I have decided that my company has enough workload to require an in-house lawyer rather than using external lawyers. What should I look for when hiring an in-house counsel?
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Answer by Marie Sacco, Sydney 2000 NSW
- You should consider the types of legal issues the company deals with. If for example protection of the company’s intellectual property is an important issue that requires attention an in-house counsel with expertise in the specialised area of intellectual property will be a good resource. Another useful area of expertise is employment law.
- The nature of in-house legal practice is that it tends to touch on a number of areas of law. Contract law is one area that is common to most in-house legal practices especially for a small legal team where the work is equally shared amongst the lawyers.
- Also consider the workload the in-house counsel may face when determining whether to hire them on a full-time or part-time basis.