Courtroom Drama: Corporate lawyers advise corporations on their legal rights and obligations

Almost every merger or takeover featured in the business pages of dailies will have corporate lawyers working on it. So if you relish the opportunity of being at the heart of high profile, multi-million dollar deals, then a career in corporate law may be right up your street.

Corporate law is a field of law concerning the creation and regulation of corporations and other business organisations. In British practice, corporate law is more often called company law. It includes laws governing relationships among various constituents of a corporation such as shareholders, directors and the management.

Corporate law sometimes includes securities laws, which govern the conditions under which corporations can issue shares and is aimed at preventing fraudulent schemes. It defines the rules of the game for business corporations. It comes into play whenever any of the parties involved cries foul and is used to advise corporate clients, to argue their cases in court, to draw up business contracts for them and so on.

What do I have to do?

Broadly speaking, corporate lawyers advise corporations on their legal rights and obligations. They advise their clients on a broad range of matters, including mergers and acquisitions, takeovers, joint ventures, as well as on methods for raising additional cash, such as flotation on a stock exchange, private equity, and securities. Successful corporate lawyers need to understand the nuances of business.

Since corporate lawyers ensure the legality of commercial transactions, they must have a knowledge of statutory laws and regulations passed by government agencies to help their clients achieve their goals within the bounds of the law. To structure a business transaction legally, a corporate lawyer may need to research aspects of contract law, tax law, accounting, securities law, bankruptcy, intellectual property rights, licensing, zoning laws, and other regulations relating to a specific area of business. The lawyer must ensure that a transaction is not in conflict with local, state, or central laws.

Facilitating the business process requires insight into the clients’ needs, selective expertise, flexibility and most of all, a service mentality. Corporate law requires an incisive mind and excellent communication skills, both written and oral. Through the negotiation process, lawyers constantly write and revise the legal documents which bind the parties to certain terms for the transaction. Most legal work demands close attention to detail. A corporate lawyer’s client base is very varied and typically includes entrepreneurs, small privately-owned businesses, large multinational corporations and financial institutions.

What should I study?

You should have an LLB from a recognised university. During this course, you will study the structure and formation of companies, diverse forms of business organisations, corporate personality, the constitutional documents of the company, and corporate finance.

What next?

Corporate law is increasingly catering to the specific requirements of each organisation — large or small. The demand for lawyers with experience in securities and transactions is growing in proportion to changes in the global marketplace. Now, even small players are involved in foreign transactions, necessitating the services of specialists in international law. Accounting firms like PwC and KPMG have also opened their own legal departments. With global law firms poised to enter India, the market for corporate lawyers is expanding. Multi-crore suits have made corporate law a popular and lucrative career option.

Working as a corporate lawyer gives you the option of moving to an in-house legal department or an investment bank. If you have a flair for writing, you could attach yourself to the legal correspondent of a newspaper and move on to independent reporting. If you are academically inclined, you could join a reputed legal publishing house or go into teaching or research. You can also do private practice as a legal advisor, advocate, or solicitor.

WHere to study

• National Law School of India University, Bangalore.
• University of Calcutta, Calcutta.
• Government College of Law, Mumbai.
• University of Chandigarh, Chandigarh.
• Indian Law Institute, New Delhi.