At the same time, most of our clients understand that in-house lawyers will keep normal business hours and that we will take the vacations we have planned. Furthermore, if the workload gets too burdensome, in-house lawyers can get relief by sending some of the work to outside law firms. There are other intangible rewards to being in-house that stem from the different economic paradigms of running a corporate law department versus that of a law firm. Attorneys who work for law firms in luxurious high-rent offices that pay exorbitant salaries are required by simple economics to focus on bringing in business and satisfying high billable hour requirements to meet the bottom line. Similarly, in-house lawyers often are given the freedom and encouragement to work on pro bono and bar activities.
Drawbacks There are disadvantages to working in-house.
Even for those of us who remained employed, the company's culture, our client relationships and the overall work environment shift dramatically in a merger. Sometimes the change can be for the better, but this requires quite a bit of flexibility. Even with my nine years in-house at Wells Fargo, I'm still the relative newcomer in my section. As a result, there are very limited opportunities for promotion into management positions. People who are ambitious often move out of the law department to the business side where they are more likely to receive SVP and EVP titles.