In the not-so-distant past, advisors encouraged law students interested in pursuing a career in an in-house legal department to gain at least five years of law firm experience first. But, as of late, this trend has started to shift; law schools are now proactively preparing students for in-house roles directly out of school and companies are demonstrating a greater willingness to hire less experienced lawyers. While working at a firm is still the most typical leadoff to an in-house career path—a 2022 survey of in-house professionals found that just 17 percent of the 2,000 plus respondents went directly in-house, while 78 percent had outside firm experience —for students who know that they’re seeking an in-house role, the possibilities are expanding.
A recent LegalDive article highlighted a few of the experiential learning programs currently being facilitated at law schools. We’ve provided a brief summary below:
Baylor University School of Law’s In-House Counsel Externship Program: Includes both a classroom component, which covers legal issues faced by in-house counsel and practical skills, as well as an externship with a supervising lawyer in a local corporate legal department.
Santa Clara University School of Law’s Tech Edge J.D.: Provides legal externships at tech companies or law firms, along with classroom instruction. Alumni who work in-house speak to students about their career paths, and answer questions about their roles.
Columbia Law School’s Reuben Mark Initiative for Organizational Character and Leadership (a joint initiative between the law school and Columbia Business School): Includes a set of courses designed to teach law students leadership and collaboration skills, and features guest speakers who will discuss the large influence corporate lawyers have over the organization’s operations.
Duke University School of Law’s Law & Entrepreneurship Program: Provides students with legal and business knowledge needed to support the business, institutional, and strategic role that entrepreneurial advisors must play, and also gives perspective on how to start and grow a company. The program also supports a Start-up Ventures Clinic where students can represent founders and entrepreneurial companies.
UC Hastings College of Law’s Paragon Legal DEI Career Connect Program: Still in the early stages, but places recent UC Hastings law school graduates at participating companies to gain experience in the in-house legal role.
Jack Terschluse, a 2019 law graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, quit his job at a law firm after just two years to work for Balto, a tech start-up. “I think in a startup, the opportunities for promotions and different leadership experiences are greater earlier on than they might be at a bigger company because there’s not this big bench of people who’ve been waiting their turn to ascend to that leadership position,” Terschluse said in an interview with LegalDive. Similarly, Phelan Simpkins, intellectual property counsel at State Farm, and 2021 law graduate of the University of Missouri, was able to achieve his goal of an in-house position directly out of law school. He pointed out, also to LegalDive, that recent law graduates shouldn’t underestimate their ability to have an immediate impact in an in-house role. “Having somebody who is coming out of law school who’s had the theoretical training, but not necessarily the practical aspect of it, you’re getting a fresh perspective on an issue of law or how the company manages certain issues, which can be refreshing,” he said.