Law firm to in-house: interim as a bridge

Short answer: The move from law firm to in-house is easier if you first try in-house work through an interim assignment: you experience the company's way of working, decision paths and practice areas before you commit. Professional rules matter: in Germany, legal work for an employer requires admission as a Syndikusrechtsanwalt (in-house counsel admitted to the bar, § 46a BRAO); the Federal Court of Justice has ruled it out for lawyers leased to a law firm and acting externally. In Switzerland, in-house lawyers employed by a company that is not itself registered cannot be entered in the bar register (Art. 8 BGFA).

This guide is for law firm lawyers in Switzerland and Germany considering a move into a legal department. It explains what changes in-house, how an interim assignment works as a trial run, which skills count and what applies to bar admission and registration.

What changes in a legal department

In a legal department you have a single client, your own company, and you share responsibility for decisions rather than only advising. That changes the pace, depth and form of your work.

Way of working	Law firm	Legal department
Client	Many clients, each with its own instruction	One company with many internal stakeholders
Measuring output	Often by hours and matter budget	By impact: risk reduced, business enabled, deadlines met
Form of advice	Detailed memo, full analysis	Short recommendation with risk and options
Breadth	Specialised in one area of law	Broad range; specialist questions go to outside counsel
Responsibility	Advice to the client, who decides	Shared responsibility for the decision and its implementation
Role towards law firms	Service provider	Instructing client: briefing, budget, oversight
Rhythm	Driven by transactions and proceedings	Driven by business processes, projects and reporting cycles

The comparison is a simplification; the size and culture of the legal department shape daily work heavily. A small team demands more of a generalist than a large group legal function.

Interim as a trial run: testing the in-house role

An interim assignment is a trial run with a real brief: you work in a legal department for a few months, for example as parental leave cover, on a contract project or on a transaction. Afterwards you know whether the role suits you.

Start close to your practice: corporate lawyers find it easier to start on an M&A or corporate housekeeping project; contract negotiators in commercial contracting.
Choose the model: in staff leasing you are employed by the staffing provider and integrated into the team. As a freelancer you work on your own responsibility within the agreed mandate. The differences are covered in Interim and project work for lawyers.
Set your own goals: what do you want to find out? For example, whether you prefer breadth to depth, or how you handle business decisions.
Ask for feedback: ask the head of legal and internal clients about your impact.
Decide: another interim assignment, a permanent role or a return to private practice. Moving to the client is possible: in Switzerland, clauses that make this harder are void (Art. 19(5) AVG); in Germany, hiring bans are invalid (§ 9(1) no. 3 AÜG).

Skills that count in-house

In-house, business understanding, prioritisation and clear communication count alongside legal quality. You bring many of these skills from private practice; make them visible in your profile.

Business understanding: how does the company make money, and which risks are acceptable?
Prioritisation and triage: what must be decided today, what can wait, what needs outside help?
Short, clear recommendations: one page instead of ten, with risk and proposal.
Negotiation and execution: not just reviewing contracts but closing them and embedding them in the business.
Managing outside counsel: briefing, budget, quality and invoice review.
Standardisation and tools: templates, approval processes, contract management systems.
Compliance basics: many legal departments share responsibility for data protection, anti-money laundering, sanctions or competition law.

How to evidence these skills in your CV with tasks and results is covered in CV and profile for interim assignments.

Bar admission, Syndikus status and the Swiss bar register

In Germany, admission depends on the employer and the nature of the work; in Switzerland, registration requires independent practice.

Germany: Syndikusrechtsanwalt

Employees doing legal work for a non-law-firm employer need admission as a Syndikusrechtsanwalt (§ 46(2), § 46a BRAO).
The work counts as legal work if it is professionally independent and has four features: examining legal questions, giving legal advice, shaping legal relationships and authority to act externally on your own responsibility (§ 46(3), (4) BRAO).
The bar association decides on admission after consulting the German Pension Insurance, which is then bound by that decision when exempting you from statutory pension insurance (§ 46a BRAO).
In agency work (Arbeitnehmerüberlassung), the provider is the employer. According to the Federal Court of Justice, a lawyer leased to a law firm and acting externally cannot be admitted either as a lawyer or as Syndikus (BGH, judgment of 20 March 2023, AnwZ (Brfg) 12/21). In-house counsel may only advise on their employer's legal matters (§ 46(5) BRAO). The court has not expressly ruled on corporate legal departments as hirers.

Switzerland: bar register

Employed lawyers may only be registered if their employer is itself entered in the register (Art. 8(1)(d) BGFA). In-house lawyers at a company without such an entry do not meet this condition. In Personalverleih (Swiss staff leasing), the provider is your employer.
A separate rule covers the in-house legal department in civil proceedings: since 1 January 2025, a company may refuse to produce documents of its in-house legal department in civil proceedings if, among other conditions, the department is led by a person holding a lawyer's licence (Art. 167a ZPO).

Before you move, ask your bar association or cantonal supervisory authority what happens to your admission or registration.

Alpinum Solutions provides legal and compliance professionals to companies in Switzerland, Germany and Austria through staff leasing and freelancing, part-time or full-time. If you already have a profile, you keep your documents and availability up to date in AlpinumHub.

Frequently asked questions about moving from law firm to in-house

Will I lose my bar admission if I work in-house?

It depends on the country and the model. In Germany, legal work for your employer requires Syndikus admission; the Federal Court of Justice has ruled it out for lawyers leased to a law firm and acting externally, and has not expressly decided the case of legal departments. Ask your bar association before the move what happens to an existing admission. In Switzerland, employed lawyers can only be registered if their employer is itself registered (Art. 8 BGFA).

How long does it take to adjust to a legal department?

It varies and depends on the size and culture of the legal department. The biggest changes usually concern the form of advice, the breadth of topics and shared responsibility for decisions. An interim assignment of a few months shows how quickly you adapt before you commit to a permanent role.

Can I work in-house on an interim basis as a self-employed lawyer?

Yes, through freelancing. You then work on your own responsibility within the agreed mandate. Watch your status: if you work under instructions and are integrated into the organisation, this may count as employment in Germany (§ 7 SGB IV) or as dependent work in Switzerland. More in Working as a freelance lawyer.

Which role suits a first interim assignment?

Starting is easiest in a role close to your practice: M&A and corporate for corporate lawyers, commercial contracting for contract lawyers, employment law during restructurings. Cover roles such as parental leave cover give the broadest view of day-to-day work but also demand the most generalist approach.

Next step

If you are considering a move in-house, create your profile and state your practice areas, preferred model and workload.

Last updated: 30 October 2026.

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From law firm to in-house: interim assignments as a bridge