I think it's really important to be clear that Elle's workplace in Vancouver was the regulatory agency for mutual fund dealers in Canada -- the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada. She was an investigator (actual job title) who investigated instances of wrongdoing by mutual fund dealers, produced reports, and gave evidence at hearings -- not in court, but at hearings the regulatory agency conducts when they are investigating wrongdoing.So, it's conceivable that the tasks Elle did were similar to the sorts of tasks an in-house lawyer would tackle. It's just not true for her to say she was in-house counsel since she did have a different job than the attorneys where she worked.
A lot of people seem to think she worked at an investment firm or at a business law firm. Nope -- the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada is not a nonprofit that regulates mutual fund dealers.
Gurugossip ladies found out the other team members Elle worked with. Not a single one had a law degree, so that clearly isn't a job requirement. Her referring to herself as in-house counsel is fake, and she knows it, as you pointed out.
The only aspect of her job I could see requiring legal knowledge is writing investigative reports. But that's a skill you can pick up with the job over time. If everyone else, including her boss, did not have a legal background or law degree than I doubt the work was overly legal. Elle just said that to make it sound important and #girlboss.
She must have driven Joe crazy with her constant talk of being a #girlboss lawyer.