Team Insights – Lauren Cannon

This month and to coincide with the celebration of International Women’s Day, the spotlight is on Lauren Cannon, a co-founder of IHLS. Lauren’s background is in banking and corporate finance but whilst working in-house, Lauren saw the opportunity to found a business which provides outsourced legal in-house legal services to businesses as an extension of their in-house legal teams, or as their whole legal function – with a mission to offer businesses access to a dependable, experienced, and budget-friendly outsourced legal team with a deep understanding and personal experience of in-house legal dynamics.

My role at IHLS

Like anyone who owns and runs a business, my role these days is to wear many hats and swap them often!  I still have a hand in legal work for the businesses I support as part of their internal legal function, which can range across many types of commercial agreements, but much of my work today is running and growing IHLS as a business.  This can be managing relationships with our wonderful clients, continuing to build our brand as we develop new business relationships to bring in work and, crucially, support and grow our people who are our most important asset.  I am the firm’s training principal, meaning I am responsible for our trainee solicitors and solicitor apprentices and as a law firm owner, I must ensure we are meeting our regulatory requirements.  No two days are the same!

What is your prior experience and why did you choose to pursue a career as an in-House solicitor?

My legal career started at Allen & Overy in London where I qualified and then practised in the banking and global loans team, before becoming an in-house corporate finance legal counsel at international investment bank, Commerzbank AG.

I have been lucky to have had opportunities to work in different jurisdictions, in Milan, Frankfurt and New York, which I really enjoyed.   Experience of cross-border working is important for our business as we have operations on a global scale, notably with our opening of operations in APAC last year, and most of our clients are international.

Why its important to work with other departments (e.g tech, marketing, operations )solicitors and paralegals in the company?

Everyone at IHLS has a key role to play.  We are not just lawyers – our team comprise administration, operations, marketing and legal tech and every person is a valued team member that keeps the business running and growing and makes IHLS the business it is today.  Similarly we have a range of lawyers from paralegals, trainees, solicitors and senior solicitors who have in-house legal experience themselves or who have developed their careers with us as an external in-house lawyer. Giving back to those who are at the start of their careers, whether legal or otherwise, is a fundamental value of IHLS.  We coach, mentor and support our juniors to develop in their careers in an industry which is just getting more competitive and harder to access.  Notably, many people think that to work with the largest global businesses or in the financial services industry with banks and funds can only be achieved through a career in the City of London but we challenge this by providing our lawyers with access to this work from the North West instead.

What do you like about your role?

There are many challenges to running a business but I enjoy that I get to work with such a wonderful group of people every day – this is the team that we have grown but also we have fantastic clients who we always remain grateful to for continuing to trust us with their legal problems and work.  We also partner with many third parties such local universities, specialist suppliers and contractors who are all part of our “village” – the people we rely on to keep us running smoothly.  I am a mother of three – a son, a daughter and a sausage dog, and the one lesson I have learned along the journey of being a parent and a business owner is that having the right support around you is crucial for success.

I am also a trustee for the British Suzuki Music Association (a charity that supports the learning of musical instruments – nothing to do with motorbikes!) and I am a director of the Liverpool Law Society.  Together these roles make my days busy but always varied and interesting and help me grow as a business owner.

What advice would you give to aspiring in-house law professionals?

Network as early on as you can – I probably didn’t do this enough as a junior lawyer.  Networking can be daunting but often most people are feeling the same so being brave enough to just get there can be the biggest challenge.  Once you are there, inevitably someone will make you feel welcome!  You will always be made to feel welcome at an IHLS event so if you see one, sign up!