Working in-house: commerce and industry

As the law is so important in the running of a business, many organisations employ their own legal teams. Usually these will be small units of, perhaps, only one or two lawyers but larger organisations can employ 20 or more people. The work undertaken by in-house lawyers will depend on the sector in which the company operates and by the business needs of the organisation. In-house lawyers may, therefore, undertake legal work in the core area of the company's business or assist with the outsourcing to law firms better able to undertake this work than a small in-house team.

Working environment

This describes the environment in which in-house legal departments practise, the nature of these departments, and the kind of work they handle.

  • In-house legal departments can be large or very small, reflecting the size of the organisations they belong to. It is not uncommon to have a department comprising one solicitor and two assistants.
  • In a large organisation, the in house legal team may deal with: supplying goods and services, leases, mortgages, acquisitions and mergers, research agreements, production issues, intellectual property, joint ventures and immigration, among other areas. Solicitors may become specialists in particular areas if the department is large.
  • In a small organisation with perhaps only one solicitor, the role will be high profile and will influence commercial decisions, as well as dealing with every legal issue, as it arises within the organisation.
  • Legal issues common to both small and large departments can include dispute resolution, customer bankruptcy, drafting contracts, plant and equipment management, employment, industrial relations, regulatory and administrative compliance.
  • Limited trainee solicitor recruitment takes place each year, mostly within the larger organisations. Applications are usually made either one or two years in advance of starting work.

Qualifications required

As only a few opportunities arise, competition for them is fierce. Successful applicants are most likely to have or expect 2:1 degrees, and have grades A - C at A level. Commercial work experience is also often sought.

Large organisations are likely to require similar academic success to private practice City/Corporate firms.

These Legal Departments are also looking for a 'personal match' - personal qualities and experience that they believe will enable you to succeed in their kind of work. If you accept a place on our LPC, our careers consultants will be able to advise you in more detail about this. They can also provide advice on CVs, application forms and interview techniques.

Hard facts

In 2005-06, 94 training contracts were registered with the Law Society by In-house legal departments. This figure accounts for 1.6% of the total number of training contracts registered that year.

A more typical path to working in this sector would involve qualifying within a private practice commercial firm, and then applying for in-house posts after qualification.

If you are keen to join this sector, you would be wise to consider your suitability for private practice commercial firms at the same time in case you need to qualify here before moving in-house at a later date.

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