Professional Growth In In-House Departments

The opportunities for in-house law departments to grow in awareness, to share skills, to learn from others, and to prepare for the future are endless and the rewards are large.

• Outside counsel are enthusiastic about having positive offline access to their client. Invite them to do informal briefings of the in-house team--and other teams--on topics of interest to the in-house departments: rules on hiring foreigners, privacy, legally mandated safety rules for manufacturers, tax obligations on cross border sales and more. Give them plenty of time, cross examine them. In addition to learning, it creates trust and makes communications easier.
• There is often limited internal cross-training among company departments whether formal or informal. Informal communications areoften quite effective. It's an opportunity for in-house legal teams to learn more about operational issues. In-house legal teams can be the catalyst.