A Singapore-based lawyer with experience of both in-house and private practice work told Lawyers Weekly that working in-house can be 'miserable' if senior managers have a bad attitude. A recruitment specialist, Phillip Hunter of Dolman, said: 'As for flexibility, the old buzz-term ‘work/life balance’ is a dirty word now. It is all about ‘work/life integration’.' 

Rewards

Another in-houser said that the role was stressful but added that it was 'a lot more rewarding' than being in a law firm. She said: 'The private lawyers may know some of the law in greater detail in some instances, but the in-house lawyers know how the application of the law will truly affect the business.'  The biggest difference between inhouse and private practice is the view of the timing of urgent work that needs to be done after hours, says the Singapore lawyer. She said: 'When in an in-house role, if at 5pm the unwelcome news that X is required by 9am the next day it almost always means that the evening's planned sporting or social activities can still happen (sadly, sans alcohol!).' A private practice lawyer is far likely to come off worse in this regards, and may well have to cancel their evening's activities completely, she says. Source: Lawyers Weekly