The domain of corporate law has over the years evolved and flourished quite significantly. Among the many legal roles applicable in contemporary companies, the job of an in-house counsel is one of the major ones. According to Steven Rindner, these professionals basically are hired by the law department of a company in order to handle a host of legal issues that may affect the enterprise. Steven is a licensed in-house counsel, and therefore is well-acquainted with the duties and responsibilities of such professionals.
The in-house counsel of a company is typically required to handle matters relating to the aspects of tax, policy and employment. They often play a managerial role as well, while overseeing the tasks that have been outsourced to lawyers at any independent firm. Steven Rindner mentions that over the last few years, the role of legal counsels have developed way beyond simply managing the legal risks that are associated with the companies that they work in. These days such professionals work as strategic business partners, while taking part in issues relating to corporate strategy, which includes the aspects of competitive strategy, capital allocation and even new products and emerging technologies.
Steven Rindner underlines that due to the growth in the scope of their work, the demand of in-house lawyers has also increased quite a bit in the recent years within the local corporate landscape. Organizations of diverse sizes and belonging to various sectors now opt to hire a specialized in-house legal counsel. Here are a few of the major reasons for it:
- They support growth: The In-house legal counsels offer companies of all sizes and scales with expeditious advisement, thereby boosting their growth rate to quite an extent. One of the prime advantages of having an in-house legal team is the fact that the legal issues of the company would be promptly dealt with the help of a predictive method, rather than a reactive approach.
- They liaise with external counsels: In-house counsels like Steven Rindner are quite well-versed in industry trends, as well as typically equipped with a strong network of legal connections as well. This factor enables them to act as responsible liaisons when it comes to dealing with external law firms.
- Their business acumen: Most corporate lawyers that are hired in the role of in-house counsel tend to have a nuanced understanding of the business landscape, and thereby are able to add great value to the company. They typically offer commercially astute advice, as well as help in developing the strategic direction of the company within the relevant legal frameworks.
- Cost savings: Companies that have in-house legal counsels usually can generate internal legal services at a much lesser price per unit of time in comparison to the hourly rates of external law firms.
Diverse organizations, especially large corporate houses nowadays have an expansive in-house legal team to help them out in various legal matters.