Students Learn About Practicing As In-House Counsel
The Washburn Business Law Society hosted three members of Security Benefit Group's in-house counsel on Thursday, January 26, 2006. J. Michael Keefer, Senior Vice-President, General Counsel and Secretary; Amy J. Lee, Vice-President, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary; and John Guyot, Vice-President, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary, spoke about the various aspects of practicing law as in-house counsel.
Michael Keefer focused on the responsibilities of in-house counsel. Mr. Keefer pointed out that first and foremost the client is the corporation, not the individuals that make up the corporation. The downside to being in-house counsel is that the attorney has just one client. Should that client close or sell out, the attorney is out of a job. The role of an in-house attorney is to be a problem solver. The corporation wants to know how it can accomplish its goals and does not want to hear "no" as an answer. The attorney needs to be creative. On the topic of the relationship between in-house and outside counsel, Mr. Keefer noted that the outside counsel needs to be a firm that has a strong knowledge of the company. Before choosing an outside counsel to help with the needs of the corporation the in-house attorney must understand the corporation's business and the capabilities of the in-house legal department so the in-house attorneys can capitalize on synergies and economies in the provision of legal services without wasting the client's money on outside counsel.
Amy Lee discussed how to work with outside counsel. The best way to find credible outside counsel is to ask for recommendations from someone the attorney can trust. When working with outside counsel, the in-house counsel is the client. Communication is the key to working with outside counsel. In-house counsel has budget restrictions, therefore, it is vital that the in-house counsel communicate the expectations and restrictions to the outside counsel.
John Guyot provided the perspective of an outside counsel in relation to working with in-house counsel. Mr. Guyot stated that as outside counsel being hired by company with in-house counsel, the outside counsel must thoroughly consider the motives of the potential client and the effect of taking on this new client. When being hired by in-house counsel, the outside counsel must consider possible conflicts of interest with other clients of the firm. The outside counsel must also consider why the firm is being hired: to create a possible conflict of interest in the future, so the client can take advantage of the firm's name and reputation, etc.
During the presentation the speakers provided a PowerPoint presentation covering the topic of Inside/Outside Counsel in more depth (848 KB). In addition, a sample Letter of Engagement was made available: Letter 1 (1 KB). (These documents require Microsoft PowerPoint or Microsoft Word to view.)
