Who is a Legal Counsel?
Lawyers who work in-house at organizations, provides legal advice and guidance on matters related to law are known as legal counsel. They help you review and draft all the legal documents, manage and legal risks faced by the organization, conduct negotiations on behalf of the organization as well. They also help ensure the legal compliance of the organization. One notable example is Douglas Healy who counseled many companies like National Steel of America etc.
Some of their tasks and duties are:
- They interview the clients to determine the issues faced by them and recommend them with appropriate course of legal action.
- Reviewing and drafting of contracts as well as other legal documents for the organization.
- Represents their clients or organization in the court.
And many more tasks and duties are performed by the legal counsel for the organization which they are representing.
Who is a Lawyer?
A lawyer is a person who practices law but is not as a paralegal (employed or retained by a lawyer) or charter executive secretary (qualified lawyer by as professional body). He practices law as an advocate, attorney at law, barrister, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicitor and many more other positions.
Working as a lawyer or attorney means the practical application of the abstract legal theories and the knowledge to solve the problems of their clients related to matters of law. Role of lawyer varies according to the different legal jurisdictions as well.
Lawyers are mostly solicitors as well as barristers. You can choose whichever is required for your legal problems/issues.
Difference between Legal Counsel and Lawyer
Below mentioned are the five points which shows the difference between a legal counsel and a lawyer:
| Legal Counsel | Lawyer |
| Legal Counsel is one of the job occupations of being a Lawyer. | A lawyer can be a legal counsel, solicitor, barrister, counselor, civil law notary and many more. |
| Legal Counsel only provide legal advice and guidance to their clients. They don’t help them to solve their legal issues. | On the other hand, a lawyer not only gives legal advice and guidance to their client but also helps them to resolve their legal problems or issues as well. |
| Having an in-house legal counsel is more stable than having a private lawyer as they are only working one client at a time. | On the other hand, a lawyer has more than one client. So, their time with their clients is divided and they are not available when you need them if they are with their other client. |
| Legal counsel doesn’t help their client in any kind of business development. | While on the other hand, a lawyer helps their client with their business development while helping them solve their legal issues. |
| Legal counsel is just a small part about being a lawyer. | While a lawyer is a whole person who can work in different law occupations. |
These were some of the differences which you can see between a legal counsel and a lawyer. Legal counsel is one of the practice areas for a lawyer. A lawyer selects which practice area he/she wants to pursue for the future of their career.