My in-house counsel requested that we hire external lawyers from a private law firm to assist in an upcoming contract regarding intellectual property. I don’t understand why we need extra lawyers when we already have a legal division in the company!
Lawyer Answers (1): Answers from lawyers are general preliminary responses. They are not formal legal advice and cannot taken account of all your circumstances. They do not create a lawyer–client relationship.
Answer by Marie Sacco, Sydney 2000 NSW
- In-house counsel require the support of external lawyers for a number of reasons including:
- expert advice may be required on a particular area of law; and
- there may be a spike in the volume of legal work.
- In terms of paying the fees of an external law firm the in-house lawyer may have a legal budget that includes external legal fees. Alternately the fees may be paid by the relevant business unit requiring the legal advice. If the latter is the case the relevant business unit should be made aware of the fee estimate and kept abreast of any changes.