Law Society Panel Discussion: In-house lawyer careers

Who this is for?

Solicitors at all levels of PQE

Learning outcomes

SRA competence: A2, C1, C3

Throughout this panel discussion, attendees will:

• discover the key things to consider when planning an in-house legal career
• receive practical careers advice on how to search for an in-house lawyer job
• gain insight to the legal jobs market for in-house lawyers, including typical remuneration packages on offer

What this will cover?

This panel discussion will cover the following steps to successfully carve out an in-house legal career:

• Is there an optimum time to move in-house?
• Pros and cons of working as an in-house lawyer
• How does working in-house differ to private practice?
• Which practice areas are favoured by in-house legal teams?
• How to search for an in-house lawyer role

How you will learn?

Panel discussion with individuals sharing tips based on personal experience.

Facilitator: 

Husnara Begum trained and qualified as a corporate lawyer at Linklaters. She left practice to pursue a career as a journalist and secured a role on The Lawyer magazine. During her lengthy tenure at the leading weekly title Husnara focused on writing careers-related content before eventually moving into legal recruitment. She set up her own consultancy in early 2013, initially focusing on recruitment and business skills training before extending her activities into career coaching. In June 2020, Husnara launched her blog CheekyLittleCareers.com in which she shares legal market insight, careers advice and well-being tips for lawyers.

Panel members:

Shohel Ali is a Senior Legal Counsel at OSB GROUP PLC (OSBG). Shohel specialises in structured finance and debt capital markets. Prior to joining OSBG, he was a Director/Head of Corporate Services at Link Asset Services, spent a number of years in private practice and worked at HSBC Bank plc.

Richard Hanks joined MRA Search in 2018 to set up an in-house division for the firm. Richard has extensive experience of recruiting for positions within the in-house market, at all levels and across a very broad spectrum of disciplines. He has recruited within a range of different industry sectors. Prior to joining MRA Search, Richard worked for Taylor Root, he was a partner leading Taylor Root’s In-house Banking and Financial Services Team. Prior to moving into legal recruitment, he trained and qualified as a solicitor with Travers Smith..

Sejal Sachania is a newly qualified solicitor working as in-house commercial legal counsel at GlobalWebIndex. Sejal had a unique route to qualification, having had the privilege of becoming the very first trainee with a large technology company with a secondment to an elite US law firm. Prior to completing formal legal training, Sejal also gained pre-qualification experience within the technology, media and telecoms team at a private practice firm. Sejal has a keen interest in working with and advising growing technology companies, advising on commercial, IP and data privacy matters.

Amelia Wilson is a programme lawyer in the legal and compliance department at channel 4 working across programming and sponsorship and advertising content. She started at the Channel in 2007, without any professional qualifications and obtained both her LLB and LPC while working full time. She is passionate about inspiring the next generation of legal professionals and having followed a non-traditional route, encouraging others to do the same. She is an active member of both the mental health and disability employee representative groups at the Channel.

To register for free please click here.