The In-House Lawyer: Duties and Tensions (SC)

At the most basic level, it is easy to conceive of the role of a general counsel -- whether in a corporation, a government agency, or a non-profit -- as giving advice to the entity and its agents on what the law requires, and what it prohibits. In practice, the general counsel is rarely called upon, or even able, to provide a simple up or down judgment about a proposed course of action. This course will examine the duties and tensions that attend the role of general counsel and of in-house counsel more broadly as managers of legal risk, and in the course of doing so, will examine a number of important topics that will provoke thoughtful students to a deeper examination of the role of lawyers more generally.