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Leaders in Legal Business
Law Department Management Consulting Susan Hackett1
Legal Executive Leadership, Inc
Principal
Introduction – In-House DNA
In-house counsel are legal advisors employed within companies to provide and coordinate legal services
required by the corporate entity. While government and public interest lawyers are also considered employed
counsel, this article is written to address corporate counsel who work in private organizations, such as companies
or non-profit entities, and who solely represent their organizational clients. Thus, the in-house lawyer has only
one client (even if that client has many facets and representatives), and they do not hold themselves out for
retention by others.
Most in-house counsel work in jurisdictions where they are trained as lawyers and “graduate” to their in-
house job after spending several years as outside counsel in law firms or sometimes as government lawyers. It is
rare for junior lawyers or lawyers fresh out of law school to secure an in-house placement; most departments hire
experienced counsel (laterals) who have demonstrated expertise. There are some jurisdictions that do not confer
professional status on local in-house counsel, even if they are otherwise licensed lawyers.
While all lawyers are subject to the same rules regulating legal practice, in-house counsel’s work and
operational focus is often very different from the work and focus of those who are employed in law firms. Law
firm lawyers are called upon to remediate or resolve problems that have already arisen, while in-house counsel
spend most of their time managing the varied remedial projects being handled by outside counsel and thinking
about how to prevent those problems from arising in the first place (keeping the milk in the glass, as it were, rather
than cleaning it up after it’s spilled).2
How Departments Insource, Determine What Departments Outsource
Historically, law departments were created to provide
some services to the company directly, and to select, retain, and
manage outside counsel who performed the majority of the
company’s legal work (“majority” referring to proportion of budget
spend, the number of lawyers deployed, and hours worked). Thus,
the organizational premise selected by corporate management for
most law departments is an “outsource” model. Of course, there are
and always have been exceptions to this rule, with some solo
practitioner law departments providing pretty much all service
through their single in-house lawyer (because the legal agenda is
minimal), and some very large law departments that, in spite of
1 Susan Hackett is a founding partner and the C.E.O. at Legal Executive Leadership, Inc., a business dedicated to advancing law firms’ productivity and
practices. Prior to establishing LEL, she worked as the senior vice president and general counsel to the Association of Corporate Counsel for 22 years. She
is a recognized authority on in-house counseling, corporate client service, and law department operations, who applies her creativity and deep knowledge
of leading success practices to better equip her clients (in law departments, law firms, and legal industry service organizations) to advance strategic goals
and resolve operational challenges. Susan is a double Bachelors and Juris Doctorate graduate of the University of Michigan. With her experience, talent,
and dedication to public service projects and non-profits, she has set herself apart as one of the most sought-after keynote speakers and spokespersons on
corporate legal practices
2 See Susan Hackett, Corporate Counsel and the Evolution of Practical Ethical Navigation: An Overview of the Changing Dynamics of Professional
Responsibility in In-House Practice, 25 Geo. J. Legal Ethics 317 (Spring 2012) (for more on the differences and similarities of inside counsel compared to
other lawyers, and how [or not] the rules of professional regulation apply to and shape their work).
54
Law Department Management Consulting Susan Hackett1
Legal Executive Leadership, Inc
Principal
Introduction – In-House DNA
In-house counsel are legal advisors employed within companies to provide and coordinate legal services
required by the corporate entity. While government and public interest lawyers are also considered employed
counsel, this article is written to address corporate counsel who work in private organizations, such as companies
or non-profit entities, and who solely represent their organizational clients. Thus, the in-house lawyer has only
one client (even if that client has many facets and representatives), and they do not hold themselves out for
retention by others.
Most in-house counsel work in jurisdictions where they are trained as lawyers and “graduate” to their in-
house job after spending several years as outside counsel in law firms or sometimes as government lawyers. It is
rare for junior lawyers or lawyers fresh out of law school to secure an in-house placement; most departments hire
experienced counsel (laterals) who have demonstrated expertise. There are some jurisdictions that do not confer
professional status on local in-house counsel, even if they are otherwise licensed lawyers.
While all lawyers are subject to the same rules regulating legal practice, in-house counsel’s work and
operational focus is often very different from the work and focus of those who are employed in law firms. Law
firm lawyers are called upon to remediate or resolve problems that have already arisen, while in-house counsel
spend most of their time managing the varied remedial projects being handled by outside counsel and thinking
about how to prevent those problems from arising in the first place (keeping the milk in the glass, as it were, rather
than cleaning it up after it’s spilled).2
How Departments Insource, Determine What Departments Outsource
Historically, law departments were created to provide
some services to the company directly, and to select, retain, and
manage outside counsel who performed the majority of the
company’s legal work (“majority” referring to proportion of budget
spend, the number of lawyers deployed, and hours worked). Thus,
the organizational premise selected by corporate management for
most law departments is an “outsource” model. Of course, there are
and always have been exceptions to this rule, with some solo
practitioner law departments providing pretty much all service
through their single in-house lawyer (because the legal agenda is
minimal), and some very large law departments that, in spite of
1 Susan Hackett is a founding partner and the C.E.O. at Legal Executive Leadership, Inc., a business dedicated to advancing law firms’ productivity and
practices. Prior to establishing LEL, she worked as the senior vice president and general counsel to the Association of Corporate Counsel for 22 years. She
is a recognized authority on in-house counseling, corporate client service, and law department operations, who applies her creativity and deep knowledge
of leading success practices to better equip her clients (in law departments, law firms, and legal industry service organizations) to advance strategic goals
and resolve operational challenges. Susan is a double Bachelors and Juris Doctorate graduate of the University of Michigan. With her experience, talent,
and dedication to public service projects and non-profits, she has set herself apart as one of the most sought-after keynote speakers and spokespersons on
corporate legal practices
2 See Susan Hackett, Corporate Counsel and the Evolution of Practical Ethical Navigation: An Overview of the Changing Dynamics of Professional
Responsibility in In-House Practice, 25 Geo. J. Legal Ethics 317 (Spring 2012) (for more on the differences and similarities of inside counsel compared to
other lawyers, and how [or not] the rules of professional regulation apply to and shape their work).
54
