Human Resources: A Natural Fit for People-Oriented Lawyers
Key roles for lawyers interested in HR
When most people picture a lawyer, they imagine someone arguing a case in a courtroom. But the legal landscape is far more diverse than that, and there are plenty of alternative career options for folks with a law degree who are looking to step off the traditional path. Human resources (HR) is one area that offers a compelling alternative for those lawyers who can combine their legal expertise with people skills.
People-friendly lawyers in HR
HR work sits at the intersection of employment and labour law, workplace policy, and organizational strategy, making it a natural fit for those with a legal background. Working in HR requires an understanding of multiple legislative and legal frameworks, frequently involving employment standards, human rights, labour relations, disability management, or occupational health and safety—and sometimes all those areas at the same time. Legal training equips professionals to operate in this layered landscape. However, HR is about more than ensuring that organizations operate within the bounds of the law.
Because HR goes beyond black-letter law and requires managing people and relationships, lawyers in the field are particularly effective when they are practical, empathetic, and patient. People don’t just stop being themselves when they get to the office—they bring their personalities, preferences, lived experiences, and all the other aspects that make them human. Adding interpersonal factors increases the complexity of any legal scenario, and the workplace is no different. This is why people skills, coupled with the ability to understand and apply workplace law, make a lawyer ideally suited for a career in HR.
Key HR Roles
Ultimately, HR’s goal is a healthy, productive workplace built on a strong foundation of legal compliance. Lawyers with good interpersonal skills can perform a number of important and common roles in pursuit of this goal:
1. Labour Relations Specialists
In unionized sectors—such as healthcare, education, and other public services—labour relations are complex and critical. Lawyers bring a deep understanding of statutory interpretation, contractual rights, and dispute resolution. But what will set someone apart is their ability to balance legal precision with interpersonal diplomacy. Whether negotiating collective agreements or resolving grievances, success in a Labour Relations role hinges on legal insight as well as emotional intelligence and the ability to build trust and communicate effectively with diverse stakeholders.
2. Workplace Investigators
Complaints of bullying and harassment in the workplace are on the rise, driving growing demand for skilled investigators. Lawyers are well-equipped to conduct thorough, legally sound investigations. Their training in issue spotting, evidence evaluation, procedural fairness, and clear communication make them particularly good at producing defensible investigation reports.
Equally crucial to a workplace investigator’s success is the ability to approach sensitive situations with empathy. Investigations often involve emotionally charged situations and distressed participants. The fact finder must be able to connect with, and subsequently calm, those participants in order to gather clear evidence. For investigators, both legal skills and people skills are equally important.
3. HR Policy Advisors
From remote work to equity and inclusion, HR policies must be both legally compliant and culturally resonant. Lawyers excel at identifying legal risks, as well as navigating complex regulatory environments. However, the best advisors are also alive to how their policies affect workers on the ground, and how those policies shape and reflect an organization’s culture. For example, a lawyer-turned-policy advisor might design a substance-use policy that not only meets legal requirements but also reflects the high value an organization places on safety. In this way, legal knowledge is the foundation of an HR policy role, but an effective advisor must go one step further and design rules that serve workers and the workplace.
From Law to HR
HR offers a rewarding path for lawyers wanting to leverage both their legal acumen and interpersonal skills. Those with experience in labour or employment law, administrative law, or alternative dispute resolution may find that their background sets them up particularly well for a transition into HR. HR is such a broad field, however, that lawyers from a broad array of backgrounds can be successful—for example, criminal lawyers can make excellent workplace investigators, and human rights lawyers can be excellent equity and inclusion policy advisors. In HR, the common denominator for success amongst all these backgrounds is an abiding interest in people. Legal insight will set a lawyer up for success, and interpersonal skills will allow them to thrive.
