"We were all in your shoes":
an honest conversation about training in-house

Working in-house allows me to collaborate with multiple departments, providing a broader understanding of how legal considerations intersect with business operations. This exposure has strengthened my commercial awareness, which is something that particularly drew me to an in-house role. I enjoy interacting with the business as a whole, advising on risks, and being involved in matters from inception through to implementation.

The variety and diversity was also appealing to me. You are not concentrating on one area of law for long periods of time and my days in-house are never the same. It certainly sets the synapses firing!

I began my in-house experience by completing a summer internship at a tech company within their Legal Department during the second year of my Law with Business degree. Following this, I was invited to return the next summer on a paid basis as a Legal Administrator. In this role, I undertook project work, including filing contract metadata, completing contract review sheets, and carrying out various administrative and organisational tasks.

From the connections and networking I did whilst completing my internship, I reached out to my contacts to ask about any upcoming opportunities in their businesses. It was as a result of this that I was offered a training contract, working in a different tech company to the one I performed my internship with. This is where I am working today, with only 6 months of my training contract left to complete.

It is so difficult to get work experience in today's market, so my advice for finding in-house opportunities is being open to internships and getting a foot in the door doing any legal role.

My experience of working in a smaller in-house team is that the training is less formalised, in comparison to the traditional rotational seats. By this I mean on a daily basis I could be involved in various areas of law, not just the one traditional seat area. In-house I think I have experienced more of mentorship and support from my senior team members too.

The final significant difference is the focus on providing legal advice in a business/commercial friendly manner using plain English. The advice in-house tends to be practical and business-focused to enable quick implementation, whereas the firm advice tends to focus on the intricacies of the law.

Speak to people! Communicate with people from all backgrounds who have experienced both firm and in-house positions. This will help provide you with insight and their perspectives on the ways in which you may qualify and help you figure out the right route for you. The way one person qualifies may not be the best route for another. There are now so many more ways to qualify than the traditional route but some are still seen as the best kept secret! If you don't educate yourself on these, you could be doing a great disservice to yourself.

I feel the support and mentorship is what appealed to me. I am neurodivergent and find in-house working is a more nurturing environment, where most are open to different perspectives. In my business we have a very close team, where all are encouraged to share viewpoints and question matters, regardless of job role. On paper we have a hierarchy but in practice we are open to listening to different opinions and consider alternatives suggested by team members. This form of nurturing and mentorship I believe is rare, but I feel it would not be so easy in a big law firm environment.

My favourite aspect of my current role is that I am not limited to a single practice area. The opportunity to work across multiple areas of law, even within the same day, keeps me engaged and ensures the role remains dynamic and interesting.

The most challenging part of my role is managing and balancing my caseload, which contains a variety of matters. It requires me to constantly adapt and ensure I am approaching each task with the appropriate mindset and understanding for the relevant area of law. For example, I could be working on a Government commercial framework contract and, in the same day, have to move to completing an advisory note for the business on a matter of employment law. I recall assisting on a matter which involved dealing with a Singaporean outside counsel to assist in the creation and application of an employment contract to be used for employees operating in Singapore. This was challenging and led to me having experience of working with external counsels, learning various points of international law and understanding the legal and operational considerations of implementing the new Singaporean contract within the business.

For our team, a well-rounded trainee is an individual that has strong foundational knowledge; an understanding of legal principles (e.g. understanding the fundamental elements of contract law) and someone with a practical, solution-focussed mindset. Although knowing the law is helpful, in-house teams are often multi-skilled, requiring commercial awareness and problem-solving abilities, alongside ‘interpretation’ skills (i.e. making legalese and legal concepts simple and easy to understand).

I can practically feel the eye rolls at mentioning ‘commercial awareness’! Many struggle to understand what this truly means. For in-house teams, it isn’t solely about keeping up to date with world events and the commercial realities of today (i.e. reading the FT). It is wider than that and often involves thinking about the client (your business) and making decisions based on the commerciality of a deal and/or issue.

Finally, the ‘best’ trainees are the inquisitive and proactive ones who take off the blinkers! Thinking about best case and worst case scenarios, as curveballs are often thrown at in-house teams.

Do not be afraid to make mistakes as an in-house trainee.

Although no one likes to make mistakes, we are all fallible. Once a mistake or error occurs, highlight it as promptly as you can and follow the guidance from your supervisor.

Once the dust has settled and the required actions have been completed, it is crucial to take time to reflect and learn from the mistake. If this is not done, you lose a great learning opportunity.

Be curious, be brave, and do not be afraid to learn as you go - every great in-house solicitor started exactly where you are now. After all, an in-house career is built one question, one challenge and one learning opportunity at a time. Now go smash it!