BCL Legal Recruitment

You are currently viewing content focused on

• In-house FAQs & Articles
• CV writing tips
  1
• General interview tips & advice
  2
• Typical interview questions
  1
• Regional information
  12
• Salary surveys & benefit tables
  1

When’s the best time in a lawyer’s career to move in-house?

Until around 2007 most solicitors making the move in-house did so at around 4 to 6 years’ PQE as this was the level most clients were looking to recruit at. As lawyers' salaries increased dramatically from the 1990s onwards, there was a shift towards recruiting below the 4 year PQE mark which has continued to the present day.
 
The majority of in-house legal opportunities are now at the 2-4 year PQE level as businesses look to reduce legal costs on two counts – firstly, recruiting more junior solicitors means they offer in-house legal services without the cost of more senior solicitors; and secondly, expanding an already established legal team brings further savings on external legal spend with more of the work done in-house.
 
So as a rule, moving in-house at around 2-6 years’ PQE is the optimum time. At 2 years’ PQE you’ve gained enough experience to work with minimal supervision and at 6 years’ PQE you’re not yet prohibitively expensive. 

The longer you delay making the move in-house the tougher it generally becomes to make the switch across, as you begin to compete with those who made the transition earlier and so have practical experience working in-house – a huge advantage to recruiting clients. It’s also because the role of an in-house lawyer is very different to private practice – a different job in a different business environment. The longer you put off the move the more sceptical clients can be as to why you want to make the move and your ability to be successful. For a client it can come down to reducing the risk – take a senior lawyer with a proven track record in-house or a private practice lawyer who thinks they’ll enjoy the move in-house and be good at it.
 
Of course, there are always exceptions. Senior solicitors with specific knowledge and experience can move in-house later in their career. This also applies to those who’ve only just qualified. If you’ve gained experience on secondment or had a previous career as a Contract Manager then you have an advantage and could move in-house earlier. There are also lawyers who train in-house and never cross the fence to the ‘other side’.