The legal affairs of large companies
are managed by their Law Departments. Law Department lawyers have to learn
additional skills because the environment can be so different.
They work side-by-side with company
management, are part of the management team, closely observe the business and
are ultimately responsible for the legal successes and failures of their
companies. These skills can be of great benefit in private practice. Law
Department attorneys hold fast to different methods than law firm lawyers. They
must provide legal advice as well as be business managers of the company’s legal
function. For these reasons, in-house legal experience is an invaluable legal
asset for businesses of any size.
In-house legal methods can be used in
private practice, too. This collection of methods is the “Law Department
Method”. It requires the attributes of business knowledge, speed and
accessibility, project management, pragmatism, a prevention mindset, knowledge
transfer, accountability and responsibility for outcomes, risk-taking, superior
service, and cost-cutting.
Fully Understand the Business
First, the great
business counselor must know the business. Legal solutions must help meet the
goals of the business. If you do not know the business, it is difficult to
consistently meet these goals. So, learn the client’s business quickly. In
addition, you must be accessible. Clients need to have necessary resources
available when they are needed. Just as the CEO calls on HR, IT and Finance and
expects quick turnaround, the CEO expects the same from their inside and outside
lawyers. Clients move fast and you need to move as fast as they move.
You must plan your
actions and measure your results. Just as executives have deadlines, goals and
cost constraints, you must become comfortable using these measuring devices for
legal projects. You should measure how key services are delivered to the client
and then report your results periodically to the client.
Be Practical
You must be
pragmatic. Clients need practical solutions for problems. Spend the time on the
project which is warranted by the financial risk of the problem. Do not sound
the alarm bell unless the CEO, CFO, or board will consider the risk to be
large. With the
Law Department
Method,
lawyers try to proactively discover problems before the problems become
financially damaging to the company. This can be done by asking questions all
the time and becoming a keen observer of the business. Look for potential
issues and address them before they become a problem. After you have solved the
problem, use that knowledge to later change and improve the system.
Transfer your
knowledge to the client so that they may help identify and prevent problems.
Give short, informative, plain-English memos or e-mails to the client that can
be used for their future reference. For involved areas of law, conduct
client training and seminars. The Law Department Method requires
that the attorney is accountable. You must accept the consequences of your
recommendations - good and bad. Risk is an everyday part of the
executive's life - so it must be for you, too. While many lawyers want to
do everything to prevent even all risks, that approach takes too much precious
time and costs too much money. Become comfortable in comparing the risk to
the goal and accepting appropriate risk.
Service is King
Lastly, we are in a
service business. Service means doing whatever is necessary to accomplish the
objective, please the client, and get the job done. Be their project servant and
make it easy to do business with you. Among other things, return phone calls and
e-mails immediately; be upbeat, conversational, and social. When you do this,
most clients will look forward to calling you for help with their next important
problem.
The
Law Department
Method is
based on proven business principles used by businesses in all industries.
Sophisticated executives and board members expect seasoned business counselors
to provide services in a way which draws upon these accepted business methods.
The
Law Department Method
combines the business
knowledge and client commitment of an in-house counsel with the substantive
legal expertise of a traditional outside counsel. In other words, the
Law Department
Method
combines the best of both legal worlds to achieve superior legal and business
results for business clients.
Download the Law Department Method
for Private Practitioners Article here. 
