The role of a corporate lawyer

Whether negotiating the acquisition of a multibillion dollar company or assisting a small Internet start-up company or helping a government on legal cases, corporate lawyers are involved in advising businesses on their numerous legal rights, responsibilities, and obligations. General corporate practice involves handling a wide range of legal issues for businesses.

What does a corporate lawyer do ?

Corporate lawyers are responsible for understanding, defending and upholding any and all legal matters related to business and corporate affairs. Corporate lawyers may advise or defend individual clients or corporations in issues related to taxation, patents, mergers and acquisitions, global economics, securities, accounting, business contracts and more.

A corporate lawyer is consulted every day by his employer. The corporate lawyer represents the "conscience" of the company. His role is more about planning and preventing than correcting mistakes. He can also be designated as a legal officer, litigation lawyer or responsible for litigation and collection.

As a lawyer, he must keep abreast of developments in commercial law, labour law, contract law.

In addition, he can manage the company's external relations with professional bodies or be in touch with other experts or lawyers.

With the increasing complexity of the different legal cases that companies face on a daily basis, the Company Lawyer has to specialise in specific sectors of economic activities (contract law, industrial property, international law, environmental law ...).

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Example: Corporate lawyer in the banking sector

This position may have different names: legal director, legal and litigation director, director of legal services or legal affairs and litigation. In general, the Legal Director ensures the legal security of all operations initiated by the sales network and/or the various operational departments. He's also responsible for all litigation cases. Depending on the importance of the service he supervises, he acts as a team leader and organiser. Thus, in commercial banks, it implements and passes on all the internal procedures and standard documents, manages the most important files ... In the investment banks, it mainly carries out an appraisal mission to the manager's operational services and senior management.

 

Sources : SIEP - Lawcrossing.com