Foundations for a Successful In-house Career
An in-house legal career might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about life after university, but it's worth getting on your radar early if you’re considering different career options. Most law students are funnelled towards private practice from day one. The vacation schemes and application windows are all geared in one direction and you may feel like you have no choice but to follow that path.
But that’s the thing - you do have a choice and it’s an entirely personal one. Private practice is enticing for those who want to specialise in one area of law and work with multiple clients, potentially from completely different industries. In-house careers, by contrast, commonly require you to focus your efforts on one client in a single market, whilst broadening your knowledge across varying disciplines.
In-house options rarely feature in those early career conversations, but that doesn't mean they're less valuable or harder to achieve. It means you need to start thinking about them differently and ideally, sooner rather than later.
Why it pays to think ahead
The path to an in-house role is rarely linear. Unlike private practice, where the route from law school to training contract to qualification is well-mapped, in-house legal teams tend to hire in less predictable ways. Some take on trainees directly. Others recruit newly qualified lawyers from firms. Many hire people who have already worked within the business in a different capacity.
What this means for you as an undergraduate is simple. The earlier you understand how in-house hiring works - that is, what motivates the hiring manager and crucially, why you stand out from the crowd - the more strategically you can build your experience over the next few years.
What does in-house look like?
It's hard to pursue a career path you don't fully understand or can’t picture in your head. Take time to learn what in-house lawyers actually do. There are plenty of free, publicly available sources to gather this information. To name a few:
Follow General Counsels and in-house legal professionals on LinkedIn.
Read articles and listen to interviews with lawyers who have made the move from private practice.
Pay attention to the industries and sectors that interest you most, whether that's technology, financial services, media, sport or something else entirely.
Set up targeted alerts for Google searches relevant to the topics that you find compelling - for example, recent mergers & acquisitions in the UK, intellectual property disputes across Europe and more.
Cast your net wide and try to learn about all aspects of the legal career scope. That could be anything from legal operations, to legal engineering. The legal world is constantly evolving and expanding its boundaries - the ‘lawyer’ is no longer considered one singular type of discipline and that’s incredibly exciting for any undergraduate considering their next move. The opportunities are endless depending on your personal interests!
If you can clearly articulate why in-house appeals to you and even better, be able to quote or reference the individuals or subjects that inspired you on your journey to an in-house role, your application will be far more convincing when the time comes to search for opportunities.
Commercial experience is your currency
In-house lawyers operate at the intersection of law and business. They advise on risk, support commercial decisions and help organisations navigate everything from contracts, to data protection, to compliance. These skillsets go well beyond ‘just legal’ knowledge, so you need to have a targeted action plan to move in this particular direction.
As an undergraduate, you can start building commercial awareness now. Work experience in any business setting is valuable, whether that's a placement in a marketing team, a summer job in operations, or a part-time role in retail. The key is to understand:
how organisations function;
how decisions get made; and
where legal input fits into the bigger picture and ‘moves the needle’.
This kind of experience will set you apart later, particularly when you're competing with candidates whose shiny CVs are filled exclusively with legal work.
Network network network
Networking might feel premature and quite daunting when you're still completing your degree, but the connections you make now can benefit you greatly years down the line.
Reach out to in-house lawyers whose careers interest you. Ask thoughtful questions about their day-to-day work. Attend events where legal professionals from different backgrounds are speaking.
You're not asking for a job. You're building familiarity with a world you want to enter and showing interest. People remember those who showed genuine curiosity before they needed anything in return.
Private practice could be your stepping stone
Many in-house lawyers started their careers in private practice. Although this isn’t necessary, it may be a route that feels suited to you. There are many benefits of considering this, secondments and client relationships to name a few.
If you do decide to pursue private practice first, then ensure that you focus on those commercial areas that will benefit you later when you look towards an in-house career. Many in-house teams struggle to integrate a well-established private practice lawyer into their teams because they have been conditioned to advise in a certain way. Don’t let this be you!
Over to you..
An in-house career might feel distant right now, but the foundations you lay as an undergraduate matter more than you think. Start paying attention to the commercial world around you. Build experience that goes beyond the legal. Make connections with people already doing the work you're interested in. The students who do this aren't just preparing for a career. They're positioning themselves to have options when the time comes.