Critical Analysis for Internal Attorneys
Image source: Pexels.com
In-house solicitors are being requested to operate for their companies in a “more strategic” manner more and more. It takes more than just being a superb attorney to thrive. The company desires more. They want you to approach things in a “strategic” and “part of the business” manner. This actually indicates that they would like you to use more critical thinking. Regretfully, there is no instruction on this subject at law school. The fortunate ones sort of work it out along the way. The others require assistance. Thankfully, you can acquire the skill of critical thinking.
First, let’s clarify what is meant by “critical thinking.” Although in-house lawyers should have a strategic approach to legal concerns, the company isn’t really asking for that. They desire something more expansive. The act of methodically analysing, synthesising, and assessing information is known as critical thinking, and it requires two things: (a) the capacity for reasoned, logical thought, and (b) the desire to challenge and reevaluate your presumptions, convictions, and conclusions. When you work in-house, it indicates that you are doing more than just identifying “legal” problems; rather, you are considering the company’s business goals and objectives from a strategic standpoint. To be a critical thinker, you need to have a legal degree and become a businessperson rather than merely an employee of a firm.
The following steps will assist you in honing your critical thinking abilities:
Get familiar with the industry
Without a firm grasp of the business, including a) how your company earns money, b) its goods and services, c) its significant clients and suppliers, d) its rivals, and e) its business plans and strategy, it is impossible to engage in critical thinking. Depending on what resources you have available to you, you can begin mastering these subjects in the following ways:
Examine business plans and strategy documents from the company.
Examine all press announcements and public filings from the company, if any. Examine the open filings of the primary rivals of your business.
Go over the board slides.
Request to see product and service demos from the company.
Ask the leaders of various staff groups and business divisions about the market, their rivals, their strategy, and other topics throughout your meeting.
Find and read blogs, newsletters, and other publications related to the sector.
Ask someone working in finance to go over the company’s most recent financial statements with you and offer their analysis of the company’s market positioning and recommendations for improving profitability or competitiveness.
Be broadly well-read; that is, read for pleasure and information. Read a few credible newspapers each day—not all the stories, but at least skim the headlines for anything that might be relevant to your company.
Develop your sense of finance
In the corporate world, critical thinking necessitates a fundamental understanding of finance.
An MBA is not required, but you must be at ease with numbers and have a solid understanding of the financial statements of your organisation, particularly the following:
Statement of Profit and Loss.
Statement of cash flow.
sheet of balances.
Any metrics the business use to assess its performance, such as “EBITDA.”
Set aside time for reflection
You have to step back from simply managing your team’s operations and crossing tasks off your to-do list in order to be a critical thinker. You must set out time on your calendar for 15 to 30 minutes each day (or once a week) to just ponder over a new issue, something you’ve read, or any other relevant topic. As you consider, you should consider the business as a whole.
What’s at stake? Who takes part? Which possibilities are there? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each path? Asking yourself these kinds of questions can provide you a deeper understanding of the problem.
Look for positions with strategic responsibility
Look for opportunities in strategic projects to avoid being stuck in situations where your main focus is on legal issues. Every organisation is always working on cross-functional strategic projects, which are significant initiatives involving personnel from various departments. As soon as you have the chance, enroll in one of these, particularly if it is focused on long-term planning or corporate strategy. Simply by being a member of such a team, you will learn a lot.
Don’t forget to put in a lot of effort to go above and beyond your position as a legal department observer seeking to provide legal advice. While you should be doing that, you should also be attempting to integrate yourself into the corporate plan and conversation. Make sure you are organised, focused, and fulfil your commitments. You’ll probably need to put in a little more effort and be willing to offer your assistance if needed for this.
Quit speaking in legalese.
Take up business-like writing and speaking styles. This entails doing away with the convoluted and esoteric terminology that many solicitors enjoy using. Suppose you want your peers to view you as more than just an attorney.
Resources are limited and the sky is not always falling. A critical thinker weighs risks sensibly and is aware of the realities of the environment they live in.
Pose pertinent queries
Having a set of questions that you can use to analyse any issue and see it as more than just a legal one is helpful when trying to be a critical thinker. To get you started, consider the following questions (you can make your own list):
Who is affected by this?
What is the company attempting to achieve with this? In what way may I assist?
Is value creation or destruction maximised or minimised by this?
What role does this play in the business plan?
What are the short- and long-term effects of doing this?
What advantages and disadvantages come with doing this? What is the estimated cost?
Will this cause resentment among vendors or customers?
Is there a chance that this will harm the company’s value or reputation if it becomes public or goes “bad”?
Who needs to know about this in the company?
Achieving all of the above is not simple. However, you have to start somewhere. You can gradually incorporate more of the ideas and procedures outlined above if you have a framework to work within. Instead of just looking at how to resolve legal issues, start by considering how to do so in the context of the company’s entire business strategy.at them as separate, legal matters. you are starting to think critically when you start thinking in this manner.
0