In-House Counsel
In-House Counsel are lawyers who work as legal professionals within a corporation.
In-House Counsel are often an integral part of the management team and as such are directly involved in the decision making processes of the corporation. These jobs can lead to management positions.
The in-house legal department would usually deal with all commercial matters for the corporation; litigious matters would normally be outsourced to private firms.
Most corporations do not offer Supervised Workplace Traineeships; lawyers generally move into corporate counsel after a few years practicing at a major firm. These roles are often attractive as they do not usually have the personal budget pressures that private firms do.
Some government departments also have in-house legal divisions.
A small sample of corporations with in-house legal departments is below. This list is by no means conclusive - it is intended to give you an idea of the types and diversity of firms with legal departments.
ABC
ACP Magazines Ltd
Amcor Limited
Asset Co Management Pty Ltd
Austar
Australian Unity
Australia Post
Bell Financial Group Ltd
BHP
BlueScope Steel
Boart Longyear
Caltex Australia Legal Team
Fairfax Media
Herald & Weekly Times
Medibank Private Limited
Mobil Oil Australia Pty Ltd
NAB
Network 7
Schindler Lifts Australia Ltd
Siemens Ltd
Special Broadcasting Service Corporation
Sinclair Knight Merz
Southern Cross View
Telstra
Transpacific Industries Group Ltd
University of Melbourne.
Vodafone Australia Pty Limited
Wagners
Woolworths Legal Team
The Australian Corporate Lawyers Association has further information about the world of the corporate counsel.
Australian Securities Company