For those that think escaping private practice for a cushy job in-house will be easy, here’s news for you. In-house lawyers are apparently unimpressed with associates from City and large national firms.

Gazette: In-house lawyers have complained that they cannot recruit the right candidate from private practice because City associate solicitors lack decision-making experience.

…

‘In-house is a tough environment. You need to be strong-willed and you need certainty. But when I ask candidates for an example of a difficult decision they have made at work, they look at me blankly. It’s a basic interviewing question, but most reply they asked the partner for advice,’ [said one general counsel].

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It’s not all associates’ fault though – the same GC said although junior lawyers were well paid at City firms, the long hours worked and the lack of opportunity to develop themselves meant they were effectively being ‘exploited’.

Unfortunately, many associates don’t appreciate early enough that a significant part of their professional development relates to more than technical ability and billable hours (and even if they do, they don’t do anything about it or don’t really know how to do anything about it).

Newsflash – firms are generally poor at helping here whatever they like to tell you (see para 4) so jumping through the hoops of your firm’s appraisal criteria is not good enough, especially if it’s an in-house role you’re after. If you really want to get ahead in-house or in private practice, most of you will need to make some changes.

If you don’t know where to start, try Juggling the Big 3 for lawyers by Jennifer Overhaus, a former Freshfielder. It contains lots of stuff they didn’t tell you at law school and you are unlikely to hear from your supervising partner. Basically it’s a ’step-by-step systematic plan giving lawyers the awareness, tools, insights, and motivation needed to progress’. Get bedtime reading.