FROM AGRIBUSINESS TO PRIVATE PRACTICE
Transitioning from in-house counsel to a law firm as an associate (or even an intern) requires highlighting your commercial acumen, leveraging industry expertise, and utilizing specialized recruiters. Some of the key strategies include: updating your CV to emphasize transactional experience, expanding your network, and preparing for billable hour requirements.
What I did not know; coming from a world of gumboots, overalls and all manner of PPE, to suits and smart pants & shirts with clean, pretty shoes; was that I was not prepared. I had thought that perhaps having been admitted to the Bar already and working on the fringes of the legal world since then, I’d have mastered the protocols of being part of a law firm once more.
How mistaken I was.
When I believed that my time was drawing to a close on the farms I was accustomed to, I decided to start doing a bit of reading. How was I going to cleanly land the come back to the office? Not that I wasn’t in one before: I was not in one that involved court briefs and client files. I was more into the employees’ files & well-being, Standard Operating Procedures’ (SOPs) implementation of policies & procedures: you know, the ESG side of things. So used to walking around the farms was I, that it took me around 3 months to get used to the fact that either I was seated in Court; or seated in the office. Not under a tree shade 10 kilometers from the farm office; conducting a training session on one of the numerous policies I had drafted and was focused on seeing through.
Many detailed points came up during my research (and frankly, hesitation). I did not think I was going to coast into being an employee at a law firm easily. In fact, some of my former classmates and seniors in the profession had to coach me into going ‘corporate’; believing that I’d been too much into the other fun side of the legal sphere.
So, while I believed I was as ready as I could ever be (I had braced myself for impact earlier), I was truly not. See, the move from an agri-business ‘in-house counsel’ so to speak, was not as clear cut. I had juggled numerous roles; chief among them, being an ESG Manager. My law degree had saved me countless of times; but it could not be a buffer when governmental agencies were breathing down my neck. Practicing law actively at a law firm on a daily basis, and working with it outside such a setting, are very, very different scenarios.
Transitioning from an in-house or specialized agribusiness legal role to a private practice law firm requires bridging the gap between industry-specific operational knowledge and the fast-paced, client-facing environment of a law firm. Success, (and often times, stumbling along the way) lies in translating your specialized experience into highly sought-after, transferable skills, such as commercial awareness, risk management, and sector expertise. Here, I had a strong conviction that I could overcome whatever obstacles coming my way once at MMS Advocates. I was transferring my skills built over a decade in various fields, into one niche setting.
The key areas to highlight on your resume – that I had not done in a very long time – include:
- Land & Property Law: Conveyancing, leasing, and land acquisition.
- Contract Negotiation: Supply chain agreements, distribution, and partnerships.
- Regulatory Compliance: Environmental, health, and safety standards.
- Intellectual Property: Protection for agri-tech and agricultural innovations.
MMS Advocates already had a formidable team within its ranks, so joining the team would mean that I had to showcase myself in a different light – not too bright as to be offending – and bring on my A game. Because I had already known that one day I’d be back in a legal firm’s environment, I went to work. This, in turn, after numerous discussions with both current & former colleagues and friends, led me to narrow the various points I came across a bit more easily. As a guide to myself (and others in my previous or future position), I joined the dots. In sum, when you know you’re going to take the leap of faith, you could go about it like this:
1. Identify Your Transferable Skills (The Agribusiness Edge)
Law firms will not hire you just for your ability to manage internal stakeholders; they will hire you for your knowledge of the agricultural sector. I may have been a star manager in a farm in the outskirts of Kajiado and Naivasha, but I had to know how to transfer those qualities and skills to the law firm I was moving to.
- Map Your Skills to Firm Needs: Identify firms that need your specific background in land use, environmental regulation, water rights, supply chain contracts, or agribusiness investment. Look for regional, boutique, or mid-size firms with established Agricultural, Environmental, or Corporate departments. These firms often value deep industry knowledge over “big law” pedigree.
- Industry Niche: Highlight experience with environmental regulations, land-use law, water rights, commodity trading, supply chain contracts, or agricultural technology (AgTech).
- Commercial Acumen: Emphasize your ability to provide practical, cost-effective advice rather than just legal jargon.
- Risk Mitigation: Showcase how you managed complex risks (e.g., supplier failure, regulatory compliance).
- Leverage In-House Experience: Sell your understanding of “behind-the-scenes” business pressures, which law firms value for client management and advisory roles.
2. Tailor Your CV and LinkedIn for Private Practice
This cannot be emphasized enough. While it may seem repetitive in conversations both offline and online nowadays, your LinkedIn profile and your CV are the first 2 tools that any employer will look at. In that regard, they have to represent you fully.
- Move from Generalist to Specialist: Rewrite your experience to highlight specialized legal work rather than general corporate support. Use a combination format that balances your legal experience with your industry expertise, showcasing you as both a lawyer and a sector expert.
- Quantify Impact: Use metrics. Instead of “reviewed contracts,” use “Negotiated vendor contracts, reducing risk exposure by 20% and saving $50k annually.
- Highlight External Counsel Management: If you managed external law firms, this shows you understand the client-firm relationship.
- Translate Agribusiness Experience: Update your CV to highlight measurable achievements (e.g., “reduced supply chain legal risk by 15%”) rather than just listing duties.
- Highlight Key Transferable Skills: Emphasize skills like contract negotiation, regulatory compliance, risk assessment, and client relationship management.
3. Network Strategically
It may seem like a zero sum game to others, but for me, the networks I found myself in and created along the way for over a decade, did in fact help me get to MMS Advocates. The number of former colleagues who even contributed to this article are too many to list – as they span different companies and even countries, plus continents.
- Engage External Counsel: Your former (or future) outside counsel are your best resources. They know your work quality and can introduce you to hiring partners.
- Join & Leverage Agricultural Associations: Attend events for groups like the American Agricultural Law Association (or local equivalents) to meet lawyers specializing in the field. Participate in agricultural law sections of local or national bar associations to meet hiring partners.
- Leverage LinkedIn: Connect with partners in “Agriculture,” “Food & Beverage,” or “Environmental” practice groups. Use this platform – it was built for a reason – to sift through the hundreds of thousands of connections out there, and find your niche.
- Utilize Industry Connections: Reach out to colleagues, suppliers, and industry contacts in the agriculture sector who may be clients of (or know partners at) top firms.
- Engage Legal Recruiters: Use recruiters specializing in corporate or agricultural law, as they know firms seeking specialized, non-traditional talent.
4. Target the Right Firms & Close Gaps
Not only had I known that I would circle back to the law firm setting eventually, my mind had known a few years back that it might be MMS Advocates I would be back to1. Having this in mind, I knew whatever I brought to the proverbial legal table would be something either they already had and required beefing up; or something that they didn’t have in existence and that I would be responsible for ensuring it took off from the word go.
- Sector-Focused & Regional Firms: Look for mid-to-large firms with established agribusiness, food, or natural resources practices. Firms located in agricultural hubs often need deep sector expertise.
- Demonstrate Commercial Awareness: Prove you understand the current legal trends, such as sustainable farming, Agri-Tech, or international trade law, as these are critical to modern agribusiness law.
- Show Adaptability: Be prepared to demonstrate that you can handle the high-volume, deadline-driven, and competitive nature of a law firm.
- Consider Temporary/Contract Roles: If necessary, start in a contractor or consultant position within a law firm to “test-drive” the environment and prove your value.
5. Prepare for the Mindset Shift
This must have been the toughest bit for me (and still is in some aspects). While at my previous engagements, I worked in such a way that my salary checked in every month, whether I sat down with stakeholders or held 2 or 20 meetings. In a law firm, your development and billing is taken into serious account. At some point, sitting and engaging with people across a desk can only go so far.
Law firms; specifically, private ones; need their workforce to all pull together to get those cheques in. Being an associate in one, means your work is either doubled; or you’re held accountable on your contributions to the office set up.
- Billable Hours: Be ready to talk about time management, efficiency, and meeting billable targets, as this is the biggest transition from in-house.
- Business Development: Be prepared to discuss how you can help the firm win clients, either by bringing in your old employer as a client or leveraging industry contacts.
6. Consider Utilizing Legal Recruiters
Specialized legal recruiters can help navigate the “hidden market” for roles and help you bypass automated HR systems. They can also help bridge the gap if you are considered “too senior” to be an associate but lack a portable book of business.
While I did not necessarily need to go down this route, it helped that there was a recruitment company2 willing to help me in the event I required such services.
Common Pitfall: This is where the hardest pill to swallow came in. Do not assume your in-house seniority automatically equates to a partner position in a law firm. You may need to take a demotion of sorts; inversely, take a senior associate role to prove your ability to bill hours and generate business. Take me, for example: I have had to work as a junior advocate (in spite of almost clocking a decade as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya), and slowly climb up, as I had not practiced the law in the form most do. I may have been working with it for years, but I was not working in it, if the statement makes sense.
It has been both rewarding and eye-opening; having to start ‘afresh’ so to speak. I may have the years under my belt from the point of admission to the Roll of Advocates up until now; but I’m still learning the ropes on what it takes to be sharpened by a team of brilliant lawyers and advocates within a law firm. And it is going very well.
