What is the biggest surprise to you working in-house counsel?

Working in-house, the most significant change I experienced was the limited resources available in the legal department. As a result, a substantial amount of time was devoted to tasks beyond legal practice, such as Pro Bono work, marketing, submitting awards, professional development, hiring, and various other responsibilities, all of which were managed by the lawyers themselves. Although you're no longer constrained by hourly billing, it's challenging to allocate sufficient time to your core job responsibilities.

Biggest surprise working in-house: The variety of different subject matters you need to learn, master, communicate, and execute-all for the same corporate client.  You may be hired as one type of in-house lawyer but your organization and its culture will most likely transform you into a diverse practitioner...OK to be surprised at the start but embrace the ability to grow and transform.

The tension and pressure is different but still there compared to private practice. In house transition to me was like making junior partner at a law firm. Suddenly, you are expected to be able to navigate multiple projects spanning different subject matter areas at a time, spotting new legal issues and pulling in the right experts for the right tasks. Time management and efficiency becomes even more key given the cost center structure of Legal, and this translates into an even more rigorous analysis of risk and prioritisation of tasks and critical action items that drive the business forward not back.