Quality which = efficiency – your in-house lawyer will develop a unique understanding of your business and what you are trying to do, the direction you’re heading, your people and your values. Legal work (drafting, negotiating, advising, etc) hinges on detail and subtle nuances in language, agreements and conversations – having your legal matters dealt with by a person who truly understands and actually cares about your business and who has context to the advice being asked or contract being drafted gives you much more efficient and effective legal work as well as far more protection for your business.

A trusted Legal business partner right on your doorstep! – there is nothing like having a trusted legal adviser right on your doorstep. Imagine being able to consult your in-house lawyer anytime about anything which may be on your mind without receiving an invoice for their time? Protecting your business is important, as is reducing stress and causes to worry. Having an in-house lawyer or legal team at your service all the time is both easier and reassuring. They may not know everything, but they will know a lot and what they don’t know, they will know how to find the answer.

Cost Effectiveness – whilst hiring a lawyer for your business does mean another salary, there is absolutely no doubt hiring an in-house lawyer will reduce a company’s external legal spend and will definitely be a reward on investment. We know of one well-known coffee chain which hired their first real estate lawyer – the in-house lawyer reduced the company’s external legal spend on real estate to zero!

It is likely you’ll still use law firms for some things, perhaps for something sizeable (like an acquisition or for litigation) or for specific legal advice (maybe employment) but this will be so much less than before. You will also have someone who “speaks legal” who will manage relationships with external laws firms, negotiate fair fee structures (often per piece of work or project as opposed to an hourly rate) and ensures the legal work which is sent out is done effectively and on time.

Peace of Mind with Compliance & Risk – a business with its own in-house lawyer means compliance, regulatory and governance matters are covered. Any first in-house lawyer, regardless of their technical background, will take these on for a business, giving you the peace of mind that risks to your business of not being compliant or missing a deadline are taken away. Your in-house lawyer will know your business and will ideally always been one step ahead on any compliance matters, ensuring you can focus on trading with the knowledge your business is both compliant and up to date. Phew!

As a specialist in-house legal and compliance recruitment firm, Graff Search has helped many businesses hire their first lawyer, sometimes even on an interim basis initially if you’d like to sed if it is for you. The opportunity to be the first lawyer for an organisation always attracts interest in the market, which means you will have an interest from excellent people!

If this is of interest to you, please get in touch, we’d love to talk about this further with you and how it could work for your business.