Thought Piece – why do so many lawyers want to go In-House? And is it all it’s cracked up to be?
I hear this all too often: “I’ll do this for a few [more] years, then I want to move in-house”. It seems that for a lot of associates out there, the legal career goal is to leave private practice as soon as it’s viable – yet this a relatively new phenomenon, marking a pretty serious shift in career goals for most lawyers.
So what’s the draw to in-house? Being closer to the commercial team? Perhaps. Having a better work / life balance? Definitely.
I’m not going to wax lyrical about the pro’s / con’s about staying in private practice or heading in-house, and this post isn’t anti-in-house by any stretch, but given the biggest pull factor for in-house gigs is WLB, please consider the below before making the move:
- Don’t underestimate the impact of what it will be like going from a revenue generator (i.e. a fee earner), to a business cost – no longer being part of the core driving force of a business, and rather be being seen as a cost (albeit a necessary one), can present numerous challenges.
- Potential lack of progression. Getting pigeon holed in the ‘same’ role for a long time and no longer having the guaranteed year on year progression (both in terms of rank/seniority and comp). This is typically more true the more junior you make the move.
- WLB. Is it genuinely better? In a word, yes. Of course it is. But the extent to which this is true depends on: (a) your current firm, its hours target / requirement and the team you sit in; and (b) the type of in-house role you want. To be extreme about things, I know of some in-house roles that will result in, on average, more hours worked across the course of the year – albeit these hours will be more consistent.
To be clear, I fully understand wanting a better work life balance – my personal career journey is evident of this. However, moving in-house – especially too early – isn’t the only choice. There are plenty of firms out there where a genuine WLB is very much achievable, and these kinds of moves avoid you having to deal with not being a generator for the business, and potential pigeon holing. Plus if you think about it, the ‘best’ in-house roles are ‘reserved’ for the more senior lawyers, so the longer you stay in private practice, the better your in-house role will be.
Thoughts welcome!
