Are there industries or businesses in which in house counsel, ceteris paribus, has more impact on the business' success? Forum

[supery00n]

I'm interested in applying to law school and I find myself gravitating toward going in-house versus working at a law firm in the middle stage of my career should I choose to apply to law school, get in, and become a lawyer.

But I'm not particularly interested in any specific industries per se, or at least nothing really stands out except maybe banking/finance. What I'm really looking for is working in-house in an industry/company in which the in house counsel has the most impact, all other things being equal, on the business' overall success?

I asked a question on Quora as follows: "What are some businesses, industries or services other than law itself, in which the importance of legal issues is especially pronounced and in which internal or external legal counsel is a major factor in the success or failure of the business?" but I wasn't getting any good answers.

Off the top of my head, I'm thinking pharmaceuticals, maybe some startups that operating at the boundaries of the law, international trade, government contractors, but honestly I haven't the slightest clue.

Thanks for your help.

[Definitely Not North]

Ceteris paribus? You are going to be the most popular kid in your section for sure

Lawyers are a cost center for companies. You’re far better off getting an MBA if you want to impact the business in a way where you’re ~creating value~. You’ll probably make more money long run that way too. Otherwise probably internal deal counsel at banks. Loan/etc. contract is the product being sold. But all the complicated stuff gets farmed out to external finance counsel (me) anyway. So yeah get an MBA and don’t google dumb latin phrases to sprinkle into sentences it’s super cringey to actual lawyers

[Anonymous User]

I'd worry more about the LSAT and getting admitted for now. Joint degrees are ok but often a bit if an extra money making arrangement between the schools.

[johndhi]

yes, there are. IMO probably this order:
-sketchy/questionable industries where it isn't even clear if they're legal, like cannabis or cryptocurrency
-highly regulated industries like banking, pharma, healthcare -- if lawyers fuck up here it's a big problem
-highly regulated adjacent (like healthcare vendors, fintech)
-tech companies with weird novel issues like facebook / companies who get a ton of bad press and slack in the media, if lawyers fuck up it's a big problem

generally companies where if the lawyers fuck up it's a big problem, I'd say lawyers are 'more important.' if a lawyer messes up a contract for a shoe company it isn't as big a deal as if it's a contract with Medicare.

[fearless16]

I'm in healthcare and would definitely say we have a huge impact on business success.

Also, please don't throw around random Latin terms while you're a law student. The poster above who mentioned that you'll be the most popular person in your class was, I believe, being facetious.

[el madrileno]

If I'm remembering the characters from Succession correctly, one of the insiders is the company's general counsel. HBO hasn't led me astray yet, so I'd add tv news mega corp to johndhi's list if you would think Fox is distinguishable from Facebook.