You have been an in-house lawyer for 10 years. When you first started, private practice lawyers thought that you could not cope with the pressure of chargeable hours and the partnership track.
Now, a decade later, you have respect from your peers, you are the most desired lunch companion for any partner in private practice but the Law Society still charges you £700 for not representing your interests. Your shield of independence, privilege, is increasingly under fire. Your CEO was already on your back about costs before the recent slew of corporate governance initiatives, the Americans are making you rethink the benefits of a US listing and now your external legal advisers think that what you really want is another extranet and four more partners on the due diligence team.
