Management of an in-house legal team, while involving all the usual challenges inherent in people management, brings with it a number of unique issues. There are a plethora of management and human resource books and e-resources devoted to managing employees, hence this sub-topic seeks to offer guidance that is specific to a legal team and born out of practical experience.

The structure of legal departments varies with organisational needs. This guidance note discusses the different ways in which a legal department can be structured, from traditional reporting lines to regional models, and provides guidance on managing the team unique to each situation.

See Structure of legal departments.

The legal department can add great value to an organisation not just in terms of legal advice provided by in-house counsel, but also through its involvement in the organisation’s strategic business planning. The department may develop its own mission statement and Key Performance Indicators to complement those of other departments and the business as a whole.

See Managing as an integral part of the organisation.

This guidance note provides practical advice on multiple aspects of running a legal team, including tracking of workload, development of training programs and procedure manuals, creating a code of conduct, confidentiality and ethical dilemmas.

See The legal team.

Various mechanisms can be used for determining appropriate salaries for in-house lawyers, including merit-based remuneration, private practice equivalence and hiring a consultant. Published salary data is also an invaluable resource.

Rewards and incentives can also be an effective motivational tool.

See Remuneration.

In practical terms, the “clients” of the legal department are the various operational and administrative units of the organisation. It is important that the relationship between the legal department and other divisions or units be proactively managed.

See Managing client division relationships.