Legal skills plus
Many MNCs and commercial companies in China are building in-house legal teams. This trend appears to be accelerating. In a recent China legal market survey nearly half of the participating in-house legal departments reported growing head count over the past year. Saving cost is the key driver of this trend.
Legal costs for companies are rising as companies expand operations in China. New law and regulation push up their legal costs. As much of the day-to-day legal work required for company operation becomes routine, companies can reduce total legal costs by bringing the work in-house.
As in-house practice matures in China, it becomes more attractive to lawyers. More lawyers are considering a career move from law firm to company. To learn more about the criteria companies use to evaluate candidates, we talked to several senior in-house legal counsel and company HR managers.
The HR function usually takes an important role in the process of recruiting in-house counsel. Ms. Michelle, HR Manager in a European-based international company's PRC area, says that HR filters candidates before transferring for legal department＊s review. HR checks on candidate credentials first, including educational background, legal qualification, language and work experience. Specific requirements vary case by case to fit the company and position. For example, some companies decide to recruit legal counsel with previous experience in a relevant industry, to shorten the lawyer＊s adaptation time to the company＊s business.
Legal skill 每 a first
First and foremost candidates for in-house positions must demonstrate the technical legal skills required for the specific role. With a strong and mature HR function in many companies, the JD (※job description§) for an in-house position often contains abundant detail about the role and requirements.
※Legal skill is the first standard to value a lawyer as a professional,§ says Mr. Larry Wang, a senior legal counsel from J.M. Huber Corporation China. He notes that, ※Much cooperation happens between a legal department and other internal business units. An in-house counsel＊s legal skill, good or not, is demonstrated through the daily interaction.§
The variety of legal skills needed by a legal division has expanded. Earlier, the in-house role was limited compared to roles in a law firm. However, recently in-house counsel＊s work has expanded, spanning general company law, contract law, labor law, IP law, securities law, among others.
Beyond legal skill 每 a must
Candidate fit analysis may be divided into consideration of ※credentials§〞that is, technical or ※hard§ requirements, and ※soft skills.§ The key importance of soft skills was decisively emphasized by the senior legal counsel and HR specialists we spoke to.
- Business sense / Decision-making competence / Understand company well
Different from lawyers in law firms, in-house counsel work directly, hands-on, to protect the company against risks and disputes. ※In-house counsel must not only find and list risks, they also need to assess risks and assist the business units and CEO in making decisions to control risks,§ notes Mr. Wang. This core responsibility requires counsel＊s superior business sense and good understanding of company culture, business operations, and internal units, to rationalize legal and commercial decisions.
Mr. Zhang Ke, Recruiting Specialist from MAHLE Technologies Holding (China) Co., Ltd., supports this view. ※Corporation＊s well being ranks first,§ he notes, ※Legal counsel should not merely give suggestions, but help make decisions to improve the original status based on counsel＊s accurate understanding of company culture and situation.§
- Flexible / efficient / time management skill
Mr. Zhang shared a story. He once interviewed two candidates with similar education and work background. He set the same question to both but received totally different answers. The first candidate offered strict, technical and tedious analysis. The second candidate flexibly analyzed from the company＊s angle and then gave positive suggestions. You know who received the job offer.
To some extent, lawyers present a sensitive, cautious, and even stubborn image in the eyes of others. However, a good in-house counsel should inhibit some of the fixed and rigid work style conducted in law firms. ※Things have their order of priority,§ says a senior HR specialist from a prestigious pharmaceutical company who has served with HR for 10 years. ※Flexible answers and solutions to different units in different situations are required to get more efficient work.§ Also, in a commercial market, quick response and decisiveness are essential〞many times without perfect information. This requires a flexible mind and efficient response.
- Interpersonal skill / communication skill
In most companies, especially very large ones, the legal department is very small compared with other company departments. Members of the legal department must maintain close liaison with internal and external units for business, legal training, compliance, etc. Good interpersonal and communication skills are essential. Almost all the professionals we talked to emphasized this point.
We have heard complaints from some lawyers who moved from law firm to in-house. Complaints relate to difficulties lawyers experience working with other departments and colleagues in the company. Mr. Wang and Mr. Zhang note that this is about mind-set and attitude. In-house counsel should be clear on the target of the in-house counsel role. The role is different from that in a law firm, where the work projects are handled separately, case by case. An in-house counsel needs to listen, communicate, and coordinate, to achieve the same purpose with all units. With the correct mind-set regarding role, lawyers will be happier and handle things more smoothly.
In summary, companies are looking for lawyers who grasp the needed skills and truly adapt themselves in an in-house environment. Such lawyers perform well, gain personal and professional satisfaction from the work, and stay longer. Corporations are looking for lawyers with long-term commitment to career development as in-house counsel.
