In-House Training and Development Falls Far Short of Law Firms

Since moving in-house and leading part of a legal function, the thing I spend a lot of time thinking about is how to develop people.

In-house counsel need to be deft at a variety of skills, not all of them legal. Advising companies means we are also dealing with issues related to market changes and business objectives, and sometimes we are the voices speaking to corporate values or reputational risks.

Our clients need answers right away, so we have to trust our judgment when there isn’t time to figure out all the details. Being in-house provides opportunities to be a strong, agile attorney—especially when, like me, you’re part of a growth company in a vibrant industry.

There is satisfaction in that. But it can be a challenging environment for legal professionals who want to grow in substantive expertise, soft skills, and leadership.

As a manager, I feel this keenly because it is connected to morale and retention. I don’t want the people on my team to become complacent or discouraged when they are otherwise succeeding in their roles. There should be growth and marketability in practicing in-house.

Here are some of the main challenges I see.

Biggest obstacle? Budget. Unlike in Big Law or large corporations where resources are available, if not abundant, most in-house legal teams are constrained by a small allocation of their fiscal year budget to professional development.

Difficult choices must be made based on values and priorities. Not everyone gets to attend that interesting industry conference, gets reimbursed to join membership associations that could provide access to networking and knowledge sharing, or gets to pursue certifications that would advance skills relevant to the company’s operations.

Lack of relevant structural support. Although many companies offer trainings to their employees, these often aren’t the type that speak directly to attorney development. It makes sense to craft company-wide trainings that appeal to, well, most of the company.

Compare this to law firm settings, where there are learning and development teams knowledgeable in helping you become a better practitioner and marketing teams dedicated to developing an attorney’s professional brand. In fact, understanding how to grow attorneys and promote their skills is tied to the firm’s success.

In-house legal teams often don’t have dedicated resources or support staff, or maybe even the same philosophy about attorney development. Sure, there are webinars and CLE providers, but they don’t reflect the core skillset in-house attorneys need in today’s market, such as how to communicate to business teams without getting bogged down in legal language. Or how to persuade executives to credit your risk assessment, or embrace change management, or use artificial intelligence tools in legal practice to create efficiency.

Better mentorship and more shadowing opportunities. Because in-house work is dynamic and fast-moving, it’s rare to pause and consider how best to integrate people into a conversation or project as part of their observational learning. But this kind of opportunity is crucial.

It has played a role in my own development. Watching one of my former colleagues manage a tricky, unpleasant conversation with a high-profile client and keep her cool enough to salvage the working relationship gave me an example of how to be effective in that sort of moment.

The career path is muddy. At a law firm, it might take almost a decade, but there is a sense that each year means another rung of the ladder toward partnership has been conquered.

For in-house counsel, there is no clear trajectory from associate to senior associate to partner. There is room for only one head of legal. Depending on how the in-house team is structured, your full scope of responsibilities and title might be reached before too long. You might be left with the unanswered question of what comes next.

Although it might not be a formal part of in-house legal practice, opportunities for professional development shouldn’t suffer. Helping to professionally develop attorneys in this context requires commitment and a healthy dose of creativity. And I’m lucky to work for a general counsel and a company that tries to foster this.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg Industry Group, Inc., the publisher of Bloomberg Law, Bloomberg Tax, and Bloomberg Government, or its owners.

Author Information

Lystra Batchoo is vice president and associate general counsel at Vox Media.

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