This participation in business decision-making creates a different relationship between lawyers and business people who work for the same employer. That's why I get up in the morning. Resentment exists between clients and outside lawyers partly due to the size of legal bills, partly due to intellectual insecurity of some business people, and partly due to the fact that a lot of outside lawyers are very conservative and not willing to take risks. They feel more likely to be blamed if they counsel a client to take an aggressive position and it turns out not to be a winner. You're not viewed as someone who is interested in turning every mole hill into a hugely profitable mountain.
Many lawyers believe that in-house practice means fewer hours in the office.
This is, however, a bit of a myth. You may work just as hard in-house but you can pick your hours and there are fewer surprises. Crazy law firm hours are really the result of the structure of a law firm and that it is a service organization. In a company, everyone knows what everyone else is doing. You have to be concerned about everything that happens on your watch.