What is Corporate Law?
Corporate law, sometimes also referred to as company law or business law, is the legal regulation of companies and other organisations all under the term ‘corporations’. This includes corporate practices such as corporate governance and the legal conduct of persons involved in organisations. Corporate law encompasses the lifetime of businesses from their formation, funding, governance, to their eventual end (if it ever happens).
Those involved in Corporate Law are typically any individuals with a stake in a corporation. This includes investors, shareholders, directors, employees, creditors, consumers and even the wider community. Those working for a company are ruled not just by the law regulating business but also a company’s constitution. This is a collection of what are known as ‘articles of association’ that serve as an internal governing document for the company. This document is typically drafted by corporate lawyers and legally binds the company and its members to the constitution, requiring them to observe all of the rules set in place. Failure to follow a corporation’s constitution can result in internal punishments and sometimes a court injunction (a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts).
What Does a Corporate Lawyer Do?
Your typical day to day working for a firm as a corporate lawyer would likely include working with a business’s partners or other high ranking members to conduct business focused legal tasks such as due diligence (where a lawyer is hired to appraise a business for prospective buyers). You may also need to negotiate contracts for your client with different parties both internal and external. Additionally, you may sometimes be asked to verify accounts and finances for business transactions and ensure terms of contracts are kept. Most importantly however corporate lawyers are key navigating the provisions of a company’s constitution. This is the law of a corporation and is treated as the rulebook for all internal matters.
What are the Steps to Becoming a Corporate Lawyer?
When deciding to go down this career path you should be sure you have the skills needed to be successful in this area. Examples of what you need would be:
- Strong conceptual knowledge of corporate law
- Commercial awareness (such as trends in the industry and any developments that may impact the sector)
- Good communication skills for dealing with clients
With the basic skills out of the way, the first step towards becoming a corporate lawyer is to complete an undergraduate degree in law (LLB), or a degree in another subject and then the 1 year law conversion course.
From here you will then need to complete the LPC or the SQE (both currently available paths) and obtain a training contract.
If you’re interested in a career as a corporate barrister not solicitor, you’ll have to take the BPTC, then complete your training with a pupillage.
From here you will need to pick a firm that specialises in corporate law and show your interest in developing your skills in this area!
Tips for Aspiring Corporate Lawyers
- Networking: the power of networking cannot be understated. Making connections with those in the area of law you hope to practise one day can make all the difference. LinkedIn is an excellent way of building connections, and oftentimes corporate lawyers are more than happy to provide advice to budding lawyers who message them.
- Become a mentor/mentee: mentoring is an amazing way to help those who are at different stages of their law journey. Almost any corporate lawyer you speak to (or any lawyer for that matter) will have been mentored at some point in their career, whether they realise it or not. Organisations such as GROW pair up aspiring lawyers with those who have already qualified or are doing their training contract. Mentors can provide you with one-to-one advice and help as you navigate the process to becoming a corporate lawyer. Mentors come from numerous different firms and include established corporate lawyers.
- Commercial awareness: read the news and stay abreast of what’s going on in the corporate world. As already stated, corporate lawyers will deal with all things relating to a company, including but not limited to initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, joint venture agreements, and restructuring. Bigger deals will be covered in publications such as the Financial Times (many universities provide a free online subscription). Understanding and explaining these transactions can set you apart from other candidates and be what makes the difference in securing a vacation scheme or training contract for a corporate firm.
- Be persistent: it can be tempting to give up if you’ve just been rejected from the fifth vacation scheme you applied to. However, it’s incredibly rare not to be rejected at some point. The important thing to do once you’ve been rejected, is understanding what went wrong. Many firms will say they’re not able to give you feedback, but it can be worth reaching out anyway as some firms are willing to provide feedback in individual cases. Nonetheless, you can normally see what went wrong just by reading your application back some months on. Keep a note of any issues you spot and refer to it once you begin the process again. Mistakes can be as simple as spelling the firm’s name wrong in your answer, implying a lack of care, or providing vague answers to questions.
- Be proactive: the competition for training contracts is fierce, particularly for corporate firms. As such, think about what you can do to make yourself stand out. Unfortunately, having strong academics is simply no longer enough to convince a firm you’d be a great trainee. Corporate firms want to see evidence that you’re a well-rounded person, who can work well under pressure, and is driven and therefore willing to put in the work. Showing you’re the ideal candidate can be done using activities from outside of studying. For example, you may work in a busy city-centre bar every Friday and Saturday night, meaning you have some experience working in a high-pressure environment. The same can be said for working in a target-oriented call-centre.
Famous Firms
Here’s a list of notable firms well known for their corporate practices. All of which provide vacation schemes where you can apply to start your journey as a corporate lawyer!
Clifford Chance https://www.cliffordchance.com
Allen & Overy https://www.allenovery.com/
Linklaters https://www.linklaters.com/
Travers Smith https://www.traverssmith.com/
Bird & Bird https://www.twobirds.com/
Baker & McKenzie https://www.bakermckenzie.com/
Norton Rose Fulbright https://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer https://www.freshfields.com/
Hogan Lovells https://www.hoganlovells.com/
Berwin Leighton Paisner https://www.blplaw.com/
Written by Louis Bellman and edited by Tara Williams-Ryan
