By Elise Margow

When it comes to briefing out work to external services providers, what kind of in-house counsel are you? 

In-house counsel sometimes feel as though they play the role of double agent within a business. On the one hand they are loyal to the interests of their client, i.e. the business, and ensuring that their client obtains valuable legal advice. On the other hand there is a loyalty to one’s colleagues and the legal profession as a whole. Navigating your way through these relationships can often prove tricky, especially when your colleagues expect you to have their back at the expense of your client, or your client expects you to forget that you are an officer of the court.

Generally, when managing the relationship between external service providers and the client, in-house counsel fall into two categories:

• Strategic Counsel,who engage external legal services as a resource to complement legal services being provided in-house; and
• Mail-box Counsel,who receive instructions from the client, automatically outsource the provision of the advice to external solicitors and then forward the advice without review or comment to the client. 

How to be a Strategic Counsel

In order to be effective and a valuable resource to the client, it is essential that in-house counsel understands the general culture and philosophy of the business including its outlook towards the market place and its risk appetite. This will dictate the manner in which legal services should be provided in order to exact value for the client.

Much has been written about howto create a legal budget and obtain ‘buy in’ from executives for that budget. My focus has rarely been on the budget but rather on prioritising the legal issues and risks of the business and thereafter effectively managing the legal team and external service providers to deal with those issues and risks. I find that if legal services are managed closely to obtain the best value from both in-house and external legal providers, the legal budget is generally well accepted and appreciated by executives. 

Keep reading when it is more valuable to engage external legal service providers and tips for strategic counsel.