As in-house vacancies remain strong in areas as diverse as corporate finance, M&A, insurance, regulatory, derivatives, structured products and TMT the time has never been better to consider a move from private practice to in-house. There are always pros and cons to consider and salary is often a huge factor. ALB spoke to some recruitment firms to get an idea of what those looking to make the transition can expect.

One consideration that has not changed is whether you have sufficient practice experience to take up an in-house role - 2 years is still the minimum requirement according to Jamie Newbold from Taylor Root, Singapore. “Corporations don’t have the resources or time to put into training lawyers on the basics,” he added. An existing understanding of drafting, negotiation, contracts and traditional lawyer duties is essential. Local qualifications are also highly favoured in the Singapore market, according to Robert Walters legal division consultant, Jasmine Sim.

Once you have that all important experience, your options are wide open and the benefits in terms of work and work-life balance can be considerable. Many lawyers tell CML recruitment’s Ben Cooper that they enjoy having a closer involvement with business aspects, a long term relationship with the one client, somewhat better hours and more commercially orientated work – less drafting and more transaction management. “Generally, an in-house lawyer will be able to advise early on in the deal, to ensure it is structured to minimise legal risk, rather than advising at a later stage as they do in private practice. In House is about enabling commercial decisions, rather than explaining legalities,” said CML’s Cooper.

Generally, as an in-house lawyer, pretty much anything can come across your desk according to Cooper and it is hard for private practice firms to entice those tempted by the change in lifestyle and work with a counter-offer.