Moving from private practice to in-house is one of the biggest decisions in a legal career. The way success is measured changes and the people you advise become your colleagues. Done well, it can be the best move a lawyer ever makes.
This playbook walks through the move from start to finish. It starts with whether in-house is right for you and what will change day to day. It then moves on to the money question before ending with how to land the role.
Step one: decide if in-house is right for you
Start with why you want to move. The strongest reasons tend to be about the work itself, such as wanting to be part of a business and to see decisions through from start to finish. Lawyers who move purely to escape something often find that some of the pressures follow them, although it is noted that work life balance can be more favourable in-house.
It is also worth being honest about the trade-offs. In-house lawyers usually cover a broader range of work with less time to go deep on any one area. Many teams are small, so there may be fewer people to learn from and less support with routine tasks. For some lawyers that variety is the whole appeal. For others it is the part they miss most about private practice.
Step two: understand what changes
The biggest shift is that there is now one client business and you work inside it. Your advice is judged on how useful it is to the business as well as whether it is legally right. That means giving a clear recommendation and explaining the risk in plain English, then helping the business decide how much of it to take.
Billable hours very likely disappear, but long hours do not necessarily disappear with them. (Note: BCL Legal's 2026 survey of in-house solicitors in London found an average working week of 47 hours.) What usually changes is control: in-house lawyers often have more say over how their time is spent. Many roles are also hybrid.
The pace changes too. Requests arrive from every part of the business and priorities can shift in an afternoon. Lawyers who thrive in-house tend to be comfortable making a sensible call with the information available, then moving on.
Step three: face the money question
For lawyers at the largest firms, a move in-house can mean a lower base salary, at least at first. Barclay Simpson reports that Magic Circle firms have held NQ pay at £150,000, while BCL Legal's 2026 survey puts the average in-house salary in London at £70,000 for lawyers up to one year qualified.
The gap is much smaller for lawyers at regional and mid-sized firms. It also narrows with seniority. In-house packages often include a bonus and a pension contribution that add significantly to the overall value. Our guide to what in-house lawyers really earn in 2026 sets out the latest figures by level and region, so you can see exactly where you would land.
Step four: choose your moment
There is no single right time to move. Some lawyers go in-house straight after qualifying, while others move as senior associates or partners. What matters more is having enough experience to be trusted with real responsibility in the area the role covers.
A secondment is one of the best ways to test the water. Many firms second associates to clients. A few months in a business will tell you more about whether in-house suits you than any amount of reading. If your firm offers secondments, put your hand up.
Step five: rewrite your CV for a business
A private practice CV is usually built around matters and transactions. An in-house CV needs to show how that experience helps a business. For each role, focus on outcomes and the people you worked with as well as the work itself.
For example, "acted on a £50 million acquisition" says what happened. "Managed the legal workstream on a £50 million acquisition, working directly with the client's finance and commercial teams to close on schedule" shows the skills an in-house team is looking for. Any experience of explaining legal risk to non-lawyers is worth drawing out.
Step six: find the roles
In-house roles are advertised on LinkedIn and through specialist legal recruiters. Registering with a recruiter who specialises in in-house roles in your area can give you access to roles that are never advertised publicly.
Your network matters too. Former colleagues who have already moved in-house can tell you which teams are hiring and what they are like to work for. A short message to say you are thinking about the move costs nothing and often leads somewhere useful. Every week, Inside Inhoco also shares a hand-picked selection of in-house roles that are open right now.
Step seven: prepare for the interview
In-house interviews tend to focus less on technical knowledge and more on how you think. Expect scenario questions about real business problems, such as a colleague who needs a contract signed today or a commercial team pushing to accept a risky clause.
Research the business as thoroughly as you would research a law firm. Arguably more so. Understand how it makes money and what is happening in its sector. Be ready with a clear answer to "why in-house?" that is about what draws you to the role rather than what you want to leave behind.
Over to you…
Moving in-house is a big step, but it does not have to be a leap in the dark. The lawyers who make the move most successfully are the ones who understand what they are moving towards and prepare for it properly.
Start with one thing. Perhaps it is asking about a secondment or messaging a former colleague who has already made the move. Small, deliberate steps will make the move feel far less daunting when the right role comes along.