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CCCA_V2No3_GrassGreener-FIN.qxd:CCCA_V1No1_DriversSeat-FIN.qxd 9/18/08 3:04 PM Page 31 Feature S o — how’s your career going? based Methanex Corporation, the world’s largest methanol pro- Are you maybe toiling under the tyranny of the billable hour ducer and marketer, by the prospect of blending his legal skills with in a major law firm and dreaming of a job that isn’t measured in the business management skills he was learning as an MBA student. six-minute increments? Or are you beavering away in-house and For him, the biggest benefits of being in-house are being close itching to tackle those complex files that keep getting shipped off to decision making, feeling ownership of his work, and seeing the to outside counsel? Has that once-exciting position, no matter results. “When you’re in private practice, you don’t see things to where it is, lost some of its luster? a conclusion,” he says. If the challenges have become ho-hum, or the little annoyances While the transition went smoothly, Chan still had plenty to have grown into grizzly-sized bugbears, a change of scenery can learn, from a broad understanding of all the legal issues that affect look awfully seductive. But does the promise of greener pastures the company’s daily dealings to the nuts of bolts of the methanol really measure up? Six lawyers who recently made the switch industry. “You have to thoroughly understand all parts of the busi- from in-house to private practice — or vice versa — offer insight ness, so that when you provide the advice, you are giving it with- into the pros and cons of life on either side of the fence, and even in the right context,” he explains. dispel a few myths along the way. One particular challenge was coming to grips with a very differ- Traditionally, if any lawyers were gazing longingly at the ent attitude to risk than he’d encountered in private practice. “Part neighbouring field, it was overworked counsel in private practice of it is analyzing and understanding where to minimize risk or to even if it meant a smaller paycheque and a drop in prestige. mitigate risk, but at the same time to understand that business is all But today, the traffic can move in either direction, as some about risk,” says Chan. “Without risk, there is no reward.” lawyers are shifting from in-house positions to private practice. A desire for change also drove Terry Livermore’s move in- house. After three decades of law firm life, most recently as a part- Into the house ner with Bennett Jones LLP, the real estate specialist realized that Jeremy Chan was lured from Miller Thomson LLP to Vancouver- the only aspect of his practice that had changed over the past 20 Where the By Julie grass is Stauffer greener ROBERT KARPA AUTOMNE 2008 CCCA Canadian Corporate Counsel Association 31