In-House Counsel

Timing Is Relative When Trying To Go In-House

As with a lot of things, there's no 'right' time for going in-house for everyone.

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HourglassA question I often get asked from law students and young lawyers who are interested in going in-house is, “When is the right time?” or “When should I start looking?” And as much as responses like “It depends” are abhorred, it really is true. It depends on a number of factors. Timing can depend on the size of the company, the company culture, the market, your practice area, and — of course — you and what you want. I suppose a more frustrating but accurate response is that there isn’t necessarily a “right” time, and that timing is relative.

Generally, the prevailing opinion about going in-house directly from law school is that it is rare but not impossible. For example, I know a handful of colleagues who have been in-house their entire careers. At least three of them obtained in-house experience as law students through internships or externships. Two of them are actually my colleagues where I work, two of them happen to be in healthcare, working for hospitals, and one worked for a beverage company. I didn’t even know what going in-house meant as a baby lawyer — but if you know that in-house may be in your future, then interning or externing is definitely recommended.

I have one friend who went in-house at the tail end of five years. She shared that she was given the advice to go in-house around four to six years because you have more knowledge than you realize at that point; and, if you can get in at this juncture in your career, you have a lot of runway to start to develop your in-house career and resume.

My personal experience is probably the most common — working in law firms, including Biglaw, for eight to 10 years before applying. I had confidence that I had seen enough and had enough experience to guide clients through issue spotting and risk analyses. I also had the maturity and self-reflection to know what I didn’t want in a career. At the same time, although it worked out for me, I don’t like to use my own story as inspiration for others because I didn’t intend to go in-house and only ended up here after rage-applying after a bad day.

I also know a handful of colleagues who were successful law firm partners with at least 20 years of experience who were looking for something different or had done a significant amount of work for a company as outside counsel before making the transition. What I love most about the common experience of those colleagues is that they weren’t escaping or running away from Biglaw but wanted to grow and try something new.

At the end of the day, while there isn’t necessarily a “right” time, most in-house postings prefer candidates with in-house experience, so it is important to get your foot in the door and start developing experience when you can.

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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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