Meet the team: Tracy Lake, Partner in Commercial – from in-house to private practice

In our latest Meet the Team series, we introduce you to Tracy Lake, Partner in the Commercial team. Tracy shares why she chose a career in law and her experience of working in-house.

What first attracted you to a career in law?

I didn’t actually consider a career in law until I was working in the in-house legal department in an administrative role at Severn Trent Plc in 1991. I’d studied for A’ Levels at sixth form college and, towards the end of my A-Levels, my mum was diagnosed with breast cancer, so I postponed going to university and got a job at Severn Trent, where I thought I’d spend 6-12 months before going to university to do a degree in Business Studies.

I was inspired by the lawyers at Severn Trent, many of whom I’m still friends with today, to become a lawyer after seeing the nature and variety of the work they undertook (including property law, litigation, commercial and corporate law). I found it all so interesting and enjoyed using my communication and analytical skills when assisting colleagues with their caseloads.

I spoke with the Head of Legal there to say that I was intending to leave to undertake a law degree; he encouraged me to stay and study law part-time whilst also learning “on the job”, with support and training from colleagues. So, that’s what I did. It was hard work, studying and working full-time in a large organisation but the experience and support I got was fantastic. I went on to progress my career in the legal team at Severn Trent, working my way up to management level over the course of the 17 years I was there, before leaving to join National Grid in 2008.

Having spent many years in-house for some large national organisations, how do you think that in-house lawyers tackle matters differently from private practice lawyers?

I don’t think there’s a “one size fits all” approach to being an in-house lawyer, as it depends on the size of the organisation. Some in-house lawyers are sole counsel, and their roles require them to deal with all aspects of law, whilst others work in large organisations, such as the FTSE 100 companies I worked in, where the legal team is in effect a small law-firm, with lawyers specialising in various areas of law.

Regardless of the size of the organisation however, I think the biggest difference for me in the way that in-house lawyers tackle matters is how early on during a matter the lawyer gets involved, which can have a big impact upon the success of a matter.

In my experience, an in-house lawyer truly understands the business they work for, is involved in a project or piece of work much earlier than an external lawyer and can therefore assist with the commercial aspect of the matter before legal issues are even considered.

This can be a great use of the lawyer’s commercial acumen and business skills and can save the organisation – the client – time and costs later down the line. I suppose, for me, it’s the difference between being considered as a valued colleague or business partner and a “service provider”. That’s not to say, however, that external lawyers cannot become colleagues or business partners and be considered an extension of the in-house legal team; the best law firms do this well.

What made you decide to switch from working in-house to joining a law firm?

I did consider a move to private practice earlier in my career. However, I had a husband and two young children who I wanted to spend quality time with and working in a law firm just wasn’t as flexible for women as it is on the whole these days!

As an in-house lawyer, I was able to work flexibly, starting work at 8am each day and leaving the office twice a week at 2.30pm to collect my boys from school, which was very important to me – at the time, such working patterns were not available at law firms, so far as I could see.

Of course, there were times when I needed to log on after the boys’ bedtimes in the evening to work and I worked very hard, but the flexibility allowed me to have a career that I love and be the wife and mum I wanted to be. My move into private practice wasn’t until 2018 when I joined a large national firm with a Birmingham office, by which time my “boys” were 19 and 14 and needed me in different ways to when they were younger – and by which time law firms were adopting more flexible ways of working – so I thought I’d give private practice a go!

What important trends do you see in our industry?

In terms of how law firms work, I’ve seen an upward and positive trend in inclusion and diversity, including flexible working for both men and women, which I think is great for attraction and retention of talent, as well as for society in general.

A key trend is also the use of technology – law firms are now more innovative in their use of technology, from day-to-day operations to things like contract automation, use of the best legal resources for research and customer relationship management systems.

There is also the increasing trend of traditional law firms needing to compete with “alternative law firm” models, such as consultant, boutique or dispersed firms. Clients now have more choice in who they use for legal services and law firms need to be able to compete.

From your experience what is the biggest issue you think in-house lawyers are currently facing?

One of the biggest issues in-house lawyers face is managing budget – there is a finite legal budget to spend on external counsel and in-house teams need to ensure that they are getting the best service and value, as well as any added-value services such as training and legal updates.

As well as this, in-house lawyers face the challenge of maintaining a proactive role as strategic advisors and business partners to the organisation they work in, rather than merely a “service line” or “service provider”. This means that they need to build good relationships with colleagues in order to understand and anticipate the businesses’ operational plans and objectives. This is not always easy when trying to also “do the day job”!

What would be your go-to productivity trick to share with in-house lawyers?

Build time in your calendar – i.e., block out periods of time, for example two hours per week – to focus on strategy and on building and maintaining relationships with commercial colleagues so that you understand their priorities and timescales. This will enable you to plan how to best to support them.

What is your most memorable legal experience? And why?

When I was at Severn Trent Water, I was involved in the legal work surrounding the “Worcester Incident” in 1994, when drinking water was contaminated and affected around 120,000 people in Worcester.

It was a major incident for Severn Trent, and indeed for the water industry, and my memories are of the legal team being called upon to advise the Board on its legal obligations and assist with the operational processes that were put into play to ensure that customers were supplied with bottled water.

We were also logging complaints from customers and advising on compensation entitlement and subsequently dealing with the litigation against Severn Trent by the National Rivers Authority, now the Environment Agency, as well as the legal action that Severn Trent subsequently took against the business that discharged chemicals into a sewer which caused the drinking water to be polluted. It was important to deal with the legal issues quickly and effectively so that the business could react accordingly.

What would you advise a young person who is comparing either an in-house or law firm career path?

Consider both. Some young people do not consider working in-house; some are not aware that it is even an option – but many organisations now offer training contracts. Try to find people in your network who will speak to you about their experiences of working both in-house and in private practice and ask if they can offer some work experience. Most lawyers will find time to help young people with developing their careers – they were in the same position once!