In-house counsel market

[Anonymous]

I was laid-off from my mid-level in-house counsel job when my company was acquired. After eight months of looking for a comparable position, I haven't found anything. The market seems extremely tight. More recently I've applied for some more junior positions, but haven't had much traction because hiring managers may assume that, if hired, I'd keep looking until I found something more in line with my experience. Although I had worked in a law firm before going in house, the firm route doesn't seem too viable. What makes me effective in-house -- broad experience in many matters relevant to a company's legal needs (SEC, IP, M&A, litigation, contracts, HR) -- is not the specialized experience that firms typically sell. Has anyone faced a similar situation? What did you do?

[Anonymous]

This is tough. My only advice is try to set-up a virtual law firm or consulting firm so fill the hole in your resume.

[Anonymous]

hang in there - it took me nearly a year to find something, and like you I threw my resume at anything that sounded interesting - are you subscribed to ACC and other feeds so you hear about relevant positions early? While I was looking, I did some consulting work to keep my hand in and learn about different industries - also spoke at a couple of conferences and did some pro bono work.

Keep at it, and don't forget to enjoy the down time - I was so focussed on getting back to work that I didn't really take advantage and regret it now

[Anonymous]

The market sucks. Your best chance is working your personal contacts.

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry. I think the in-house counsel job is the holy grail of legal jobs and that makes them so competitive and hard to get- you are competing with people trying to bail from law firms, people trying to leave govt to make more money, people switching from one in house gig to another... Its brutal.

There are a lot of very small companies that don't have in house counsel and outsource everything. Maybe you can find a niche advising those small companies.

[Anonymous]

Good luck OP! I've been in house since 1996 and I love it. Hope you find something equally fantastic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry. I think the in-house counsel job is the holy grail of legal jobs and that makes them so competitive and hard to get- you are competing with people trying to bail from law firms, people trying to leave govt to make more money, people switching from one in house gig to another... Its brutal.

There are a lot of very small companies that don't have in house counsel and outsource everything. Maybe you can find a niche advising those small companies.

So then what do experienced in house lawyers do? Unlike lawyers trying to bail out of a law firm to in-house, it's very hard to go the other way because firms want specialized expertise (and clients), not general experience and business acumen.

[Anonymous]

A friend, who's a general counsel was merged out of a job a year ago. She's worked for great companies, has prior big law experience and top educational credentials, but she hasn't found anything yet despite a very active search. She also turned 50 last year and is starting to worry that her career may be effectively over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry. I think the in-house counsel job is the holy grail of legal jobs and that makes them so competitive and hard to get- you are competing with people trying to bail from law firms, people trying to leave govt to make more money, people switching from one in house gig to another... Its brutal.

There are a lot of very small companies that don't have in house counsel and outsource everything. Maybe you can find a niche advising those small companies.

So then what do experienced in house lawyers do? Unlike lawyers trying to bail out of a law firm to in-house, it's very hard to go the other way because firms want specialized expertise (and clients), not general experience and business acumen.

It is really rare to go from in-house back to a large law firm. It is really hard to find an in-house job when you are currently unemployed. PP's suggestion that OP open her own firm advising small companies that don't have their own in-house counsel was a good idea. She can make herself useful to these small companies and when they expand, maybe hire her in-house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry. I think the in-house counsel job is the holy grail of legal jobs and that makes them so competitive and hard to get- you are competing with people trying to bail from law firms, people trying to leave govt to make more money, people switching from one in house gig to another... Its brutal.

There are a lot of very small companies that don't have in house counsel and outsource everything. Maybe you can find a niche advising those small companies.

So then what do experienced in house lawyers do? Unlike lawyers trying to bail out of a law firm to in-house, it's very hard to go the other way because firms want specialized expertise (and clients), not general experience and business acumen.

This is what I was going to say too. In my experience companies want in house lawyers with a specific background (entertainment, real estate, insurance etc) as opposed to general corporate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry. I think the in-house counsel job is the holy grail of legal jobs and that makes them so competitive and hard to get- you are competing with people trying to bail from law firms, people trying to leave govt to make more money, people switching from one in house gig to another... Its brutal.

There are a lot of very small companies that don't have in house counsel and outsource everything. Maybe you can find a niche advising those small companies.

So then what do experienced in house lawyers do? Unlike lawyers trying to bail out of a law firm to in-house, it's very hard to go the other way because firms want specialized expertise (and clients), not general experience and business acumen.

This is what I was going to say too. In my experience companies want in house lawyers with a specific background (entertainment, real estate, insurance etc) as opposed to general corporate.

I should clarify this is why a general corporate atty may have trouble getting an in house job - those are generally geared towards those with experience in the company's field.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry. I think the in-house counsel job is the holy grail of legal jobs and that makes them so competitive and hard to get- you are competing with people trying to bail from law firms, people trying to leave govt to make more money, people switching from one in house gig to another... Its brutal.

There are a lot of very small companies that don't have in house counsel and outsource everything. Maybe you can find a niche advising those small companies.

So then what do experienced in house lawyers do? Unlike lawyers trying to bail out of a law firm to in-house, it's very hard to go the other way because firms want specialized expertise (and clients), not general experience and business acumen.

This is what I was going to say too. In my experience companies want in house lawyers with a specific background (entertainment, real estate, insurance etc) as opposed to general corporate.

I should clarify this is why a general corporate atty may have trouble getting an in house job - those are generally geared towards those with experience in the company's field.

Yes, but the reality is that an experienced counsel in a medium-sized company probably knows a lot not only about "general corporate" but has done M&A, SEC reporting, financings, IP, HR, litigation, antitrust, tax, international and so forth. Many have pretty deep experience in two or more of these areas, as well as regulation applicable to prior emplyers' businesse areas. And they are often business savvy, meaning that they think like business partners not just as legal experts. They know how to manage budgets and cross-functional teams and interact with the C suite and frequently the board. But law firms are not an option/pathway even if in house lawyers want to go back ( and my guess is most don't). It's a tough marketplace for lawyers like that who are out of a job now. And the longer they have to look, there's a greater chance that a potential employer will consider them "stale" or draw negative inferences about why they've been on the market a while.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The market sucks. Your best chance is working your personal contacts.

Networking and luck are important.