Category: Blog

Legal departments often struggle with many questions when deciding to hire a new legal profile. Which part of our budget can we allocate? Do we want an interim consultant or a permanent employee? And of course: what kind of profile are we looking for?

The first hurdle to cross, therefore, is defining the function and the responsibilities of the new potential employee or consultant. This means that your legal department, often with the help of HR, has to decide whether to hire a junior, senior or expert profile. But what exactly are the differences between these types of lawyers?

Junior: quick learners with fresh ideas

A junior lawyer is usually someone with 0 to 5 years of experience in the legal profession. This experience can be gained either as an attorney or a freelancer or in-house as a legal counsel. Some junior lawyers have already acquired some experience as a freelance legal consultant, others prefer to broaden their expertise in a permanent function first, before making the next step in their career and becoming independent legal advisors.

The most obvious advantage of hiring a junior counsel is the fact that they usually ask for a lower salary. In return, they will require more guidance and training than a senior lawyer. 

This, however, should not be a downside. Junior consultants are quick learners and bring fresh and new ideas to the table. If a legal department accompanies its newbees well, supports them in their journey, appreciates their work and rewards them accordingly, chances are great that they will deliver much needed added value in time and stay loyal to your company or department. Who knows, they might even consider signing a permanent contract and becoming your next valuable employee…

A disadvantage might be that young people don’t always immediately know what they want in life. This might increase their risk of job hopping and leaving companies quickly in the first years of their career. For temporary assignments, however, this should pose any problems, since few consultants will terminate their contracts early when they are concluded for a limited amount of time.

Senior: solid base and quick return

Senior lawyers are legal consultants or counsels with at least 5 years of experience. Just like juniors, they may have gained this experience in a permanent function, but many senior consultants prefer working as independent professionals. 

The biggest advantage of working with senior advisors is their autonomy. Unlike junior counsels, senior advisors don’t need much training and guidance. Usually, they are able to produce advice without having to ask many questions. They are operational from day 1 and can even lead complex projects as legal interim managers using their experience acquired in previous positions.

Next to that, senior consultants can transfer their expertise and methods from previous employers or clients to your company. They have a solid base and deliver quick returns. They can provide new insights, deliver legal and strategic advice and even train other employees or consultants in their own legal niche. These trainings don’t necessarily need to be limited to the legal department.

The biggest downsides of working with senior consultants are their price tag and their availability. Because many senior legal consultants work for different clients at the same time, they will generally not be available every day of the week. And if they work on a full-time contract, this will only be for a limited amount of time.

Naturally, you could consider hiring a senior counsel on a permanent basis. However, this would mean you would have to pay a higher salary for an undetermined period. On top of that, their severance will also be higher in case of downsizing.

Expert: problem-solver for highly specialized projects

Last but not least, experts are lawyers who have gained decades of experience in their own legal niche. They often possess highly specialized knowledge in very specific fields of law (for instance a business lawyer who has worked for different financial institutions during their career or an IP lawyer who has worked on patent cases his entire life). 

It is mainly useful to hire these types of profiles for very specific questions or complex projects in highly specialized legal domains. Experts work almost exclusively on interim or freelance assignments, but can provide the best advice faster than any other lawyer could. 

Obviously, legal experts are the most expensive kind, but their advice will always be top notch, flawless and on time.Ready to find the perfect legal consultant for your interim or permanent vacancy? Register now on https://platform.limine.be/ and find your ideal candidate today!

The recent rise of artificial intelligence has already created a lasting impact on all layers of our human society. Just like other spheres, the legal profession, too, will continue to feel the ever-growing influence of algorithms, smart tools and AI on a wide range of tasks and operations.

As a consequence, some attorneys and corporate lawyers with a sharp future vision have already started fearing for their job. They suspect that, in the coming years, AI will take over more and more day-to-day tasks autonomously until human interference has become redundant.

Is this true? Is this the right way of thinking? Should attorneys, legal interim managers and other business lawyers really be afraid to lose their jobs? As explained below, there are many tasks in which AI can assist: reviewing documents, doing legal research, analyzing case-law… However, the strength of these so-called ‘smart tools’ is to reduce the hours that are usually spent on repetitive, time-consuming assignments. The goal, therefore, is not to replace lawyers or legal freelancers, but to help them allocate time and resources more efficiently.

In the next paragraphs, we will give some examples of tasks in which AI can play a crucial role as a time-saver, cost-reducer and automator.

Automated review of legal documents

In many businesses, a lot of time is still wasted on the mere review of similar contracts. Even if most companies nowadays have adopted all sorts of templates for different kinds of commercial and other contracts, the adoption of an agreement is a highly time-consuming process. Therefore, some companies and law firms have started using or creating smart tools to help them speed up this procedure. 

Because these AI systems can process huge amounts of information in no time, they can analyze legal documents way quicker than humans. In doing so, they can:

• review contracts and flag potentially high-risk clauses;

• indicate inconsistent language or unclear phrases and help in increasing the readability of a contract or an opinion; 

• check for compliance with certain legal standards, norms and statutes.

Some companies have even created tools that can produce contracts starting from a premade template or even from scratch. These software programs will then, after certain parameters have been filled in, tailor a general contract to the specific preferences or needs of a client or a supplier.

At the same time, the interference of a human lawyer is still needed to actually perform the proposed tasks, like modifying certain clauses, adopting a more comprehensive language and accepting or refusing the changes proposed by the AI tool. Close collaboration between AI and humans is therefore still a necessary condition to ensure a smooth contracting process.

Prediction of (court) case outcomes

For some businesses, litigation is another money slurping machine that takes away many resources. Especially in Belgium, court cases are expensive, very time-consuming and never guarantee a great outcome for any of the parties. Part of the problem is that many companies don’t have a clear view on the alternatives and often dive head-first into legal proceedings, while other means regularly offer better solutions for both parties.

To remedy these shortcomings, AI systems have been created to predict the outcome of potential court cases. Based on the facts of a particular case and earlier judgments of the court or judge at hand, it will make an accurate prediction of the decision that would be made. This helps companies to broaden their scope and look for other solutions, like mediation, arbitration or settlement.

Legal Research

For legal research, too, software exists to help you find the right cases, precedents, statutes or other legal sources. These AI tools automatically keep you up-to-date on the newest case law and legislation, propose similar sources to the ones you’re looking for and scan millions of documents in a matter of seconds to make sure you don’t miss out on any text or phrase that might be relevant to you or your case.

A platform like Legidex is an excellent example of this kind of software.

Legal Recruitment

Last not but least, AI can also assist companies and law firms during their recruitment processes. Based on the preferences and needs of the business, AI tools can propose the best candidates for legal interim assignments or permanent positions.

A platform like Limine does exactly that: it combines unique technology with personal human input from legal professionals creating the perfect match between companies and lawyers.

Ready to connect with all top-tier candidates for your open positions? Create your free account now and find new legal talent today!

To haul in your dream job as a freelance legal consultant, you need two things: an impressive CV and a splashing job interview. Ultimately, the main goal is always to show that you, and no one else, is the perfect fit for the job or assignment you’re applying for.

For tips on writing a convincing resume, click here. For tips on leaving a sensational impression during an interview, read on!

Come prepared

The worst thing you can do at a job interview is not show up. The second worst thing you can do, is arrive unprepared. This immediately gives the impression that you’re not that interested or motivated for the assignment you’re applying for. Therefore, you should try to collect at least a minimum amount of information about the company or the client you want to work for. 

Some questions you could ask yourself:

• In which sector are they active? 

• Who are their main competitors? 

• What is their history and their mission statement? 

• What are their main goals for the future?

• What were the last business results? Annual turnover, change of CEO?

• How can I prove that the company needs me for this specific assignment?

Additionally, you can gather some financial information about the company on the website of the CBE. Go the extra mile and look up the recent exposure in the press. Maybe there’s an interesting article published in De Tijd/L’Echo or Trends/Tendances?

Being prepared, yes, but don’t overprepare yourself either. If you’ve studied all possible questions and answers by heart, this might impede the smooth flow of the conversation. Give yourself the opportunity to showcase your sharpness and clarity of mind as well; in any case, these are essential qualities for a legal interim manager!

Your resume is not self-explanatory

Don’t forget that most employers and clients value a good job interview just as much as a compelling resume. Even if you have a world class CV, a poor interview can ruin your chances of being picked for a job. Therefore, remain honest and open while answering questions about your professional history. Again: it’s all about showing that you are the perfect fit. A good match on a more personal level will certainly put you higher on the ranking – especially for longer assignments.

At the same time, it’s always a good idea to prepare some questions yourself (or make them up during the conversation). This proves legitimate interest and motivation in the company and helps in building the trust of your interlocutor.

Focus on relevant information

When talking about your past experiences as a legal consultant, it remains important to focus on the information that is relevant to the assignment you’re applying for. Try to highlight specific qualities or skills you gained in previous jobs that you can transfer to your potential new client or employer. 

This does not only include your expertise in certain legal practice areas. Equally important are your soft skills. For instance, when applying for a short term assignment, indicate that you’re a fast thinker, a quick learner and don’t need much time to be operational. When applying for longer assignments, it might be a good idea to focus on your reputation as a trustworthy companion. Obviously, clients don’t like consultants who quit after a month or two!

In general, when talking about legal interim assignments, clients like to hear about your communication skills, your ability to deliver strategic advice and your ability to translate complex legal information into clear and understandable opinions.

Last but not least: suit up!

It seems obvious, but it’s impossible not to mention this last tip: dress nicely! The first impression is always the most important one, and you only get a single chance to make one. Research has proven that this impression is mostly based on your physical appearance. Therefore, there’s only one thing left to do: suit up!

Ready for a new assignment? Register your account on our platform and find new clients instantly!

A clear and well-written resume is the first important step to put yourself in the top drawer of a new potential employer or client. Nonetheless, we noticed that quite a number of CV’s of legal consultants are too vague, too generic, lack structure and overview and aren’t as aesthetically appealing as they could or should be.. if you want to haul in more interesting contracts with top-tier clients, that is.

To help you drastically improve your chances of collecting new assignments as a freelance legal consultant or a new challenge as an in-house legal counsel, here are some more tips on how to write a convincing resume and nail that job!

Highlighting relevant experience

The first thing you should do when writing a resume is think about your target audience. Who is the information that you’re providing, addressed to? When applying for interim assignments, you’ll need to highlight different skills than when applying for a job at a multinational.

After all, most businesses don’t really care for your academic publications or the courses you followed during your master’s degree program. Instead, try focusing on the practical skills you learned at previous employers or during earlier assignments as a legal consultant. 

Sometimes, it might even be a great idea to tailor your resume to the position you’re applying for. For instance, you could emphasize relevant experience in a specific sector, expertise in a certain legal practice area, relevant management experience etc. Try to show the company that you’ve read about them and use this knowledge to your advantage. In the end, it’s all about proving that YOU are the perfect fit!

Some other questions that clients often want an answer to:

• What positions did you hold at your previous companies? Did you form part of a team? Or did you manage a certain department?
• What skills did you learn? Examples could be time management, adapting to new environments, managing a team, working under pressure, familiarizing with new legal domains etc.
• Which legal practice areas formed your main area of expertise? Don’t hesitate to give enough details here. For example, if you were mainly focussing on contract drafting and negotiating, which types of contracts did you become most familiar with (for instance distribution agreements, leasing, sla’s, dpa’s…)?
• If you received any recommendations or references from previous clients, colleagues or employers, be sure to attach them to your resume as well.

In general, when applying for interim assignments, companies like to hear you’re a quick learner, a good communicator and have no problems accommodating yourself to new environments.

From layout to payout

Next, the design of your resume is almost as important as its content. A sloppy layout immediately gives the impression that you don’t care for precision or order. However, this is exactly what a legal interim manager should be good at: translating complex knowledge into clear and understandable texts. Therefore, you should certainly keep these next tips into account when writing your resume:

• Use a clear and readable font (e.g. Verdana 12). Highlighting the most important parts of your text in bold or coloured letters can increase readability;
• Write in a chronological order. Start off with your most recent positions and explain what you did and what you learned. If you don’t have experience as a freelance legal consultant yet, write about your experience as an attorney or other legal functions you held. Info about your education or personal interests should come at the end of your resume;
• Don’t forget to put your personal contact information in the header, so the company can contact you if they’re interested in commencing a collaboration!

Lastly, you can always contact an expert in graphic design to help you along. 

Leave out irrelevant information 

The last tip is quite simple: don’t mention any info that isn’t relevant to the position you’re applying for. Most businesses don’t care for research you published, mandates you held, cases you plead as an attorney or courses you taught or followed in the past. Instead, they want to know where you worked, what you did and what your strengths are. All the rest is superfluous. 

On the other hand, don’t blur any information and don’t leave any parts of your resume undisclosed.  This gives the impression that there are important parts of your professional life that you don’t want to share.

In short: be to the point! It’s better to have a brief resume than a CV of more than 10 pages which doesn’t focus on the information necessary for businesses to make a well-considered choice.

Need some more tips? Check out our other blog on writing an amazing resume.

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Many lawyers and in-house counsels who are looking for a new challenge, hesitate to make the switch to a career as a legal interim consultant. Numerous questions pop up in their mind: What exactly does the legal interim profession entail? How does a job as a legal freelancer differ from a job in a law firm or a permanent position in a company? And should I worry if I’m short of assignments for a while?

Limine had a chat with Michael Kopec, currently working as a legal interim manager at Euroclear, about his experiences as an independent consultant. Together with him, we tried to find an answer to all those pressing questions.

‘As an interim manager, you always know: “the next few months, I will have to be firing on all cylinders.”‘

You are currently working as a legal interim manager at Euroclear. How has that assignment worked out so far?

‘Incredibly well. I am quite busy, but that also makes it really enjoyable. As an interim manager, you always know: “in the next few months, I will have to be firing on all cylinders”. But the team at Euroclear has given me a warm welcome which makes it a very nice atmosphere to work in. Moreover, my current client is very flexible in their home office policy, which makes the combination with my family life all the easier.’

Is your family the main reason why you decided to switch to a career as a legal interim manager?

‘There were several reasons for that choice. Firstly, it was important for me to gain experience in different legal niches and to expand my professional network. In addition, I also wanted to have more freedom in deciding on my own time management. As an employee, you work fixed hours and have fixed holidays; as a self-employed person, you have more freedom to decide on your own agenda.

However, I don’t necessarily work less now than I did as a lawyer. But compared to my period as an attorney, the time I spend on my job is more defined now. My client knows that I am available for 40 hours a week and in principle it stops there. Of course, I am flexible when needed and I will do everything that is required to get the job done, but as a business lawyer you really are occupied with your job 24/7. Thankfully, that is less the case now. That way, I can also free up more time for my family.’

‘As a legal interim manager, you have to take into account the impact of your advice on the business’

What do you think is the biggest difference between working in the legal profession and working as a legal interim manager? 

‘It might surprise you, but in itself, the two are not that different from each other. The core of your work is the same: providing high-quality and pragmatic legal advice. The biggest difference is that, as a legal interim manager, you usually work for one company at the time and you get to know the organisation much better that way. Therefore, you have to adapt your advice to that specific context.

As a legal interim consultant, you are more closely involved in the economic and strategic decisions of the company you are working for. Unlike lawyers, you will be able to acquire some additional background information during internal meetings and discussions which you can then take into account in your advice. 

Working in close collaboration with finance and business teams also allows you to further develop your business acumen which then helps you in translating business needs in sound legal contracts.

’What is the biggest difference between a legal interim consultant and a permanent in-house lawyer?

‘Both are part of the company, but the biggest advantage is that, as a consultant, you’re not involved in the internal politics of the business. People are always very keen on welcoming you, considering that you are an external force helping them to solve a particular problem (absorbing extra workload, replacing a long-term absentee…). That way, you can focus on what really matters. The appreciation you get for your work is therefore enormous.’

‘A smooth start of your collaboration largely depends on good onboarding’

Do you have any tips for companies who are considering hiring a legal interim manager?

‘I think a smooth start of your collaboration largely depends on good onboarding. A legal interim manager entering a new company has to get used to everything: a new environment, new people, new IT systems, new methods, etc. A good onboarding process is therefore crucial.

The aim should be to make the interim manager feel part of the organisation right away: involve your interim manager in meetings from day one, integrate them into the team, etc. 

A textbook example of a solid start would be that, a few weeks after the legal interim manager has started, internal people are asking their questions without noticing any difference between the interim manager and the permanent members of the legal team.

’Of course, you also have to open yourself up as a legal interim manager. A good collaboration always depends on goodwill from both sides.’

‘The cooperation with Limine went very smoothly’

How do you generally find new assignments?

‘It depends. Sometimes I find assignments directly through my own network, sometimes through intermediaries. My last assignment was one I found through Limine. That collaboration went very smoothly. Within three days following my first contact, I had found a new assignment and concluded the contract. This is a very fast lead time. 

Getting clarity about your future quickly is important for freelancers, because they always live in some kind of uncertainty, or at least a little bit. When your contract expires, you don’t know beforehand when you will find another assignment that suits you.’

Would you recommend a career as a legal interim to other lawyers?

‘That depends on your character. Do you want stability and solid ground under your feet? Then I don’t think doing interim assignments is something you should go for. But do you like regularly ending up in new environments, getting to know new people, learning about new legal matters? Then definitely, yes!

Do you have any final tips for colleagues who have just made the switch to the legal interim world?

‘Don’t panic. Sometimes, it can take a while before you find your first assignment, but once the ball starts rolling, things will happen almost automatically. Often, you don’t know whether your assignment will be extended and what you will do next. I found that really challenging the first time, but you shouldn’t worry too much about that either. Life doesn’t stop when you’re not working for a month or two.

In the end, that feeling of uncertainty is worth it all, because the human appreciation you get as a legal interim manager is invaluable. People sometimes struggle with that, but receiving appreciation from colleagues for your work is incredibly important. As a legal interim manager, you are considered an added value and that really is an indescribable feeling.’

Many companies tend to spend as little money as possible on their legal issues. Seeing legal departments as merely a cost center, businesses prefer to outsource their legal work to law firms. But is this always the most optimal approach?

Not only do attorneys eat a large part of your budget; often, they also don’t possess the business-oriented attitude you can find in a company lawyer. For many companies, therefore, better solutions exist for solving their legal matters.

In this blog, we explain why your company needs its own in-house legal department!

Company lawyer vs. law firm: prevent vs. cure

There are mainly two ways of tackling legal problems: either, you can try to prevent these problems from arising, or either you can try to solve a problem once it has presented itself. This distinction lies at the heart of the difference between company counsels and law firms. While the latter are mostly focussed on curing complications, the former will utilize the opposite approach.

Law firms and attorneys are specialists in analyzing legal problems. Their expertise and added value mainly lies in formulating complex legal reasonings, mediating, solving disputes outside of court and, if necessary, instigating legal proceedings and pleading before a court or tribunal. 

Corporate counsels, on the other hand, are experts in analyzing risks and preventing legal problems from occurring in the first place. Their expertise often consists of negotiating and re-writing contracts, advising and educating colleagues and peers on legislation and strategy, communicating with other departments etc. The focus of an in-house legal team is collaborating with the business partners to find effective, efficient solutions.

In conclusion, a company lawyer will try to curb legal risks and prevent your company from getting into trouble, while law firms will mostly appear in the process when legal problems have already arisen. 

The advantages of an in-house legal advisor

Nevertheless, not all law firms limit themselves to this approach. Some attorneys do in fact provide precautionary legal advice, acting more as an external legal advisor than as an attorney-at-law in those cases. Where, then, lies the difference between this type of lawyers and corporate legal counsels?

The major point here is that, in contrast to an attorney, an internal legal counsel is an integral part of your business. Company lawyers find themselves in a constant interchange with all other departments (marketing, finance, procurement etc.). Because of this mutual interdependence, legal counsels cannot only give legal, but also strategic and operational advice. Thanks to their proactive and business-oriented mindset, they can help your company move forward way beyond their legal competences.

External advisors, on the other hand, can’t offer this kind of hands-on approach. Because they don’t possess all the necessary information and because they don’t have the same interconnectedness, they cannot provide the same ‘all-in’ advice as a permanent legal counsel.

Another interesting advantage is that an in-house lawyer in a permanent role will be at your disposal full-time. Being on the payroll, they fall under the authority of their employer. They can answer urgent questions, do research, attend last-minute meetings etc. Law firms and external advisors, who often work for multiple clients at the same time, will not always be able to offer the same flexibility.

A provisional solution: legal interim management

If hiring an extra employee might be too big of a step for your business, a temporary solution might be to hire a legal interim manager. Legal interim managers offer the same services as in-house counsels, but on a temporary basis. They can be hired for full-time or part-time assignments. 

The strengths of an interim manager are that they adapt very quickly to new environments and are operational in no-time. Next to that, you won’t be charged by a full team of expensive attorneys, but only for the services provided by this particular consultant.

If the collaboration with an interim consultant runs smoothly, you could consider hiring them on a permanent basis after the assignment takes an end. From that point on, you can start creating your own in-house legal department!

Ready to hire a freelance counsel or permanent in-house lawyer? Contact us and find out how we can help your business!