The choice between a career as an in-house counsel vs. in private practice depends on the value you place on an optimal work/life balance, your financial aspirations, the type of work you prefer to perform, and your legal specialty. This article discusses in-house vs. law firm career paths, highlighting the pros and cons of each option to help you make an informed decision as to which path is best for you.
Articles under In-House Law Jobs
Fitting In: Organizational Structure of Law Firms vs In-House Counsel
The organizational structure for law firms and in-house counsels usually looks different. This review discusses the different environments you can expect with both types of employment. This should help you (the attorney) make an informed decision as to whether law firms or in-house counsel is best for you.
Why Your Austin Firm Isn’t Finding the Dream Candidate
If your Austin-area firm finds itself struggling to find ideal legal candidates, know that you aren’t alone. Multiple businesses across various market sectors can’t find job candidates at all in this difficult environment. According to CNBC, “roughly 47.4 million people voluntarily left their jobs for better work during the pandemic and Great Resignation [in 2021]. For comparison, 42.1 million people quit in 2019, at the time considered the tightest labor market on record.” While legal markets have begun to recover, finding the right candidate for the job remains a challenge for many firms, partnerships, and companies.
Tech Companies are Moving to Austin. Will it Affect New Hires for Lawyers?
Spurred on by strict regulations, high taxes, and an inflated housing market, the mass migration of tech companies from Silicon Valley to Austin, TX, shows no signs of slowing down. Within the last year or so, Oracle, 8VC, FireTrail, and Question Pro announced plans to move their corporate headquarters to Austin, aka “Silicon Hills.”
Have Recent Winter Storms Cooled Austin Legal Hiring?
Although we would probably prefer to do so, the last two winters are ones that residents of Austin, TX, will soon not forget. In February 2021, winter storm Uri paralyzed the area for days with a mix of freezing rain, snow, and frigid temperatures. The storm caused widespread power outages that impacted thousands of households and businesses while further – and sadly – resulting in hundreds of deaths.
How In-House Counsel Candidates Can Shine in Interviews
Years ago, the Texas energy industry was thriving, and candidates were driving the hiring process. Candidates had the luxury of sitting back and letting the clients sell them on why they should move from a stable and fulfilling job to an even better opportunity.
Trends in Corporate Legal Departments
Our team of Texas legal recruiters recently attended the annual conference of the National Association of Legal Search Consultants (NALSC), the professional organization that promulgates ethical standards and best practices in the legal recruiting profession. The key note speech was presented by James Merklinger, Vice President and General Counsel of the Association of Corporate Counsel. His talk about in-house legal department trends was insightful and we thought would be of interest to many of our readers. Below is a brief summary of our annotations:
Essential Traits of an Effective In-House Counsel
Every day at Momentum Search Partners, law firm attorneys call our recruiters seeking in-house positions because they want to work closer to the business team, be more involved in a company’s business decisions and be part of the overall “big picture” strategy that corporate legal work typically provides. Part of our job as legal recruiters is to dig deeper to determine which candidates really understand what being part of the business team means – and whether they can successfully make the transition. A critical factor is communication and the ability to connect with the business team. But what does that mean, exactly?