Role and expectation: In the early nineties there were very few companies who used to hire lawyers as employees, and when they did, the person's role was limited to working as a messenger or a co-ordinator or a facilitator between the Company and the external lawyers to handle and deal with the court cases. In and around the year 2000 onwards, companies started hiring lawyers to deal with various types of matters (litigation and non-litigation) but the primary focus still remained on litigation. However, a change in regulatory environment in India resulted in the in-house legal position in companies, being considered in a new light. Today, the role of in house lawyer as well expectations from those lawyers has increased ten fold such that they are being treated as business partners. Besides litigation, their job is to take care of drafting, documentation, part of Company's acquisitions and mergers, interacting with the various statutory bodies and complying with the various rules and regulations while all the time treading the fine line of the law. Being business partners, they are not only expected to give advice but also able to take risks, which is an essential element for a business to grow. Lawyers these days are expected to contribute to the bottom line of the company by providing legal advice that gels with the company's business. It not only reduces the burden of cost of the company but, also provides for the best optimal legal solution with a legally compliant structure through which the chances of potential litigation are reduced and even if disputes do arise, the same is handled in the most effective manner.
Going forward: A Business house expects the in-house lawyer to be duly qualified in India as well as outside India. Most of the big Indian companies have global foot prints, however they don't have in house lawyers globally. Hence most of the time in house lawyers end up advising on global issues, irrespective of their qualification, except in critical cases where they do engage the International lawyers too. In-House lawyers are expected to walk an extra mile and play a key managerial role and going forward, the business houses want lawyers to equally share the accountability and responsibility before entering into any venture.
Challenges: As an In house lawyer we are not only expected to provide legal aid but also to generate various reports to assess the business risk and status of those risks from time to time. We are expected not only to look at transactions from a legal standpoint, but, also give advice on its commercial viability. In their language it's called “wearing the business hat.” The kind of advice which the company seeks from the in-house lawyer covers almost everything from employment laws, to corporate laws, industry specific laws and many more.
Once it's determined that there is an element of risk involved and the law in hand can be interpreted either way, then the business seeks for advice of the in-house lawyer. In house lawyer then has freedom to either obtain the external lawyers opinion, if need be or business is more than willing to move forward as per the advice of in house lawyer. The main challenge for him is to find the best practitioner in that particular field and to brief him appropriately to get the best outcome, since he already knows that there is some grey area and it's not white and black. Sometimes In-house lawyers may agree with the opinion of the external lawyer, and sometimes not. But, it's their duty to look after the best interest of the company and handle those matters prudently.
Myth: The in-house lawyer's job being that of a 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. one is simply a myth. Most of the in-house jobs demand hard work for long hours, but in-house lawyers don't mind this because they find the work intellectually challenging and fulfilling. Going for an In-house job gives you a chance of participating in business decisions. The in-house lawyer spends half his day doing legal work and, the other half contributing to strategy and working with management.
Therefore, to conclude, it seems highly probable that the coming generation would opt for the In-House lawyer's job. It offers challenges, greater learning experiences in different fields, and better life style and doesn't restrict their capabilities.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
