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Thinking about going in-house? Here’s what you need to know

By: Erika Strebel, [email protected]//August 31, 2018//

Thinking about going in-house? Here’s what you need to know

By: Erika Strebel, [email protected]//August 31, 2018//

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careerThe decision to pursue in-house work became clear for Paul Hinkfuss after reflecting on the experience of waiting to baptize his baby son because of pending patent litigation.

“I didn’t have a free weekend for the first six months of his life,” said Hinkfuss. “I reflected and thought, ‘I do not want to be doing this for the rest of my life.’”

In-house work has afforded him the ability to spend more time with his family. Hinkfuss’ path is one that many private practice lawyers take. Here’s what you need to know if you’re contemplating making that career shift.

Getting down to business

Hinkfuss’ background gave him an edge for in-house work at MLG Commercial, where he is associate general counsel. Not only did he have around a dozen years of litigation experience, but he had also worked on transactions.

On the other hand, Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc’s associate general counsel and director, DeVona Wright Cottrell, did not have any business background. Her undergraduate degree was in political science, so she got her got her MBA at UW-Milwaukee in order to boost her business knowledge before she transitioned to in-house work.

She worked full-time in private practice while she got her degree, and it was part of her long-term plan to land an in-house job.

Going back to school may not be path for everyone, however. Wright Cottrell advises attorneys interested in in-house work to at least know how to read and understand financial statements.

“You, as an advocate for a company, will need to understand what those numbers mean,” she said.

Network, network, network

Whether you’re looking for in-house work or already in it, networking is key. Talk to as many in-house counsel as you can in addition to reading up on the work.

“Meeting face-to-face with real life people who have done it and are in it would also be beneficial,” Hinkfuss said. “And just try to get a feel of what they do and what their day is like.”

And while you’re networking at continuing legal education seminars and events with organizations that include in-house attorneys, make sure people know that you’re interested in an in-house role, says Wright Cottrell.

“It’s hard because corporate counsel or in-house counsel positions are not that frequent, so you have to be in these smaller group settings,” she said. “And sometimes they’re not always posted broadly either.”

But the networking doesn’t end when you get that in-house job, Hinkfuss noted. One big change for him when he moved to in-house work was that he didn’t have several lawyers he could bounce ideas off of.

“If you’re not careful you can feel more isolated or detached from the legal community,” Hinkfuss said. “Unlike in a law firm, you won’t hear about the local goings-on in the bar association or networking events with lawyers from other firms. If that is important to you, you have to make more of an effort to stay connected.”

Bye, bye billable hours

Perhaps the most obvious difference between working at a law firm and working in-house is that companies don’t bill by the hour.

The beauty of that difference means in-house attorneys have easier access to information about a company or a matter than what a contract attorney would and can see a deal through from beginning to end, says Hinkfuss.

But not having to keep track of your time in minute increments doesn’t mean you won’t be busy or have to work as hard.

“I think you work just as hard, if not harder,” said Wright Cottrell. “You are forced to wear a business hat as well as a legal hat because you think more big-picture and you know how your advice is contributing to the bottom line.”

She noted that in the private practice setting, clients have a perception that lawyers are the “office of no,” but not when you work in-house. Instead, you have to offer up alternatives or other ways to accomplish a goal.

“In a company you are forced to figure out how to make practical solutions work for your business people,” Wright Cottrell said. “And so ‘no’ is not a part of the vocabulary. … Very seldom am I telling my internal clients no unless it’s really clear from a legal or regulatory perspective.”

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