It appears that demand is beginning to catch up with desire on the less-trodden path from general counsel to private practice heavyweight. Recent chatter about the growing number of in-house lawyers looking to transition back into law firm life appears to be the case, with several key Silicon Valley GCs making the switch to firms in the last few months. According to reporting in The Recorder, former Broadcom Corp GC Arthur Chong, former eBay GC Michael Jacobson and former RichRelevance and Napster GC William Growney have all left their one-client life behind in the last year to rejoin major law firms on the West Coast.

Where’s the value?

Legal recruiters have pointed out that greater work diversity and fatter pay packets are luring in-house lawyers back to private practice. But what’s in it for the firms? ‘It’s curious to me, because in this market, all the firms are really clamouring for lateral partners with robust books of business. What can [in-house lawyers] bring to law firms than can add to their bottom line?’ asks Julie Brusch, a legal recruiter.

Client insights

The firms hiring former GCs, however, feel that the unique experiences and skills of an in-house lawyer have implicit value that makes up for the one-client book of business most in-house lawyers carry. Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton chair Guy Halgren said that by hiring former Broadcom GC Arthur Chong the firm had harnessed intimate insights into client experiences and expectations not common among private practice lawyers. ‘We don’t charge for Art’s time. He’s purely here to work with our attorneys and make them better at client services,’ said Mr Halgren of Mr Chong, adding that former GCs can add value to the bottom line ‘taking on work that supports other partners to help them leverage better.’