How to Find a Remote In-House Legal Role
One of the questions I get asked often is: How do you find a remote in-house legal role, and how common are they?
From my experience as a legal recruiter, and having worked remotely myself—splitting my time between the UK, Spain, and France—here’s what I’ve learned about securing these opportunities.
The reality of remote in-house legal roles
When a position is advertised as “remote,” it can mean one of two things:
In my eight years of recruiting in-house lawyers, I’ve found that over 95% of “remote” in-house roles fall into the first category.
Companies often want remote employees based in specific countries, and this is especially true for legal roles.
Only a small fraction of opportunities are truly global, and those are usually in the tech sector at companies designed to operate remotely from the start.
Example
At the time of this post being published, one of the vacancies in my GC Jobs newsletter was a position at "Remote" (this is their actual company name) who are a payroll / HR Tech software provider. They were created remote-first and hire employees globally.
They were hiring a Legal Director who could be based anywhere within EMEA or North America East Coast.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of remote-first companies that hire globally:
The work permit challenge
If you are looking for a remote role to be able to work abroad, it's important to remember that even if the position is remote, you’ll still need to already have the right to work in the country where the company is hiring.
While it’s tempting to apply globally, HR teams rarely want the hassle of visa sponsorship unless the role is extremely niche (by 'niche' I mean that there are just a handful of lawyers like you in the world).
For the best chances, target countries where you already hold a work permit. Make sure to highlight this on your CV, somewhere right at the top of it.
How to find remote in-house roles
— Subscribe for job alerts for remote roles advertised
As with any highly desirable roles, consistency in monitoring opportunities is key. The easiest way to keep an eye on potential opportunities is by subscribing to the job alerts for your desired roles.
If you’re a senior lawyer, you will find remote opportunities advertised in my GC Jobs newsletter and job board.
We curate senior in-house legal roles, including remote ones, at the GC, Deputy GC, and Head of Legal levels and send them to our subscribers once a week.
— Proactively reach out to remote-first companies
As any recruiter will confirm, it's much easier to get a role before it gets advertised: you avoid tons of competition.
My clients often call me once they know they'll need to be hiring and before they brief their own HR team to advertise the job: vacancies exist for months before they get published.
So if I was looking for a remote role as an employee, I would focus on identifying remote-first scale-ups and companies who hire globally, to establish contact with the decision makers there and access hidden vacancies. You can start with the list of companies above as a starting point.
This is the course of action that I've seen work well for in-house lawyers in my network:
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When reaching out, a personal comment goes a long way. "I've been finding your posts very helpful" is hard to ignore even for the busiest of people.
It takes effort, but by networking directly, I've seen lawyers bypass the flood of applications and get in front of key people before roles even get posted.
— Consider hidden opportunities in hybrid roles
Many in-house roles advertised as hybrid might actually offer more flexibility than initially stated.
When I get briefed on new vacancies, in about 30% of conversations the hiring manager will say: "For the right person, the role can be remote".
So if you're looking for remote work but see a perfect role labeled "hybrid," don’t automatically rule it out. Consider applying where you would clearly be a top candidate and probing for remote.
— Transition your current role to remote
Sometimes, the easiest way to work remotely is to negotiate with current employer. The trade-off might be no salary increase for a while, but if you’re moving to a country with a lower cost of living, that might not matter.
If your employer is hesitant, it usually helps to suggest a trial period where you work remotely for a few months to prove it can be done effectively. Many line managers are more open to a permanent remote arrangement once they see it work.
— Consider the (DIY) digital nomad visa route
Again, this is something I've seen lawyers do with great success. If working remotely and from abroad is a major priority, then the solution can be a two-step one: 1) become a contractor and 2) use your contract to get a digital nomad visa for the country you'd like to work from.
Digital nomad visas are designed for individuals who are employed by companies outside the host country or contract / freelance remotely.
Despite a hippy name, these visas are very family-friendly: you can include your children and other dependants into the visa application.
Besides the flexibility, digital nomad visas often come with tax incentives and easy processes for extending your stay.
Some of the countries offering digital nomad visas are: Croatia, Malta, Spain, Barbados, Brazil, Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Costa Rica, Iceland, Norway, Portugal, Bahamas, Bermuda, Dominica, Germany and Mexico.
One of the British lawyers in my network lives in Valencia, Spain and works as a contractor for UK companies. She occasionally has to fly to the UK but otherwise works remotely.
BTW: not every country has an official “nomad” visa (France for example doesn't), but it's usually still possible obtain a long-stay visa allowing you to work locally with relative ease.
Final thought: Do you really need a remote role?
Before committing to the remote route, consider if it could be just craving a change of scenery.
Many tech companies I work with, from start-ups to major global multinationals, allow employees to work abroad for a month or more. By combining this with annual leave, their employees enjoy extended stays abroad without needing a permanent remote setup. Perhaps this could be something to discuss with your current employer first.
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CLO, GC, Deputy GC and Head of Legal vacancies globally. Select your desired region (US, UK, Europe or the Middle East) when subscribing to the job updates.
My recruitment agency specialising in in-house legal roles in the UK and Europe. See our track record and reach out if you are hiring or are planning to hire an in-house lawyer.
Thanks for reading and see you next time!
Mila
HR Legal Advisor | Employment Law & Compliance | Global HR Operations | Risk Mitigation
4 天前Mila, this is a very timely and informative article. As a legal counsel with 15 years of experience seeking a fully remote in-house role, your insights are incredibly valuable. I'm particularly interested in connecting with professionals in the remote-first tech space. I'll be sure to explore your job board and newsletter. Thank you for sharing your expertise!
Associate (Disputes, Tech, Aviation)
4 个月Incredibly helpful, thanks!
Head of Legal, Jumia West Africa (exc. Nigeria) and China | Legal 500 General Counsel Powerlist 2025 Ghana| Telecom | E-commerce | Fintech| MBA
5 个月Mila Read thank you for the insightful perspectives shared on this topic.
General Counsel European countries | Country Leader | LL.M. Commercial Law | Attorney at Law Greece & Italy | Cross border deals in Business, Commercial, Corporate, M&As, AI Legislations, Real Estate and Hospitality
5 个月Great tips Mila, as always you are very insightful! ????
Tech & AI Governance Lawyer| Mother of 3 | Mediator | Mentor | I help busy female professionals argue their way to greatness
5 个月Excellent newsletter, Mila!