The Changing Role of In-House Counsel

When I transitioned from a law firm to an in-house counsel position more than a quarter-century ago, many of my colleagues didn’t yet have word processors–and it was commonplace to find open general counsel jobs posted in print newspapers.

Just as they have for the world at large, rapid technological changes since the mid-1990s have forever altered in-house legal departments–and indeed our entire industry. We’re no longer reliant on manual processes and documentation, contract management, discovery and case management are increasingly automated and tasks like preparing and overseeing submission of SEC filings and quarterly reports are now streamlined.

But new technology is just one important shift for legal departments. Indeed, the very nature of top in-house counsel’s day-to-day tasks have changed and will likely continue to evolve in the years ahead.