In-house lawyer independence - employment amendment letter
In-house lawyers play a key role in their organisations, bringing much to their work, including beyond their core legal experience. But their primary role is to practice law. They are bound by specific regulatory and professional obligations, which include a duty to act with independence, and to give precedence to their professional obligations over the interests of their client employer.
Recent corporate scandals have put in-house regulation and practice in the spotlight, highlighting the tension between in-house lawyers’ requirement of independence and their status as an employee. The Solicitors Regulation Authority, the leading UK legal services regulator, is carrying out a thematic review of the in-house legal role. ESG issues are high on the corporate agenda, holding organisations to adopt ever higher standards of governance and societal responsibility.
To respond to these circumstances and get ahead of the risks, a practical step in-house lawyers and business leaders can take, is to acknowledge in writing the regulatory obligations of in-house lawyers via an amendment to their employment contract. This is particularly pertinent for the General Counsel or Chief Legal Officer, but is relevant to all in-house lawyers.
Ciarán Fenton and I put together a template amendment letter, sample talking points and board briefing paper, to make this step easy for in-house lawyers and business leaders to take.
