As part of its professional ethics programme, the Law Society of England and Wales is working in partnership with the Inter-Disciplinary Ethics Applied Centre (IDEA) at the University of Leeds to create a new resource to support in-house solicitors.
Law Society president Nick Emmerson said:
“In-house solicitors are in a unique position, as both legal advisors and business advisors to their employers, which can often give rise to competing pressures and ethical dilemmas.
“We know ethics is a key topic the profession would like more support on. Over the past four months, the IDEA Centre has carried out research to identify the challenges faced by the in-house community, explore potential solutions and define the scope of the project.”
He added: “The next stage of the research will involve focus groups and one-to-one interviews with in-house solicitors, to explore the issues in greater detail and to inform the content of the framework.
“The new resource will be launched next year, with a view to creating a space to encourage conversations among in-house solicitors and their non-solicitor colleagues.
“We hope this will prompt a broader conversation about ethical practice in the in-house profession and encourage in-house solicitors to share their experiences via a network where they can develop collaborative approaches and foster greater solidarity in the profession.”
Dr Jim Baxter, professional ethics consultancy team leader at the IDEA Centre, said:
“In-house solicitors face a distinctive set of ethical challenges due to their unique position within organisations, and the need to wield influence while maintaining independence.
“We’ve learned a lot already through the research and are looking forward to putting this knowledge into practice by developing a set of tools and resources that can support and empower the in-house community in meeting their ethical challenges. This is not just about helping individual solicitors, but also about contributing to a sense of collective solidarity – a self-identifying, vibrant community – in the profession as a whole.”
Find out more about the Law Society’s professional ethics programme.
Phase two of the project is taking place from September 2024. If any of our in-house members would like to take part, please contact Dr Jim Baxter at: j.d.baxter@leeds.ac.uk.
IDEA Centre conducted an extensive literature review, as well as in-depth expert interviews with experienced in-house solicitors from across industries and sectors, at different seniority levels and conducted an online survey.