On the Role of in – House Counsel in Business Entity

Abstract

The article deals with the problematic issue of the real role of the staff legal adviser of the entrepreneurial companies in modern Russia. The author raises the issue of the absence of legislative consolidation of the in-house counsel status. After analyzing the current legislation, the author comes to two main conclusions. In particular, the mission of in-house counsel may consist in seeking to ensure that an economic entity obtains legitimate means of large revenues, or the foreground is the desire of in-house counsel to ensure compliance with the law and order in the internal and external activities of this entity. The author notes the absence of the section on preparation for legal work, during the training of lawyers in high school, in the modern course of business law. The author, emphasizing the legal blurriness and uncertainty of the in-house counsel status, comes to the conclusion that the legal relationship with the employer and with the supervisory bodies has a negative impact on the professional relationship of inhouse counsel, which in turn affects the evaluation of the attractiveness of the position of in-house counsel of the business structure in the eyes student-lawyer. In addition, after analyzing the current legislation on the legal department (General Counsel, in-house counsel), the author comes to the conclusion that it is necessary, through scientific research, to determine whether the legal counsel is performing publicly legal tasks, which may lead to the need to develop an appropriate legislative act.