Globally, more and more organisations are recognising the value of adding an in-house solicitor to their team. Public and private bodies all recognise the benefit they derive from the diverse range of skills that an in-house solicitor can bring to the organisation. At the time of writing, in-house solicitors in the private and public sectors comprise approximately 25% of the Law Society’s membership and 23% of practising certificate holders.

In-house solicitors will have one client: the State, a company, or an organisation that employs them. The role of an in-house solicitor is to provide and implement legal advice and best practice and to play a central part in an organisation’s corporate governance infrastructure. Due to the diverse nature of the in-house solicitor’s role, at certain times the technical legal content of the day-to-day job may be less of a focus for the in-house solicitor than for solicitors working in private practice.

However, in all cases, the independence of the in-house solicitor is of critical importance in dealing with the inevitable pressures and potential conflicts of interest that arise as part of the day-to-day professional life within his/her organisation. This is addressed in more detail in Chapter 4.

Flexibility and adaptability are important attributes. You may be expected to have a good general knowledge of the law, rather than be an expert in one specific area. This makes for a challenging and diverse workload, but it is also a great opportunity for professional development.

In order to be effective, the in-house solicitor will need to be able to wear multiple ‘hats’, depending on the circumstances – as set out in the following diagram.

The sections below provide examples of some of the diverse roles that in-house solicitors can play within the organisations they work for. Throughout this guide, we also provide some guidance on ways to identify and deal with the opportunities and challenges that these roles bring.

Many organisations in the private and public sectors have dedicated legal functions to handle all legal business and to take charge of managing legal risk in-house.

Depending on the size of the organisation, there could be several in-house solicitors or other legally qualified personnel employed for this purpose under the supervision of a ‘head of legal’. The job titles of these in-house solicitors may vary and include, for instance, ‘in-house solicitor’, ‘legal counsel’, ‘company solicitor’, ‘law agent’, ‘legal adviser’, ‘general counsel’ etc. A legal services function of this nature may be run along similar lines to a firm of solicitors in private practice, with individual areas of responsibility being allocated to individual team members, depending on their background and experience. Additionally, the reporting lines of the in-house solicitor may vary depending on the nature and structure of the organisation, with some solicitors reporting directly to a managing director, chief financial officer, or chief executive officer within Ireland or, in the case of multinational organisations, to a centralised group function based outside Ireland (and with various alternative structures in between).

In larger public-sector organisations, the responsibilities of a legal services function may often follow a traditional model of litigation, conveyancing, and commercial divisions, although some organisations (such as those in the utilities sector) may have sector-specific legal service requirements that need to be provided outside of this traditional model.

Not all organisations require an entire in-house legal function. Smaller organisations may have a sole in-house solicitor, who may have to engage external legal counsel for some of the organisation’s legal services due to a limit on resources, capacity, or expertise. This will be discussed in greater detail in Chapter 3. The in-house solicitor here (and in larger entities) can realistically be expected and required to provide services in a wider variety of different disciplines and functions but, regardless of the nature or structure of the organisation, it is generally the case that the in-house solicitor will be the first port of call for all legal matters affecting the organisation.

Additionally, for some organisations, the legal function’s work may also be of a multi-jurisdictional nature involving, for example, compliance and regulatory work, setting up and management of companies or branches or representative offices, registration of intellectual property rights, or conclusion of commercial agreements with local entities in certain international locations. Hence, there may be an ongoing need to liaise with affiliate companies located in individual jurisdictions and, where necessary, to instruct local external legal counsel.

As the in-house solicitor cannot provide any services to a third party that is not the in-house solicitor’s employer, it is important for in-house solicitors to be cognisant of the relationship they have with third parties so that there is no doubt over who the in-house solicitor is advising and taking instructions from. For further information, please also consult the Law Society’s Regulatory Guide for In-house Solicitors Employed in the Corporate and Public Sectors.

Organisations will often employ a solicitor to provide legal compliance advice and/or to manage the legal compliance function (sometimes as legal compliance officer). The organisation may do this to ensure it is acting within the framework of applicable legislation, as well as its policies, charter, or constitution. Therefore, a system may be put in place to advise and monitor whether proposed projects and actions by the organisation are permitted within this formal compliance framework. The in-house solicitor, as compliance officer, may manage these projects to ensure continued compliance.

The involvement of the in-house solicitor in the legal compliance function continues to expand, with many in-house solicitors having responsibility for risk management, anti-bribery/corruption, anti-money-laundering, sanctions compliance, data protection compliance and, in the public sector, freedom of information compliance and the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies. Compliance with data protection requirements, for example, has developed in recent years and will continue to develop, with the role of data protection officer now developing as separate from that of legal compliance officer. These areas have their own further responsibilities and statutory obligations, and the in-house solicitor must take steps to be aware of those separate requirements, which continue to expand.

An invitation to join the board of the employer or of a client company, or as a trustee of the employer’s pension plan, may arise during a solicitor’s career, and this step should be considered carefully, having regard to the professional and statutory duties owed as a solicitor to that company and the obligations arising under company law (in particular, the broader expansion and codification of duties under the Companies Act 2014) and pensions law. Gazette articles on these topics that offer some further insight include ‘Should you serve on a board if asked?’ (March 2017, p13) and ‘An invitation to serve’ (Aug/Sept 2017, p28). This is addressed further in Chapter 2.

As part of their job description, in-house solicitors may also be expected to perform the duties of a company secretary for their employing company and/or other group companies. This is further addressed in Chapter 2.

Outside of certain specific compliance or regulatory roles (for example, acting as a data protection officer or pension trustee), it is now becoming increasingly common for regulators in the public sector– such as the Central Bank, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Medical Council, the Data Protection Commission, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, or the Commission for Communications Regulation, among others – to employ one or more in-house solicitors for advice on regulatory matters or policy. Equally, organisations in regulated industries such as financial services, technology, or pharmaceuticals may have roles for in-house solicitors as part of their regulatory teams and to engage with the various State regulators.

Regulatory work typically calls for interpretation of legislation as well as case law, and so there is a general recognition that the technical skills of in-house solicitors are of real value to organisations in the regulatory context. This clearly offers an in-house solicitor working in this area the opportunity to specialise and gain experience and to contribute towards identifying and developing policies and processes, which will make him/her attractive to current and future employers.

Often, in-house solicitors in organisations will also have a role in, or may be concerned primarily with, non-legal functions in that organisation, such as governance, management, marketing or administration, public affairs, and operational matters.

In many instances, these roles or responsibilities can play a key part in helping the in-house solicitor to develop managerial, administration, and leadership skills and the knowledge and experience necessary to progress in an organisation and to establish themselves as a trusted advisor.

An in-house solicitor may be initially recruited as the legal professional and, over time, they may move upwards or sideways within the organisation, accepting a new position in a non-legal role.

Where a solicitor is employed purely in a non-legal role, it is suggested that the solicitor ensure that the employer understands that, when legal issues arise, such issues should be referred to an outside legal advisor or some other person who has been employed in-house in a legal capacity. It may be of assistance, in the context of clear demarcation of roles, to inform the employer that legal professional privilege would not apply to any advice given by a non-practising solicitor who is employed in a non-legal role.

The role of the in-house solicitor can be extremely varied, and this guide is intended to help in-house solicitors to navigate these roles. Notwithstanding this, the role of an in-house solicitor is constantly evolving and expanding, and some examples may not be captured in this guide. In all instances, in-house solicitors practising in Ireland should be mindful of their professional and regulatory obligations as set out in the Law Society’s professional codes and the Solicitors Practising Certificate Regulations 2020 (SI 655 of 2020), as amended by the Solicitors Practising Certificate (Application Fee) Regulations 2022 (SI 692 of 2022).