In-House Counsel Jobs: How to Get One Without In-House Experience

Approximately half of all the lawyers I talk to express an interest in moving in-house.?

Most of them have never worked in-house before and are clueless as to how to land a job as in-house counsel.

Keep reading to learn how I help lawyers of all stripes find and land jobs as in-house counsel.

(Would you rather watch than read? Click here to watch How to Get an In-House Counsel Job Without In-House Experience.)

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Utilize in-house counsel legal recruiters who specialize in certain employers and practice areas.
• Check in-house counsel job sites like the Association of Corporate Counsel and Goinhouse.com for potential job postings.
• Consider working in-house for a law firm client or doing a secondment to increase your chances of moving in-house.
• Networking is crucial for landing an in-house counsel job, so it’s worthwhile to find a way to make it enjoyable and effective.

How to Get an In-House Counsel Job

If you’ve never worked in-house before, you’re understandably a bit nervous about how to break in without prior experience. The good news is that very few lawyers come out of law school and go right into an in-house counsel role--so most people who become in-house counsel do so without prior in-house experience.

There are four main ways lawyers can work their way into an in-house counsel position.

1. In-House Counsel Legal Recruiters

Did you know that legal recruiters often specialize in certain employers as well as particular practice areas?

Some are well connected in the Biglaw lateral market, others are in the boutique firm partner realm, and others still are recruiting legal talent on behalf of in-house legal departments. If you can imagine a specialty, there’s probably a recruiter who handles it.

You can find recruiters who focus on in-house placements by doing a simple search on LinkedIn--like the one I demonstrate in this YouTube video.

If you’re not having luck using LinkedIn, tap into your network and ask friends and colleagues if they know any in-house recruiters that they could refer you to.

2. Check In-House Counsel Job Sites

You probably know by now that I’m not a huge fan of relegating your job search to online job postings.

That being said, there is a time and a place for including them in your broader job search strategy.

And when it comes to in-house job searches, there are two online job boards that are worth checking on a regular basis:

• Association of Corporate Counsel
• Goinhouse.com

You can sign up for their newsletters to get updated about current job postings, set a calendar reminder for yourself to regularly check for new jobs, and start researching which companies are hiring and decide if any would be a fit for you.

3. Go Work In-House for a Law Firm Client

If you have clients that are corporate entities, getting an employment offer to work as their in-house counsel is sometimes a possibility.

I’ve also had some clients receive an offer to move in-house after doing a secondment with their law firm’s client.

Whether you’re their outside counsel who handles most of their matters or working closely with them during a secondment, they’ll have an opportunity to get to know, like, and trust you.?

And if you’re interested in joining their in-house team, it’ll save them a ton of time and money in the hiring process.

They already know, like, and trust you and if you’re interested, it’ll save them a ton of time and money in the hiring process

4. In-House Counsel Networking

I know! Most of us lawyers recoil at the mention of networking.

But you know it’s important--and legal recruiters can’t emphasize the importance of networking enough--so it's definitely worthwhile to figure out a way of networking that doesn't suck for you.

Land Your First In-House Counsel Job

If you'd like to learn more about how to leverage these approaches to finding an in-house counsel role, save the date for next week's webinar with Shai Mehani of In-House Connect: Friday, September 29th @ 12:30pm ET / 9:30am PT. Register here!

If you can't make it live be sure to register, and we'll email you a link to watch the replay afterward.

Hope to see you there!

Annie

P.S. You can access the original article and accompanying video at https://thejdnation.com/blog/in-house-counsel.

Annie Little, JD, ACC is an ICF-certified career coach and former lawyer. She founded JD Nation in 2012 after practicing real estate law for seven years. Since then, Annie has helped hundreds of lawyers find jobs they truly like in the legal profession (and beyond) through her masterclasses, courses, and coaching.