Becoming a company’s first general counsel is both rewarding and challenging. While your clients are able to make their stamp on the company, there are undoubtedly going to be hurdles and inadequate processes that need to be overcome. Therefore, it’s important that these professionals maintain their Lawyer Professional Liability insurance during this transition.
In addition to providing legal advice to the company, outdated processes and procedures need to be revamped by general counsel. This includes improving the organizational structure of the company and improving their processes to be compliant with regulations and law standards.
One such example is Liz Verrier who is the general counsel for B2R financing. As she discussed with Inside Counsel, her immediate focus was to reduce outside counsel spending. After speaking with employees in both offices, Verrier soon realized that “any and everybody [within the company] was contacting outside counsel, sometimes on the same exact issue,” says the article. As this was costing the company upwards of $600 an hour, she was proactive about redirecting all legal advice to her before seeking any outside counsel, thus reducing spending significantly.
What’s more, general counsel doesn’t often get the luxury of becoming acquainted with the new company and their practices before they are thrown into their work. This can cause many attorneys to be placed out of their comfort zone. Furthermore, in-house counsel is the only resource for the company and client requests and deadlines need to be met regardless of the lack of time or staff.
While becoming general counsel is an ideal career step for many attorneys, they are naturally going to face many challenges. However, with time, practice, and the right insurance protection, these issues can be mitigated.
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