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Law Department Susan Hackett1
Management Consulting
Principal, Legal Executive
Leadership, LLC
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
1 Susan Hackett is a founding partner and the CEO at Legal Executive Leadership, LLC, 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).
69
Management Consulting
Principal, Legal Executive
Leadership, LLC
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
1 Susan Hackett is a founding partner and the CEO at Legal Executive Leadership, LLC, 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).
69
