5 In-House Things You Should Have Learned in Law School

The law school curriculum prepares you to be successful in a modern law firm. You learn how to brief a case, what areas of law you’re interested in, and how to argue a point. In theory, this could apply to any practice of law, not just law firms. But how much did your law school education prepare you for life in-house?

Did you learn how to advocate for technology? Or how to turn around contracts fast at the end of a quarter? Did they teach you how to create and justify a budget for your department? Probably not. But wouldn’t it have been great if they did?

Here is your law school curriculum: What you wish you learned about being in-house counsel.

Transitioning from Big Law to In-House

Although more new lawyers have been opting to go straight in-house, it’s pretty standard practice for many lawyers to start their careers at law firms before transitioning in-house. And while there are foundational skills that apply to working in a law firm and in-house, there is also a steep learning curve when it comes to navigating any new work-world order. 

Protip: When stepping into a new role, take some time to get to know the work that has already been done and the people with whom you’ll be working closely. With a better understanding of the existing processes and players, you’ll be able to create a more informed department plan.

Building Relationships Across the Organization

Your legal team is only as strong as the relationships you build. While relationships are important in law firms, too, successful in-house relationships require collaboration and transparency among business functions. Where is the class on how to set expectations for the end-of-quarter rush?

Protip: Make friends with the sales team early on. Use Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) to streamline the contract process to help the sales team achieve quick wins and give your internal reputation a boost.

How to Use Technology

The legal industry has a reputation for being behind the times when it comes to technology. But part of that reputation comes from the narrow inclusion of technology in the law school curriculum. Today, there are so many ways that technology makes life easier for in-house lawyers, and knowing which ones help you achieve what outcomes can go a long way in helping you advocate for acquiring necessary technology.

Protip: Contracts are the backbone of every business, so the key to doing business faster is executing contracts more quickly. CLM technology is a promising way to automate contract creation and execution without incurring additional risk.

Building Your Team’s Reputation

The legal team can easily fly under the radar as a high-performing team. This is because a lot of legal’s job is mitigating risk, which is hard to quantify. You would think that protecting the business from negative legal outcomes would be enough to improve your reputation across the company. Still, legal teams today also contribute to the bottom line to prove their value. 

Protip: Use data to demonstrate the value of your legal team’s activities. Highlight how your efforts have increased productivity, generated income, and helped other departments hit targets and achieve outcomes. This will go a long way in building your team’s reputation. 

Dos and Don’ts of Redlining

No one has to tell you that redlining is a major part of the job. It’s one of those things that comes with the territory of contracts. But what no one prepares you for is the fact that some redlines are actually unnecessary. Everyone knows it’s important to review each contract and ensure that your business’s needs are accurately represented. However, in practice, the way that most lawyers redline contracts can draw out the process longer than necessary.

Protip: Don’t redline just for the sake of it. Carefully review the agreement, and if clauses meet your requirements, even if they’re not worded “ideally,” allow it to go unedited. Over-redlining a contract can make you seem hard to work with for a potential customer and make the in-progress agreement unreadable.

Takeaways

While the fundamentals would be the same, the law school curriculum for in-house lawyers would look slightly different from the existing one. It would teach hard skills like creating and reviewing a contract, as well as soft skills like how to communicate cross-functionally and how to advocate for technology.