Elevating In-House Legal Expertise
Approaching the mid-point of the year, Founder + Director Demetrio Zema, shares his 2024 highlights to date, and his thoughts on what sets an ‘in-house specialist’ apart from traditional private practice lawyers.
Demetrio Zema addresses General Counsel at The UK GC Summit, hosted by Law Squared x Law Ninjas in London on 21 May 2024.
With June only days away I am reflecting on what has been an extraordinary first half of 2024 for us at Law Squared. We've experienced tremendous growth, and are seeing increased possibilities and opportunities, as we continue to challenge the status quo.
Some of our highlights over the last few months include:
The launch of our Energy + Infrastructure practice group, supporting large scale renewable energy transition projects, focussing on land access and landholder engagement;
Growth of our UK presence including hosting a UK General Counsel Summit in London last week, which attracted over 80 in-house legal professionals;
Our Digital + Innovation team being engaged to work on digital transformation projects for our in-house legal team clients.
We’ve welcomed new team members across the firm with particular growth in our Law Squared as a Service (LSaaS) offering, ensuring we bolster our in-house legal specialist skills for our team and clients.
As in any modern and forward-thinking organisation, people are a critical part of business success. At Law Squared, central to our commitment to delivering responsive, specialist in-house legal support is continued investment in our people. Over the past 12 months, we’ve been fortunate to attract some remarkable in-house specialists to our already incredible team. Find out more about two of our latest key appointments here.
In today's tight talent market, finding those ‘in-house experts’ or firms that can truly act as an extension of your in-house legal team can be challenging. Four key attributes that I believe set in-house specialists apart from traditional private practice lawyers are:
Mindset Shift – In-house legal is not just about legalities; it’s about supporting the whole business to deliver commercial outcomes.
Practicality – Stakeholders need jargon-free, actionable advice, not long-winded, risk-averse legal memos.
Speed and Agility – Quick turnarounds are a must!
Seamless Integration – In-house lawyers need strong relationship management skills and the ability to readily adopt the business’ ways of working and systems.
As we approach June 30, many of you will come under even greater pressure to deliver more with less. With recruitment unlikely to be a quick fix, maintaining the status quo can lead to overloaded and burnt-out lawyers. If your team needs specialist in-house legal support to manage the overflow, please chat with us about Law Squared as a Service (LSaaS) in the lead-up to the end of the financial year.
Thank you once again to our clients, partners, and the wider Law Squared community for your ongoing support. We are ramping up for an exciting second half of the year and wish you well in the lead-up to EOFY.
Demetrio Zema
Founder + Director