Small businesses, Startups and Entrepreneurs – nine reasons to have an In-house Lawyer

Below are nine reasons why your business needs an in-house lawyer. Some of these points are also reflected in our earlier article on the benefits of an in-house lawyer over a private practice lawyer in which we suggest that, given the revolution in legal services that is occurring in favour of flexible freelance lawyers, now is a great time to obtain a flexible in-house lawyer rather than continuing to use a private practice lawyer. This list is applicable to all businesses but it is written with Small/mid-sized businesses, Startups and Entrepreneurs in mind.

Cost effectiveness

This is perhaps top on the list for many businesses; cost is a significant factor in why any business would have an in-house lawyer rather than either going to private practice lawyers or, worse, not going to a lawyer at all. An in-house lawyer represents an incredibly cost effective method of obtaining legal advice for your business and that is even more the case if you use a HPLpro freelance in-house lawyer.

Value extraction

Even with in-house legal resource, there may still be occasions when an external lawyer is required, perhaps in the event that you are purchasing property in Scotland or require advice on complicated Irish tax matters, and in those instances an in-house lawyer will be able to extract value from that external lawyer on account of knowing how long such work should take and a reasonable cost for such work.

Risk management

Perhaps the most important function of an In-house lawyer is the identification, management and review of the legal risks that the business faces and provide advice and solutions on the best way to minimise those risks in alignment with the strategies of the business. The in-house lawyer will also be able to weigh up the relative importance of those risks and prioritise the most fundamental. Whilst this is true for business of all sizes it could be particularly useful for start-ups and entrepreneurs to ensure that their business ideas start on the right track – indeed a business may not even be aware of the risks that it faces.

Accessibility

Given that an in-house lawyer is a dedicated business resource, that lawyer will be accessible to your business at the times that you require. With a HPLpro flexible in-house lawyer, you can have the best of all worlds: the accessibility of an in-house lawyer with the flexibility of using freelancers.

Proactive

Unlike private practice lawyers, In-house lawyers will be going beyond their brief to proactively analyse areas of the business for risks and solutions and be able to prevent mishaps prior to them occurring, including by helping to shape business strategy, rather than fire-fighting after the event.

Alignment

As an in-house lawyer is embedded within your business that lawyer will become aligned with the priorities of the business and will ensure that the legal solutions that he or she proposes will match the direction of travel for the business.

Understanding

In addition to aligning to the business, the in-house lawyer will also develop an in depth understanding of the industry that the business operates I, this is key to providing the best strategic legal advice for any business.  

Strategic acumen

Given the training and experience involved in becoming an in-house lawyer, including being at the heart of business risk planning, in-house lawyers can add an additional element of strategic thinking, planning and organising to a company.

Breadth of role

In-house lawyers generally have seen and experienced an incredibly wide range of matters meaning that it would be rare for an experienced in-house lawyer not to have come across a situation or legal issue before. This compounds the benefit that they bring to any business, particularly entrepreneurial businesses where unusual situations arise all the time!

Hope this was useful!
 
The HPLpro Team