<p>Now THERE’s a good question… In the modern corporate environment, no one is assured of continued employment. Companies are bought and sold, and the legal staffs can change just as the rest of the executive team can. A smart, young lawyer usually doesn’t have much trouble finding employment. It gets a little harder for smart OLD lawyers! An in-house counsel develops areas of expertise, just as a lawyer in a firm does. Some companies divide the legal department up by functional areas- i.e labor, contracts, acquisitions etc. My current company just has me and a paralegal. We outsource a lot. Some companies need a bunch of patent lawyers. If you have expertise in engineering and a law degree, there is never a problem getting a job as a patent lawyer.</p>