s always before 6:00 p.m.)

One client only

Working for lots of clients means that you’re constantly trying to figure out whose work is the most urgent at any given time. When you have one client, it’s a lot simpler.

Also, if you assume for argument’s sake that each client has one genuine legal “emergency” per year, and you’re working with 10–15 clients, that’s once a month when your schedule gets completely blown up without warning, and then you spend a few days cleaning up the mess. With one client, there’s a lot less unpredictability.

Learning the business

I always think the best lawyers are the ones who understand their clients’ business well, but it can be challenging when you’re juggling lots of clients.

It’s much easier when you work in the same building. And, because you know the people and what they’re working on, small issues can be escalated to you before they become big issues.

Cons of In-House Positions

Financial

My current salary/benefits package is basically equivalent to what I was making when I left my firm, which is very fair and very good. Long term, I probably won’t reach what a senior partner at a law firm would be making, but on the flip side, I also won’t be putting in the same hours.

Sometimes you need a quick answer

As a junior associate at a big law firm, you’re often given a complicated question and then have hours and hours to research it and provide a nuanced answer. As in-house counsel, sometimes you need to be OK with giving the best answer you can based on the limited information and time that you have.

Fortunately, the non-legal folks in the business usually know which questions require hours of research to be exactly right and which ones you can answer off the cuff.

(Although I do occasionally have to explain that there are some specialties where I would be way too nervous to even think about answering. ERISA people, your practice area is terrifying.)

It’s been an adjustment, but I think I’m slowly becoming more confident and saying “Based on my past experience, the answer is X. If you need me to be 100% sure, I’ll need some more time.”

Readers, have you investigated in-house vs law firm life? What conclusions have you drawn for yourself — and what do you see with your friends and colleagues who have made the choice?

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