Remember that those who rely on your legal learning look to you not to
highlight problems, but to solve real issues. A good in-house counsel
would hold this holistic view so as not to unduly trigger alarm, while
raising the red flag when necessary – and proposing creative means to
protect against legal exposure.
You can only present realistic solutions based on facts, and these are
usually in possession of your team members on the ground.
Reach out to your team.
Just as the legal function in a corporation is only one part of the whole, so
too a legal issue is only one aspect of a multi-faceted matter. The law
does not exist in a vacuum, so no legal counsel should work in a silo.
Legal application is affected by variables which you can only find out if
you reach out to the rest of your multi-talented team members having
the expertise you lack: tax, accounting, marketing, procurement,
engineering, operations, corporate strategy, government relations. Your
team includes your internal clients. Listen and learn as their input will
hone your legal insight beyond the academic into the practical.
In the in-house environment, you won’t be as restricted by billable
manhours as a traditional law firm, so do invest the time cultivating
genuine working relationships with your internal clients. In this regard,
you’ll find that a quick telephone call or a focused face-to-face discussion
often achieve much more than a lengthy e-mail with internal clients.
Ultimately …
Lawyers are prone to disclaimers. So here’s one: The above points are
true in my opinion but that is a very limited measure. My learning
continues. I’m in no position to offer sage advice. A lot of what applies
depends on the corporate culture in which you may find yourself.
Regardless of circumstance, I believe that ultimately, we have the power
to define our own role in the corporate legal world: whether we become
a spanner in the works or the grease that drives the wheels of commerce
onward.