In-House vs The Wider Legal Field
Lawyers all the way down.
As a paralegal working in a bank instead of a firm, I cannot help but wonder if I am getting experience that is as valuable as those of my peers working in private practice. I constantly hear about the variety of private practice paralegals’ experiences; whether researching, drafting, or handling unique cases, the opportunities to learn seem endless. While my experience is likely not the norm for most working in-house, my work is more repetitive and limited to helping the bank meet regulatory requirements. This, coupled with the widely held belief that experience in private practice is more valuable, is discouraging. [1] As much as I love my work, I cannot help but wonder if this is best for my development as a law student. Have I made a mistake that others should avoid?
Due to the bank’s procedure, my customers (bankers) rarely get the opportunity to outsource my work to an external firm. Natasha Gillezeau and Elouise Fowler state that due to the intensely competitive nature of law, firms are forced to meet extreme demands from clients, which lead to 16-hour workdays for many in private practice. [2] While this environment turns many into fantastic lawyers, it also leads to burnout. It can impact law students’ ability to balance work and law school. My team is protected by a fantastic enterprise agreement that cuts my day to a maximum of 7 hours, and we still get work done. We are encouraged to take days off around exam times to develop our legal knowledge, which alone encourages students to work in-house so they may balance work and university. After all, there is no point in having experience if you want to leave the field before graduating.
Leading figures such as Shaun Sethna have also expressed their approval of working in-house early on in a law career. Sethna has expressed that working in-house early in your career forces you to be adequately trained and not merely ‘written off’ as the responsibility of other co-workers. [3] As law students, what makes a job attractive besides paying the bills and receiving proper training? My days consist almost entirely of reading trust deeds and ensuring the trustee has the power to enter transactions with my employer. Having done this for nearly four months, I cannot help but feel that I should be advancing in responsibilities, such as doing more in-depth legal research and drafting documents (responsibilities listed in most other paralegals’ job descriptions).
However, I have noticed one distinct advantage of my job - I ask fewer questions despite continuing to receive more challenging work. These questions did not relate to procedural matters; they related to minute details of trust deed analysis. I have asked enough questions and had enough opportunities to solidify my knowledge to limit myself to messaging more experienced colleagues every half hour instead of every second word I read. As students and young people, we are commonly told by our tutors to ask questions when they arise, and we regularly see the line ‘do not hesitate to reach out with questions’ at the end of many emails. However, what is the point of asking questions if we cannot understand the answer?
As I mentioned earlier, I review documents all day, every day. In four months, the time it has taken me to review a document has reduced, and I am still learning about the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). Whenever I think that I know as much as I have to, I get thrown curveballs, leading me to believe that trust law is not that boring. As such, working a repetitive job in-house is an invaluable experience as it provides the opportunity to learn a substantive amount about a particular area of interest without discouraging individuals from the profession. I recommend it to those who know what area they want to practice in, as it will allow them to hone their skills and gain a more in-depth and practical understanding than some firms may provide.
If this has not convinced you, this role has also given me experience to read the terms and conditions of goods and services very efficiently and effectively. This understanding is precious as recently I found the exact term in a contract with my hairdresser that entitles me to a full refund for a recent tint, cut and blow dry that was far from what I was looking for, despite the store manager insisting I was only entitled to a partial refund. If this does not convince you that in-house experience can be just as valuable as experience in a firm, I do not know what will.
[1] Shaun Sethna (LinkedIn, January 2024) <https://www.linkedin.com/posts/shaunsethna_training-development-inhousecounsel-activity-7150856436820922368-SCLD?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop>.
[2] Natasha Gillezeau and Elouise Fowler, ‘What it’s like working as a young corporate lawyer at a top tier firm’, Australian Financial Review (online, 25 January 2019) <https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/workplace/what-it-is-like-working-as-a-young-corporate-lawyer-at-a-top-tier-firm-20181212-h190vt>.
[3] Sethna (n 1).