In other words legal advisors are in-house lawyers, as compared to attorneys and advocates, who provide their services to the public as a whole rather than to an employer.
Most legal advisors are former attorneys or advocates who want to go into a corporate environment. Therefore, the requirements and training for legal advisors are the same as for advocates and attorneys.
Apart from general characteristics like ambition, dedication and a disciplined approach, a legal advisor also needs to possess special characteristics and skills including:
- Honesty, decisiveness and integrity
- Being objective in a matter
- Being able to distinguish facts from irrelevant detail
- Confidence
- The ability to solve problems
- Exceptional communication skills
- Discretion, diplomacy and tact
- Working well under pressure
As a legal advisor you can work for large companies or organisations, central, provincial or local government, law schools, legal aid societies, be self-employment or work in private practice.