All businesses no matter how large or small need to deal with legal issues on a daily basis. This may include entering into a contract with a new supplier, ensuring the business’ website has appropriate terms and conditions or navigating a dispute when a contract has not been fulfilled.

Legal issues go beyond contracts. Businesses also need to comply with the specific laws and regulations that apply to their industry.

Companies can manage these legal issues in several ways.  One option is to engage a solicitor or law firm to advise a company on particular issues as they arise. Another option is to hire a solicitor to work for a company as an ‘in-house counsel.’

An in-house counsel may be a full time or part time position. Some companies have one in-house or ‘sole counsel’ while larger companies can have dozens of lawyers in their legal team. Large in-house legal teams often operate similarly to a law firm with the in-house lawyers working in teams and each team servicing a particular part of the business.

Lawyers working in their own private practice or in a large law firm tend to specialise in a specific area or areas of law for example:

• commercial law;
• property law;
• construction law;
• litigation (disputes between parties);
• intellectual property (including trademarks and patents); and
• competition law (including compliance with the Australian Competition and Consumer Act – formerly the Trade Practices Act).

In contrast the nature of an in-house counsel’s role means that the in-house counsel will need to deal with many different legal issues. The in-house counsel is a generalist and the company’s point of contact for any legal issue that may arise. 

While lawyers in private practice will have a number of clients which they provide legal advice to an in-house counsel generally has only the company they work for as their sole client.

This Legal Guide on In-House and Corporate Lawyers provides readers with information about the role and responsibilities of in-house counsel. Before making important decisions it is advisable to obtain legal advice specific to your situation. LegalEagle’s™ free directory profiles all lawyers in Australia. You can use it to Find a Lawyer near you.

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Warning: Information provided through LegalEagle™ is for general guidance. It is not legal advice. Laws and procedures referred to may change and differ between states, territories and nationally. There may also be important exceptions or qualifications. Only a lawyer providing formal legal advice can assess your particular circumstances to determine how the law will apply.