Working as in-house counsel in British Columbia is not a one-size fits all model. There are multiple opportunities working in different industries and sectors, practising a variety of areas of law and using a very varied skills set. In-house work provides an opportunity for an alternative legal career path from the traditional law firm practice. To highlight the differences and the variety of in-house legal practice, I interviewed a number of in-house lawyers in the province and provides below an insight into their legal world.

The interviewees work in a variety of industries (Mining, Forestry, Crown Corporation, Regulatory, Real Estate, Private Investment and IT) and practice a wide range of areas of law (including, securities, litigation, technology, employment, corporate governance, commercial contract, real estate, environmental, Aboriginal, statutory interpretation, criminal law, quasi-criminal prosecutions, privacy, IT, administrative and regulatory).

What does your typical day at work involve?

“Anything and everything! One thing I enjoy most about my practice is how different it is every day. One day may involve planning the company’s litigation strategy, working on an executive compensation plan and reviewing our continuous disclosure documents.” — Alyce

“Participating in meetings with business leaders, providing legal advice, drafting contracts and almost always a surprise/unexpected issue that requires prompt attention.” — Charmane

“Reviewing illegal practice/discipline files, meetings with the Board, external counsel and management team, HR and leadership work (coaching, mentoring, advising on policy) and wide-ranging legal advice.” — Thomas

“1:1 meetings with department lawyers and senior executives, confirming budgets and workload allocations, departmental planning to align with corporate needs, reporting on legal issues and risks and handling legal files.” — Margot

How do you think in-house work differs from private practice?

“A broader, organization-wide perspective and a constant ‘management and leadership’ piece. Minimal to no focus on billable hours/revenue generation.” — Thomas

“Being in-house for me means I am a Jill of all trades (I love it!) — there is a lot more variety in the work (not just in terms of the breadth in the practice areas, but also in the types of work — e.g. often we are called upon to simply be the voice of reason or ethics in business decisions/strategy).” — Charmane

“I am involved in discussions around business strategy and I have full visibility into the context for the legal work, which are key differences from private practice. I also get to work closely with many bright, talented entrepreneurs.” — Karen

“In-house is much faster-paced, and has more breadth — there are more issues to deal with in a day, and of a wider variety, requiring consideration from many different perspectives (e.g. reputational impact, budget, relationships, employment, Board and governance).” — David

Why did you choose in-house over private practice?

“I fell into it in a way. I enjoy being part of the business, and depending on the role, in-house can be a great opportunity to both be a generalist or a specialist. In past roles, I had to be a commercial lawyer, a technology lawyer and an employment lawyer. In my current role, I get to focus on being a commercial IT lawyer, and developing that area of expertise.” — Jacob

With thanks to the participants (Top L-R): David Avren, Vice-President Legal & Compliance, Real Estate Council of BC; Charmane Sing, Director, Legal Affairs and Senior Counsel, Capstone Mining Corp. (Middle L-R): Margot Spence, Manager, Corporate Law, ICBC; Thomas M. Lutes, General Counsel & Deputy CEO, Architectural Institute of British Columbia; Karen Gilmore, Vice-President & General Counsel, Fulmer & Company Investments Inc. (Bottom L-R): Alyce Harper, Vice-President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, Western Forest Products Inc.; and Jacob Kojfman, Legal Counsel, CGI Information Systems and Management Consultants Inc.