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Contributors
It is not easy to be an in-house lawyer. Thank goodness, however, because if it was why on earth would any business want to employ a lawyer? In fact, why would any lawyer go to the trouble of that expensive and gruelling training and working hours that risk burnout; then, just when they reach the point they can capitalise on their powers, decide to hop into a featherbed of routine, low-risk work that is more ‘admin’ than law? Surely the job being difficult is part of the attraction? Difficulty is also some justification for lawyers to be among the most expensive bodies on the payroll.
But, in truth, it is also more difficult than it needs to be because too many lawyers see complexity when there is just inefficiency. I know we do not live in a perfect world, we are all inefficient to a point; but if an in-house lawyer is both inefficient and searching for vainglorious validation of their plight then my sympathy will be tempered. So let’s knock down some of the implausible nonsense that gets trotted out when lawyers gather for a group hug (or as it is more commonly known – a conference).
