In-House Counsel

10 Quick Tips For New In-House Counsel

Even if you're a seasoned in-house attorney, a refresher never hurts.

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in-house counselWhile I am no longer “new” to in-house work, I remember the steep learning curve. Here are 10 quick tips to help you out.

  1. Meetings are a part of the work. Unlike in private practice, where meetings were not always billable, and therefore didn’t “count” as work — when you are in-house counsel and are giving advice and counsel, being present and engaged in the meeting so you can provide advice IS the work. I share this because being in meetings all day without some tangible work product can make a former firm lawyer doubt their contribution and value.
  2. Block off time to do tangible work. While meetings are a part of the work, you will also need time to review documents, draft emails and create tangible work product. If you don’t block off the time to do the work, you will find yourself having to do it after hours or on weekends to meet client needs.
  3. Learn as much as you can about your company and the business clients you support. This is also a part of the job. Do your best to ditch the billable/nonbillable mindset and lean into your curiosity about how your company makes money and what everyone’s role is. This will help you give advice and figure out who to go to when you need more information.
  4. Stay on top of legal developments. You can do this by signing up for law firm CLEs, podcasts, and newsletters as well as following law firms and lawyers on LinkedIn. The more you know, the more you will be able to demonstrate your value.
  5. Get comfortable advising with less information than you want. This means more “going with your gut” and advising on issues where you have a small amount of information, or imperfect information. You can usually push for more, but consider that you will never have as much info as you do later in a litigation posture.
  6. Communication is everything, and err on the side of over-including stakeholders over under-communicating. Both internal and external communications should be clear and frequent. If you aren’t sure about whom to include, ask your manager and colleagues.
  7. Take the time to set expectations with outside counsel on what you want as the work product or expected outcome, the timing of the assignment, and communications. Provide positive and constructive feedback so they know what to keep and what to change.
  8. Use your resources. There is no handbook or an orientation manual to tell in-house counsel how things work. A lot of institutional knowledge is shared through other people in the company. Take the time to explore the resources offered on your company’s intranet.
  9. Grow your internal and external network. Internally, get to know the people with whom you work by meeting up for coffee and engaging in active listening. Join and volunteer in employee resource groups. Externally, get to know other in-house counsel. These opportunities may be from bar association involvement or from your outside counsel.
  10. Take the time to align with your business clients on their expectations related to communications. Is it ad hoc? Would it be helpful to have weekly recurring meetings? The more you can set up front, the better.

Meyling Mey Ly OrtizMeyling “Mey” Ly Ortiz is in-house at Toyota Motor North America. Her passions include mentoring, championing belonging, and a personal blog: TheMeybe.com. At home, you can find her doing her best to be a “fun” mom to a toddler and preschooler and chasing her best self on her Peloton. You can follow her on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/meybe/). And you knew this was coming: her opinions are hers alone.

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