In-house counsel is hired to work within a corporation’s legal department and may handle a number of different issues affecting the company, including compliance, contracts, employment, general litigation, and internal investigations. Serving as in-house counsel is an opportunity for lawyers to wear a variety of hats—depending on their role within the company, in-house counsel may specialize in a certain area of law (e.g. intellectual property or labor law) or may work more generally, on a variety of matters. However, the work overwhelmingly leans towards transactional, as many companies tend to outsource matters of litigation as they arise.
Generally, corporations prefer to hire more experienced attorneys for in-house positions rather than law school graduates. However, opportunities for recent graduates could increase over the coming years, as some corporations have extended hiring to law school graduates and created training programs for them to serve as in-house counsel. There are also summer internships and fellowships available to law students who wish to get experience working in-house.
There are a variety of reasons why a lawyer may choose a career as in-house counsel overworking at a law firm. For instance, in-house counsel tends to have a more predictable schedule, gain experience in many areas of law, are usually not subjected to the billable-hours system, and focus on only one client (the corporation). In addition, lawyers can work in-house at a multitude of different corporations, including at corporations like Netflix, where lawyers can work in-house drafting contracts for original series like Stranger Things (for more information about entertainment law, refer to the Entertainment Lawyer page).
Law students interested in pursuing a career in-house, and who wish to work abroad should consider the Global Business Law LL.M. from the University of Washington School of Law. Students in the program gain an understanding of the international business world and are trained to understand both the civil code and common law systems of different countries. The LL.M. program, therefore, prepares graduates to succeed in international business and is particularly well-suited for those wishing to work in-house.
Law students who specifically want to pursue work in Asia, and in particular China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, or the Philippines, should consider the Asian & Comparative Law LL.M. from the University of Washington School of Law. This LL.M. program was UW’s first graduate law program. Within the program, students may take elective courses surrounding the business and economics of Asian and comparative law or may take classes focused more broadly on certain regions, including Japanese law, Chinese law, and Islamic law. Applicants interested in the Asian & Comparative LL.M. program should be mindful that proficiency in an Asian language (equivalent to the proficiency attained after finishing a third-year college course) is required for the program.