In this article, Interlink Recruitment joins Bhavisha Mistry, General Counsel and Company Secretary at Mawdsleys for an insightful Q&A, providing great insights into her role as an In-House Lawyer. Mawdsleys is a global pharmaceutical wholesaler and service provider, with an In-House Legal Team working to provide the best legal solutions on a variety of matters. In this Q&A we find out more about the benefits of working in-house, their use of technology and the key attributes they look for in future hires.
Q: What are the best aspects of your role working in-house?
A: Learning about an industry and off people within that industry.
Q: How is working in-house at a business different to working in a law firm?
A: You have an in depth knowledge of the business and fundamentally the people within the business. You will be advising within multiple practice areas and on a variety of matters. Adaptability is key as you have to tailor your approach to the business.
Q: How do you evaluate your success as an in-house Lawyer?
A: I measure it based on who comes to me without asking. Success is if you have built a strong enough relationship with someone that they feel comfortable approaching you for advice without being told to do so, and willingly want to.
Q: What management style do you use when handling a staff of Lawyers?
A: I like to give staff the best possible practical experience and the only way to do that is to let them get on with tasks but with the knowledge that I am there to support with my experience and knowledge whenever they like.
Q: What practice areas do you cover in-house?
A: Mainly Commercial, Corporate, Property and Intellectual Property.
Q: What do you do to control costs or reduce outside spending in the law department?
A: We try and be resourceful using our in-house legal and non-legal expertise. However, when something is outside of scope we will use external law firms and the key is the best law firm for the job. Good instructions and information provision can help to reduce those external costs.
Q: How has technology changed the way you work and helped to keep things uniform within the department?
A: Easier dissemination of information particularly around training of staff (using Sharepoint). Empower non-legal staff by making templates accessible without amending key legal points.
Q: How do you ensure your team remains collaborative, if the staff are working from home?
A: On a practical level good communication (Teams is really good to assist with informality) but also working with wider teams and not in silo, sharing tasks within a project with legal and non-legal staff
Q: What are the key attributes of a great legal department?
A: Solutions driven and innovative
Q: What are three qualities for a Lawyer to have in order to be more suited to a position working in-house?
A: People skills, commerciality, pragmatism
From everyone here at Interlink Recruitment we would like to thank Bhavisha Mistry for taking the time to answer our questions, providing great insights into her role. We are very fortunate to work with legal professionals across a variety of sectors and industries and hope this Q&A inspires others to consider in-house legal roles. We look forward to continuing to be a part of incredible journey of Mawdsleys.