Staying on the right side of the law is not only a wise move for individuals, but also corporate organisations, both big and small. Which is why, corporate lawyers are in such high demand these days. How to become one? Well, a law student has the opportunity to choose from a number of specializations while graduating. You can specialise in criminal law, tax law, public interest law, immigration law, corporate law or more. If you opt for corporate law, you will become a corporate lawyer once you graduate. You can look forward to cushy, well-paid jobs and plenty of opportunities to build your career. Before diving into corporate law courses and corporate law jobs, let’s look at what a corporate lawyer does and how you can become a corporate lawyer.
What Does A Corporate Lawyer Do?
A corporate lawyer generally oversees the legal and external affairs matters of an organisation. Their portfolio of work usually includes acting on mergers and acquisitions, hiving off unprofitable sections, and restructuring corporate entities. They are responsible for advising the legal rights and duties of corporate employees and safeguarding the legality of commercial transactions of companies.
Corporate lawyers help clients to list on stock exchanges, procure financing from banks or private investors, negotiate and prepare draft documentation, secure guarantees and other assets. They can also be responsible for finalising financial deals with involved parties, holding board meetings to take necessary approvals, dealing with private equity funds, as well as completing the registration and other formalities.
How to Become a Corporate Lawyer
There are certain eligibility requirements that you must meet to pursue a career as a corporate lawyer in India. These requirements include:
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An undergraduate law degree. It can either be a 5-year integrated course of B.A. L.L.B. after 10+2 or a 3-year L.L.B course after graduating from any discipline.
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Candidates holding a postgraduate degree of LLM in Corporate Law can also become corporate lawyers.
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Before being hired by a corporate, you must have completed several internships at law firms. This will not only boost your resume, but also give you an understanding of the work.
Practice Areas Under Corporate Law
Corporate law courses have many subjects and are a huge area of specialisation. Corporate lawyers specialise in just a couple of areas generally. Some of the corporate law subjects include:
Corporate Restructuring
Corporate restructuring is the process of reorganising a firm or business to make it more profitable and efficient. Businesses hire corporate lawyers to make sure that all corporate laws and regulations are complied with during the restructuring process. Lawyers assist in dealing with banks and financial sources and provide counsel for bankruptcy processes.
Compliance
Compliance is also a big responsibility for corporate lawyers. They can work as an in-house counsel or provide counselling to public organisations, private companies, start-ups and joint ventures as well.
Corporate Litigation
If a business sues you or if you need to sue another business for copyright infringement, compliance issues, breach of contract or anything else, you need to contact a corporate lawyer.
Intellectual Property Rights
Intellectual property lawyers are trained in protecting intellectual creations from theft. This can include processes like filing a patent or trademark, defending the patent, suing for patent infringement and more.
Banking and Finance
Public & private sector banks, NBFCs, and other financial institutions hire a corporate lawyer who specialises in banking and finance projects like debt restructuring, syndicated lending, acquisition finance, and more.
International Capital Markets
Companies working in the international capital markets require counsel from corporate lawyers for advice on IPOs, foreign currency convertible bonds, private placements, and more.
Career Prospects as a Corporate Lawyer
A corporate lawyer can find jobs in several avenues such as corporations, partnerships, associations and more. The places where you can work as a corporate lawyer are:
Law Firms
This is the most common destination for graduating students. Corporate lawyers working in law firms deal with creating agreements for mergers, joint ventures, and acquisitions. They are also involved in giving legal advice to their clients.
Corporate Litigation
Corporate litigation lawyers deal with legal problems and a host of tort and contract issues a corporation faces over its course of life. The disputes can be divided into:
In-house Counsel
In-house counsel means that you can only work for one client and are essentially their employee. You could be working in areas like transactions, contracts, international law and more.
Regulatory Bodies
Regulatory bodies such as RBI, SEBI, CCI, IRDAI, and others are also popular career destinations for corporate lawyers.
Conclusion
A law degree is one of the most sought-after degrees in the country. Every year, millions of students enrol in different law courses and take admission in various law colleges spread across the country. One of the premium colleges for studying law is RNB Global University situated in the beautiful city of Bikaner, Rajasthan. Studying
corporate law at RNBGU can open up a lot of opportunities for you. The corporate law syllabus taught at the university combines theoretical and practical knowledge with the help of moot courts and mock sessions. The course prepares students for illustrious corporate law jobs after graduation and is quickly becoming a popular choice for future lawyers.