Diploma in In-House Practice

Programme objectives

On completion of this training programme, participants will have:

• An understanding of the mixed role of the in-house practitioner;
• Up-to-date knowledge of commercial contracts and how to successfully negotiate and draft;
• An insight into legal risk management influencing skills;
• An insight into the critical role of compliance within an organisation;
• An ability to recognise when data protection issues arise in an in-house context; and
• A greater understanding of employment and human resource management and the issues and difficulties faced by the in-house practitioner.

Programme structure and approach to learning

This course is designed to provide in-house lawyers or aspiring in-house lawyers with a comprehensive understanding of the varied, challenging, and stimulating work that confronts those working in business and in the public sector. The in-house role has evolved from a traditional role of ‘head of legal’ to a more dynamic, high-level and business-oriented position. Feedback confirms that the in-house lawyer is obliged to ‘wear many hats’ and negotiate with a variety of stakeholders. Participants will recognise the varied role of the in-house lawyer and the many business and interpersonal skills that the position requires, and they will assess how to best manage business expectations while juggling the competing interests of various stakeholders.

The course examines a number of substantive legal topics that confront in-house counsel, such as setting up and managing an in-house function, ethics, privilege, commercial contracts, employment, compliance, governance, procurement, and data protection.

Modules

Module 1: The role of the in-house lawyer - risk, privilege, strategy

• Introduction to the role of in-house lawyer,
• Ethics,
• Mixed role of in-house lawyer,
• Legal risk management,
• Setting up and managing an in-house function,
• Privilege in an in-house context,
• Managing external counsel and budget.

Module 2: Essential negotiation and commercial contracts

• Essential negotiation and commercial contracts,
• Introduction to negotiation,
• Drafting and negotiating contracts,
• Best practices and pitfalls in commercial agreements,
• Fundamental legal contract provisions,
• Intellectual property in the in-house context,
• E-commerce and software contracts,
• Dispute resolution.

Module 3: Compliance

• Compliance,
• Role of compliance officer,
• Effective drafting of policies and procedures,
• Companies Act 2014,
• Compliance and the company secretarial function,
• Procurement law and practice,
• Appointments to public bodies,
• Governance: Director’s duties, role of the Non-Executive Director,
• ESG reporting obligations,
• GEDI.

Module 4: Technology and AI

• Data protection, technology and AI,
• In-house data protection issues,
• How to deal with data breaches,
• The use of AI in an in-house context,
• Transforming legal operations: future tech tools for in-house lawyers,
• The future of legal practice.

Module 5: Employment law and litigation

• Employment law and litigation,
• Human resource management,
• Commercial Court,
• Discovery.

Find out more and apply