Becoming "In-House Counsel"

[Busta]

Hey all, 

Disclaimer: I'm starting 1L in the fall so I have no real experience in the legal world or any firm idea of what I might like/dislike once I get there.

Q. How does one become in-house counsel for a company?

I'm attracted to the idea of being a jack-of-all trades for a company and being responsible for its growth and success, much more so than being confined to a certain field of practice or just being another lawyer in a massive firm. Is this something attainable right out of law school? Or does one need to practice law for a few years before a company would even begin to consider hiring you. I know nothing so any information you can give would be helpful 🙂

[Canlawblaws]

They often have postings for summer students or articling students. You can also just email lawyers that currently work these in-house jobs and ask them about their career path - this is often the best path to the job itself.

[AHLALA]

Mid-level biglaw M&A associate here. ~75% of my peers (people I articled with, or that articled a year or two before or after me) have now left. Of those, 2/3 have gone in-house and 1/3 have gone to smaller corporate firms. The numbers are different from my litigation colleagues (turnover is lower and almost none have left to go in-house). 

Some people go in-house right out of law school, but it is the exception. Law firms are structured in such a way that they need a constant influx of new juniors and teaching them is part of the work (and files are staffed accordingly). I am sure there are lots of great mentors in-house, but I feel they prefer to hire people who have at least some experience - almost always in corporate/commercial law, because it is closer to what you would be doing in-house. 

Career-wise, at least for the first few years, the skills you learn in a law firm are almost more easily transferrable than those you would learn in-house.