Why might a company recruit their first lawyer?
Will there be enough work? Potential legal issues are often put to one side unless critical; it is only when an in-house lawyer is bought on board that it becomes apparent how much legal work there really is. In-house lawyers will be able to deal with employment, pensions, insurance, litigation, property and company secretarial matters as well as the core commercial issues arising daily in the business.
Why pay for an in-house lawyer when companies still need to employ external lawyers? The work may be able to be done entirely in-house. If not, an in-house lawyer will be able to select the appropriate law firm and the individual lawyers with the right level of experience to handle the issues as they arise. They will be able to monitor their work and fees charged and manage all internal advice to the company, therefore saving time and money.
How does a company justify the up front expense on the annual budget? In the long-term an in-house lawyer will more than justify their salary by foreseeing the future problems, keeping the company up to date with regulatory issues and undertaking day-to-day legal work themselves. In-house lawyers are increasingly self-sufficient, computer literate and able to work without support staff. Their expense would be budgeted throughout the year and it would prevent massive, unforeseen spending on solicitors fees paid for by the hour.
If a company hires an in-house lawyer, will I be able to continue to outsource the legal work that I don't want to do myself? Most lawyers enjoy the legal work they undertake, and whilst they may be interested in a semi-managerial role, will recognise a need to undertake day-to-day legal tasks themselves, rather than drawing on their budget for external law firms. This is particularly so in smaller companies where there is just one in-house lawyer.
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