Set for Success: Baljinder Singh Atwal

In this episode, Alumni Manager Nic Ashton is joined by Baljinder Singh Atwal, Senior Commercial Lawyer with West Midlands Police, and Chair of Birmingham Law Society In-House Committee. 

Baljinder discusses his choice to move to West Midlands Police making the move In-house and the work that he does with the Birmingham Law Society raising awareness of the opportunity and variety of working in-house.

Transcript

Hi everyone, and welcome back to the University of Law podcast. I'm Nick Ashton, Alumni Manager here at ULaw, and today I'm joined by Baljinder Singh. 

Baljinder studied the LPC MSC with us before going on to become a commercial lawyer for West Midlands Police. He's also involved with the Birmingham Law Society, supporting initiatives to help aspiring lawyers and promote the profession across the region. 

We'll be chatting about his journey into law, what it's really like working in-house, and how to build a successful legal career. Hi, Bal. Welcome. 

Baljinder Singh (Guest): Hello. Thanks for having me. 

My current role is senior lawyer for the commercial and property team, so I lead on all things commercial and property for WMP. 

The legal team at West Midlands Police is actually called Joint Legal Services. Not only do we act for West Midlands Police, but we also act for Staffordshire Police under a collaboration agreement. Day to day, I deal with all commercial property matters. What that translates to into a traditional private practice setting is, firstly, commercial property; secondly, general commercial; and then thirdly, public procurement. 

When I talk about commercial property, that's traditional property law. So, leases and licenses of police-owned property... anything from leases of police stations, training centers, and offices for staff, to even covert sites. 

General commercial is literally anything with a contract attached to it. This ranges from confidentiality agreements when we work with individuals and organizations, to collaboration agreements with other police forces, both regionally and nationally. For anyone into football, we have a lot of football clubs in the West Midlands region, so there are commercial contracts that sit behind each one of those. And for anyone that's interested in police documentaries, anything that involves West Midlands Police has a media contract behind it, and that's something we draft internally too. 

Last but not least is public procurement. As a public sector organization, any service or product that we purchase has to be according to procurement legislation. Anything from new stationery, new cleaning supplies, and police uniforms, to even body-worn camera purchasing and renewing... everything in between has to be done through procurement legislation. 

It is very different to the typical life of a private practice lawyer. 

Coming from a traditional private practice background, to be honest, you're not really told about what a career is like as an in-house lawyer or indeed a public sector lawyer during your typical education. So, for me, it was a breath of fresh air. 

I found it to be way more collaborative because the clients that you work with day to day are actually your colleagues as well. When you're working in a traditional law firm, there's a very formal structure of "us" the lawyers, and "them" the client on the other side, and any interaction is very formal and structured. But being in-house, you're working together on lots of different things. 

The other big thing working specifically for a police force is that there is a direct, positive benefit for absolutely everything we do. When you work in a traditional law firm, I think they use a lot of good marketing and fancy brochures in terms of CSR and pro bono. But absolutely everything we do day to day positively impacts the community that we serve. I think that was quite huge for me. 

The main catalyst for making the switch from private practice to the public sector was the pandemic. That was kind of the biggest driver. I'd gone from being in a traditional private practice setting to my job and the world going to their laptops overnight. As a qualified solicitor, I thought the experience was going to be exactly the same anywhere else I could work, so I decided to look at different options and roles available for a qualified lawyer. It just so happened at the time I was looking that the police were hiring. I thought, "this looks exciting, this looks interesting," and I've been there since. 

In the first few weeks and months, just being in a police headquarters made me realize that everything we do has a real, direct impact on the people we serve in the West Midlands. That's not something I really felt when I was going to work before. Just going to and from a typical law firm, you didn't really feel that tangible impact or that you were making a difference to people around you. I felt that as soon as I attended headquarters and jumped on the intranet. When you see the types of projects, schemes, and operations that we're working on, all of that has an impact on the people of the West Midlands. Straight away, I found that there was real value and real impact you could do with that legal work. 

There are some big misconceptions people have about working as an in-house lawyer as opposed to private practice. The first one is that some people perceive in-house as being an easier route, which is absolutely not the case. In-house can vary significantly based on the size of the organization, whether you're in the public sector, private sector, or different industry sectors... there is a whole list of different factors. It really depends on where you work, what you do, and your area of law. 

The second misconception is about going in-house generally. When I was a student and a trainee, it wasn't very much advertised, and it was perceived as a route only for the more experienced or senior lawyer. Nowadays, that is very much not the case. There are a lot of in-house organizations with very large legal teams, making them perfect environments for paralegals, trainees, SQE apprentices, and everything in between. 

Going in-house is just a completely different spin on a legal career. When you're working in a traditional law firm, you're very much taught that this specific area of law is what you're going to qualify into, and this is what you're going to do every single day. I remember working on matters in a previous life where, as soon as a different area of law came up, you'd have to pass it on to a colleague or send it out straight away. There was never this element of control that you could have on the matter to give your client that reassurance of, "don't worry, I'll be looking after this for you." Instead, it would be a case of, "X, Y, and Z will be looking after this part for you, I'm only going to be dealing with this discrete part." 

In-house, you have this almost professional freedom when it comes to matters. Depending on value and risk, you can choose to look at other aspects or project manage the matter to make sure it gets done. You deal with different areas of law and have a really close connection to your clients. And again, when you're in-house your clients are your colleagues, whereas in private practice you have many different clients who are only with you as long as your client care letter lasts... whether that's for one matter or ten. The relationship you have with clients in private practice can be quite at arm's length at times. 

What excites me most about working in-house is probably the subject matter of policing itself. I was never aware that you could work for a police force as a lawyer and not do criminal law, basically. That was something that stood out straight away... that you could be a lawyer and not work at a law firm. I think that concept is still quite powerful. When I speak to a lot of junior lawyers and aspiring lawyers, they don't realize there is an actual route for them outside of traditional firms, whether it's with a police force, a university, a local council, or a long list of organizations that have their own in-house legal function. 

I've definitely learned more about my areas of practice and about policing both internally and externally over the last 18 months. It's such a huge world that if you're not part of policing, you don't really understand how it works or how it operates. I am absolutely still enjoying it, which is why I'm still there. It feels like a massive sector that is constantly changing; anything in the news will impact policing. There's always stuff to learn and new people to meet because it's a large organization. 

In terms of skill sets, if you compare in-house to private practice, it is very much the same. If you want to practice property law or commercial law, the standard is still quite high. You've got to be a good lawyer... you've got to be able to draft, work with clients, communicate, and lead a team. Those core skills don't change. 

But in terms of mindset, if you want to work for an in-house legal function, what will put you in good stead is to actually care about the organization or the sector. If I wasn't interested in policing, law enforcement, and that element of it, I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much or stayed as long as I have. Anyone pursuing an in-house career should have a think about what the organization does, if you understand it, if you want to learn more, and if you're actually passionate about it. There's a whole host of different roles out there now... you can work for the government, a local police force, or even a local football club. The number of in-house roles available now is unbelievable. 

What drew me to the police specifically was that I still wanted to be in Birmingham. I was working in a Birmingham office for a global law firm, and I enjoyed being in the city center. It is a thriving hub for professionals with tons of networking opportunities through the Birmingham Law Society and the National Law Society. I knew I wanted to stay in the city center and I still wanted to practice property law, because that's what I qualified and trained in. This role was a quite unique opportunity where I could retain those legal skills around property law, but then be given the freedom to learn other areas of law. Policing generally is just one of those areas that absolutely impacts everyone. We will always need a police force, and the better professionals we have in there... whether it's in legal, accounting, estates, or as officers... the better it is generally for the public. 

On the area of community benefits, I've had the privilege of chairing the In-House Committee of the Birmingham Law Society for the last two years, after initially joining three years ago as a committee member. The Birmingham Law Society is one of the oldest law societies across the UK, having been running for about 200 years. We have a number of subcommittees functioning within it, doing different things for different demographics and groups in the region, such as an EDI committee and a gender committee. 

The main reason our In-House Committee exists is because 1 in 4 solicitors across England are now in-house. It's a massive chunk of the legal profession. What we realized historically was that there wasn't a community for in-house lawyers; if you wanted to go to events or training, it was all focused on private practice lawyers. We wanted to create a community and a space specifically for in-house lawyers, alongside tailored events and training. 

I'm very pleased to say that we've grown a really strong community. We have hosted several in-person events, and we maintain a very strong community on our private LinkedIn and WhatsApp groups. We've also collated a long list of training opportunities across the Birmingham and West Midlands region. If you're an in-house lawyer in the West Midlands, it is a one-stop shop for you. The bigger picture is that the better in-house lawyers are in these different organizations... whether it's the local council, the police, or a university... the better these organizations can run. 

For aspiring lawyers, societies like the Birmingham Law Society create a safe space for them that perhaps didn't really exist before. When I was at university, it was only the educational organizations putting on things for undergrad or post-grad students. Nowadays, these local law societies are bridging those gaps, connecting the aspiring lawyer to the qualified lawyer, and then even beyond to senior lawyers and judges. It allows people to have real access to professions that aren't just sheltered behind curtains anymore. 

If early-career lawyers or graduate students want to get involved in their local legal community, the first step would be to get on LinkedIn. I'm not advocating that you post every day or every week, but have a profile on there. Follow the companies and organizations that you're interested in. You'll find a lot of opportunities on there, whether it's jobs, work experiences, or events, because everything gets advertised on there nowadays. 

Next, get in touch with your local law society. Every single major city in the UK... whether it's Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, or London... will have its own law society. Find out when events are happening and attend them, and ideally become a member. 

I would also highly recommend checking out your local JLD group, which stands for Junior Lawyers Division. Again, every major city or region across the UK will have its own JLD group, and they tend to put on fantastic events specifically for junior and aspiring lawyers. 

Additionally, check out the National Law Society website. It has a long list of both in-person and virtual events, some of which are free, to help you find out more about the profession and understand the different opportunities. Last but not least, if you are a student, check out your school, sixth-form college, or university careers department, as they have amazing, brilliant advice. 

Building and thriving this in-house community is definitely what I'm most proud of with the Birmingham Law Society. I remember when I joined the committee, we probably only had maybe one or two events per year. It was actually quite difficult to meet up with other in-house lawyers to share thoughts and opinions on the profession... particularly for those in-house lawyers who are part of sole legal teams or very small teams where, if they had questions or issues, they historically didn't have anyone to go to. I'm proud that we've created a community there for practicing in-house lawyers, and one where aspiring lawyers can look at it and say, "oh, this is a community I can be part of and grow in the future as well." 

When it comes to event formats, traditional networking is always a big draw. Every single event we do is with a new sponsor or partner, and it's at a new venue as well, so attendees get to see a new venue in Birmingham while meeting different people. Recently, we've switched things up to include seminars as well. For example, we have an upcoming one all about AI, which is a huge topic that every in-house and private practice lawyer is very interested in. Our last two seminars mixed up the learning in terms of areas of law; we did one on employment law and the Employment Rights Bill. So, we try to mix up the educational side while maintaining that traditional networking format where people have a safe space to interact. 

To me, good networking starts with genuinely wanting to be there and enjoying it. When I was a trainee and an NQ, I remember being around lawyers, both junior and senior, who would openly say that they didn't want to be there and only felt they had to attend to represent the firm or win clients. If you're there and you don't want to be there, that's probably a big red flag. Only go to events if you genuinely want to be there. 

Secondly, effective networking is about building a proper network from those positive, professional interactions. Sharing ideas and thoughts in a positive environment can lead to a whole host of things, like future clients, events, collaboration, or online content. It starts with wanting to be there, enjoying it, creating that network, and then, crucially, following up with them. 

Maintaining well-being and balance is also a major value of mine, and I think having extracurricular activities deliberately baked into your schedule is always good. That kind of downtime was always baked into our schedules when we were at school, sixth form, or university through sports and societies. As soon as you hit your working career in a professional environment, that gets taken away automatically, and people often forget to insert it back in. 

Personally, for me, going to networking events, careers events, and meeting people to talk through ideas provides those additional perks that come along with the day job. Beyond that, sport and exercise have been huge outlets for me. Growing up, I played a lot of rugby... I remember going to school just to play rugby 3 or 4 times a week. It's really good for your mind, really good for your body, and it ultimately makes you a better professional if you have those positive outlets. Everyone has their own outlets, whether it's music, art, or sports, but you are the one who needs to make that happen and put it into your schedule as a working professional. 

Looking back over my career, my proudest moments have shifted. If you asked me maybe two or three years ago, I may have pointed to some of the awards I've won in the past. But as I've grown older and wiser, I think it's about being able to positively impact people. In the realm of legal, that means opening people's minds to legal careers, particularly if they were unaware of the options in the past. 

I really enjoy going to careers events and speaking to junior lawyers, aspiring lawyers, and other professionals to explain what we do day to day and how they can access the profession. Because the public sector, policing, and in-house routes aren't as widely advertised as high street, national, or international law firms, the proudest moments nowadays come from changing people's hearts and opinions. The best interactions are when someone starts with a very rigid viewpoint, but after a conversation, they are way more open-minded and can go home to discuss it with family and friends. 

I've also had the privilege of mentoring and following a bunch of people throughout the years... whether met through the National Law Society, Birmingham Law Society, or through policing... and seeing them grow through the ranks of their legal careers is quite special. It makes all the extra time and effort put into mentoring completely worthwhile. 

If I could give one piece of advice to students or new graduates thinking about the in-house route, it would be to recognize that there are so many more opportunities now. Because in-house organizations are growing and remote working has increased, the profession has become much more accessible. There is genuinely an in-house role out there for everyone because it varies so much from organization to organization. 

Think about what the organization does and evaluate whether it aligns with what you're interested in and passionate about. The best way to get your foot in the door is through your core skills... teamwork, leadership, communication, and attention to detail. As long as you've got those core skills on your CV and in your back pocket, you'll be able to do very well at the interview and application stage. 

Nick Ashton: That was all such valuable advice. It's really interesting getting to know you and hearing all about all that you've done as well, Baljinder, and thank you for joining us today and for sharing your insights into working in-house for West Midlands. 

Baljinder Singh: Great. Thank you so much.