Seven tips for building an in-house legal team from scratch
As anyone trying to hire in-house legal teams will tell you, the current market for talent can be fiercely competitive. Over-inflated salaries in some sectors have had an impact on the market and building the right team is crucial to success.
In Taylor Root’s Q&A session with Jonathan Wiseman, General Counsel and Chief People Officer of Ocado Retail, we explored how he has met this challenge and why, in his dual role as General Counsel and Chief People Officer, he has found that a creative approach to talent attraction has reaped rewards.
In our discussion, we covered key considerations for decision making, hiring and retention at every stage.
Make strategic early-stage decisions
As most lawyers who have any experience of early-stage businesses will tell you, resources are precious. You will likely have to justify every hire you make.
Use your risk register as a tool to help you prioritise. It’s an excellent crib sheet for understanding what your business really needs, and where you’re likely to need to put the most skills and time.
Observe talent tipping points
Generalists vs. Specialists: In the early stages, versatile team members who can tackle diverse legal tasks are essential. As the company matures, however, there comes a point where specialised expertise becomes necessary. Planning for this transition early ensures seamless team evolution and career development opportunities.
Be creative with recruitment
Look outside conventional talent pools: rumoured starting salaries offered in some sectors can make for terrifying headlines, but you can still recruit good talent if you look further afield.
Salary is not the only draw: as Taylor Root’s own research shows, other motivating factors such as flexibility or wanting more exposure to commercial decision making can attract strong candidates.
Download our global in-house legal report and salary guide
Look for key skills and attributes
Clear communication skills and evidence of a candidate’s ability to take a risk-based approach are two of the most important attributes when hiring for a small in-house team.
Design an interview process that allows you to assess not only the candidate’s technical skills, but their commercial acumen. Asking them questions that get to the heart of how well they know their current business can be very useful.
Consider professional development
Fostering a culture where career growth is actively discussed and supported is crucial for retaining top talent. Leaders should map out clear career paths for team members and encourage pursuit of personal career goals, even if those goals lie outside the organisation.
Delegation benefits everyone: the General Counsel can end up as the conduit between the Executive and their legal team but this can be disempowering. You don’t need to sit on every steering committee, and more exposure to the wider business is one of the most effective ways to ensure buy-in for your people.
Align with company goals and compliance
Legal and compliance teams must proactively integrate themselves into decision-making processes across the organisation. By understanding business objectives from day one, they can effectively contribute to strategic initiatives and mitigate risks.
Manage growth
Stay ruthlessly aligned to business objectives and operate with a basic assumption that your team won’t grow quickly. Prioritisation is essential. If what you are doing isn’t clearly aligned to business strategy or managing a critical risk, then question why you are doing it. Ensuring talented resources are focused on activities that drive business success is essential.
Making good use of regional firms for the right piece of work is a cost-effective way to manage workload. We maintain around half a dozen relationships with individuals at outside firms for different projects, and it tends to be the relationship with the individual, not the firm, that is important.
