Herding Cats – Engaging External Counsel

Abstract

In this article I explore the challenges and opportunities faced by in-house lawyers in effectively engaging and working with their private practice counterparts. Managing professionals working together in a law firm is of itself a challenge and has been referred to as “herding cats”. Engaging external firms is an equally demanding skill set for employed lawyers. I have been privileged to work on both sides of the fence which exists between private practice firms and in house legal teams. I commenced working in house but with an associated private practice, then moved to another in-house role before going into private practice as a partner with two City law firms, and finally once again joining an in-house team. As a legal and business consultant I am now able to look back and reflect on the many lessons from these experiences. Despite common themes (such as the duty to act professionally, work life balance, and the ongoing march of technology (currently manifested in AI)), in reality there are significant and fundamental differences between these two manifestations of the legal profession. There also remains a lack of a true in-depth understanding in private practice of the in-house role and its unique professional and business challenges. It follows that in-house teams will be able to instruct and work with their private practice counterparts far more effectively if these differences and the characteristics and needs of in-house counsel are understood, articulated and explained to the lawyers engaged to provide external support.