Becoming a corporate lawyer involves seven years of college-level education, as well as continuing education. The eligibility criteria for becoming a corporate lawyer is:

Academic Qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s Degree in any discipline. All students must complete a bachelor’s degree before entering law school. Plus 3 years LLB Courses in Law School

Or

  • 10+2 certification for joining an integrated 5 year BA-LLB course.
  • Soon after completion of Law degree graduate can pursue a specialized studies in corporate law or enroll themselves for a master’s degree such as LLM in Law School.
  • Bar Exam: After graduating from law school with a Juris Doctor degree, students must take and pass the state bar exam before being allowed to practice law, specific requirements vary by state.
  • Continuing Education: All attorneys must complete continuing education courses to maintain their bar and continue to legally practice law. Specific requirements vary by state.

Besides the legal knowledge, an aspirant must have strong communication skills, numerical ability, business awareness, effective analytical and problem-solving ability and a knack to keep client confidentiality.

Here is an overview of corporate law, its purview, and the requisite skillsets for young law aspirants: If you want to be a corporate lawyer, these skills will help you succeed in this field.

Preparing for the job

Corporate lawyers should be well acquainted with statutory laws and regulations passed by the government/regulatory bodies to help their clients achieve business goals within the bounds of the law. To help businesses structure their transactions legally, a corporate lawyer needs to be knowledgeable in a wide range of legal fields such as mergers and acquisition (M&A) and private equity, project financing, banking, capital markets, information and technology, etc.

Skillsets required

Corporate law requires an incisive mind, excellent communication skills and writing abilities as transactions and deals of every corporate business are different. To become a successful corporate lawyer, students must have strong interpersonal communication skills, numerical ability, business awareness, a responsible attitude, effective analytical and problem-solving skills, researching skills and an ability to stick to client confidentiality.

Opportunities awaiting

Candidates can make a decision whether they want to work with a corporate law firm or become an in-house counsel. Working with a corporate law firm will allow them to work with a wide range of clients and projects, while if one chooses to be an in-house counsel, it would require them to be a dedicated part of the legal department of a company or organisation. Since the business environment is liable to change dynamically to accommodate the advent and adoption of new technologies, a corporate lawyer must stay abreast of any changes occurring in the area of corporate law.

With India’s startup industry flourishing, the demand for corporate laws is set to increase, which will need more lawyers and law firms. There is a need for more law colleges in the country considering that there is a heightened interest among young graduates and freshers who are choosing corporate law as a specialization to unlock the numerous professional possibilities in the sector.

Read the full story at: Education Times > Want to be a corporate lawyer? Honing these skills …

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