This article is written by Kashmira Sahani from the School of law, UPES Dehradun. This is an exhaustive article that covers the basic idea of Corporate law and the importance of Company law in the Corporate world.

Introduction

The corporate field is what around every 8 out of 10 students thought of joining in their law college and law schools. Working as a corporate lawyer in a reputed firm can be a very rewarding career path so one has to be mentally prepared and emotionally prepared for the same. The corporate field is not new but many sectors are new which is the reason why most of the freshers want to be in a corporate field. 

Scope of Corporate Law in India

This is one of the sectors which have witnessed immense growth even during this COVID-19 and pandemic. According to Deloitte’s 2020 Legal Department Survey, it was found that COVID-19 has not discouraged any legal departments from pursuing technological transformation rather than it has driven more into alternative legal service providers. It is clear how corporate legal and IT departments came together and worked remotely because of COVID-19.  

What a Corporate lawyer does

Corporate laws as a practice area are very interesting in itself, it offers high salaries, good positions for young lawyers and fresher’s in top firms along with a sophisticated work environment. It also gives more exposure to the corporate world which might involve some issues related to banking and finance, tax, property, real estate, corporate, ipr.

To know more about what work do you get to do as a corporate lawyer, please watch the video below:

Skills required

Corporate law and almost every field require a great mindset, great communication skills, good research skills, and a good academic background. Corporate law is a very diverse field, so it is integral to both the legal and business industries. The skills required to become a corporate lawyer are as follows: –

Technical knowledge of Law

This is one of the most valuable skills for a corporate lawyer to have, and there are no other options. If you want to excel in the field of corporate law, you must be professionally proficient in contract law, the Companies Act, and other corporate statutes.

Legal advice and drafting

A good lawyer can give good legal advice to his client, as well as counseling on day-to-day routine commercial matters to employees at all levels of the company by effectively communicating complicated legal issues.

Good Communication Skills

For a lawyer, good communication skills are a must, because we have to deal with several different issues and different clients. One must be open with their client, explain things thoroughly, make them comfortable, and ask more questions to make sure our explanations are understood. We should pay attention to both verbal and non-verbal language to determine to understand.

Commercial and legal awareness

Being updated about every aspect of the law is far better than being outdated, one should read the daily newspapers to know what is happening in the world. Lack of Legal literacy is one of the key factors of providing justice to the victims and here is the duty of lawyers to make them aware of their rights and duties.

To foster client loyalty, one must be able to create and maintain good client relationships, and one must be self-assured, responsible, and committed.

Educational Qualifications

• To become a corporate lawyer the candidate has to meet certain eligibility criteria, one has to first get a degree in 3 years LLB course or 5 years integrated LLB course, To be eligible to be enrolled in the reputed National law universities one must have to give an entrance test which is known as CLAT. (Commons Law Admission Test) which is conducted every year for both undergraduate students along with post-graduate students. Some institutes have their entrance test apart from CLAT, AILET to be eligible for admissions.
• Every law graduate has to complete the number of internships according to their college norms,  and the student must also have done internships in proper law firms to boost their resume and to have a basic idea of the corporate field one can also go for the specialized qualification in corporate law after getting a Bachelor’s degree.
• There are some of the reputed colleges in India which offer a Master’s degree in corporate law which is known as LLM in corporate law.
• According to the Advocates Act, 1961, one has to enroll himself/herself as an advocate in any State Bar Council to be eligible to practice in any court of the Country.

List of colleges that offers Master’s in Corporate Law  

• National Law School of India University, Bangalore – offering Master of Law in Corporate and Security Law.
• Bharti Vidyapeeth Deemed University, New Delhi College, Maharashtra – offering certificate course in Corporate Law.
• Shamsher Bahadur Saxena College of Law, Haryana – offering one-year diploma in Corporate Law and Management.
• Aligarh Muslim University, Faculty of Law, Aligarh – offering PG Diploma in Corporate Law
• Dr. Ambedkar College of Law, Andhra Pradesh – offering Master of Law (Corporate and Security Law).
• Indian Law Institute, New Delhi – offering PG Diploma in Corporate Law

Courses in corporate law

Undergraduate Courses in Corporate Law

The subjects/topics taught as part of the Corporate Law course may vary from college to college:

Course Name

Syllabus

BBA-LLB (Hons) in Corporate Laws

Legal Method & Legal Reasoning, General English, Law of Contracts I, Legal Method & Legal Reasoning, The Basics of Computers and Their Applications, Organizational Behaviour, Business Mathematics, Business Organization, Fundamentals of Moot Court  Torts & Consumer Protection Act, Quantitative Techniques for Decision Making, History II, Law of Contracts II, Business Economics I (Micro) Torts & Consumer Protection Act, Family Law I, Constitutional Law I, International Criminal Law (IPC), and Business Economics II are some of the topics covered in this course (Macro) Company Law I, Client Counseling, Open Elective Elective-1, Constitutional Law II, Family Law II, Civil Procedure Code and the Statute of Limitations, Constitutional Law II, Family Law II, Civil Procedure Code and the Statute of Limitations, Constitutional Law II, Family Law II, Civil Procedure Code and the Statute of Limit Open Elective in Human Resource Management promoting Financial Management, Company Law-2, Law of Evidence, Jurisprudence, Administrative Law, Prop. Law incl. Transfer of Prop. Act & Easement Act, Civil Drafting, Commercial Transaction (Hons-1), Business Accounting Mergers & Acquisition, Human Rights and International Law, Crim. Proc. Court, JJ Act & Proh. of Offenders ACT Open elective 4, Interpretation of Statutes, Labour Law I, International Investment Law (Hons.4), Open Elective Open Elective – 2, Program Elective Seminar-1 (Choose any One), Intellectual Property Right, Labour Law II Intellectual Property Right, Labour Law II, International Trade Law (Hons-5), Corp.Fin. & Securities Market Regulations (Hons-6), Drafting Conveyance, Taxation Law, Open Elective-3, Program elective Seminar-II International Commercial Arbitration (Hons-8), Right to Information Environmental Law, Competition Law (Hons-7), Dissertation I, Information Technology Law, Program elective- (Seminar-3), Arbitration, Conciliation & ADR Mechanisms, Prof. Ethics, Acc. for lawyers & Bar Bench Relation, Dissertation II, Program elective- (Seminar-4) Int. l Sale of goods & Techn. transfer & Law, Sustainable Development & Futures & Options, Commodity Exchange & Bank fraud, Choice of Forum & Choice of Law in Int. Contracts, Hedging & Law

Post Graduate Courses in Corporate Law

Diploma Courses in Corporate Law

Apart from the above-mentioned courses, candidates can also go through the syllabus of Diploma courses in Corporate Law below:

Career prospect and types of Job Roles

With the globalization of trade, there is a demand for corporate lawyers across all domination be it the corporate governance or business consulting firms. With foreign law firms’ moving to India the scope for Corporate Lawyers has increased many folds. Students are now focusing more on the corporate side than any other field. The salary of corporate lawyers is quite good as compared to other areas. Also if the candidate is good at their work, they can get involved in policymaking. Corporate Lawyers can be hired for making policies of the government. They do not have to go to courts for their job as they work from the convenience of their offices as this job does not require them to travel to places, Corporate lawyers work in the law firm as Associate, Senior Associate, Partner, In House Counsel, Industry Expert, Chief Legal Manager.

Top Recruiting Companies for a Corporate Lawyer in India 

• Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Company
• Khaitan and Company
• Lakshmikumaran and Sridharan
• Trilegal India
• Anand and Anand
• J Sagar Associates
• DSK Legal
• AZB and Partners
• Vaish Associates
• Phoenix Legal
• Desai and Diwanji
• S&R Associates

Importance of company law in the corporate world

For proper functioning of any company or law firm, there must be corporate lawyers having knowledge and idea of company law. The word company means an association of several persons formed for some common purpose. Company law is the base of every law firm and one must have the proper knowledge.

Apart from company law, there are some more diverse field which falls under corporate sector:-

Banking and Finance

It is one of the main practice areas in corporate law is banking and finance, the main work is to deal with debt restricting, acquisition, and mergers, here corporate lawyers work in public or private sector banks.

Intellectual property rights

There are five subject matters of IPR and the lawyers under this field have to generally deal with copyright, trademark, Industrial design, and patent.

Real estate

The real estate lawyers advise on the real estate projects undertaken by the companies and also advise on property acquisition.

Energy Sector

This is not a new field but very few have an idea regarding this, but nowadays the energy sector has been constantly growing and the policy around this has been evolving with the growing needs of the country, the main work of lawyers under the energy sector is to deal with energy-related things. Some of the topmost firms that deal with the energy sector as Khaitan  Co., HAS Advocates, Dua & Associates, Luthra & Luthra, etc.

International Capital Market

To advise on the issuance of debt securities and exchangeable bonds, qualified institutional placements, and Initial Public offerings

Conclusion 

Lawyers need to have an idea of everything and the same goes with the knowledge of company law but one must figure out the interest area under the corporate sector such as the Energy sector, IPR, Mergers, and acquisitions, Taxation laws, etc which is only possible after interning with some law firms during the law course.

References

• https://www.thelawyerportal.com/free-guides/areas-legal-practice/how-to-become-a-corporate-lawyer-corporate-law/
• https://www.brightnetwork.co.uk/career-path-guides/commercial-law/10-key-skills-qualities-you-need-excel-commercial-law/
• https://educationtimes.com/article/careers-others/72916116/want-to-be-a-corporate-lawyer-honing-these-skills-will-help-you-succeed-in-this-field#:~:text=So%2C%20to%20become%20a%20successful,to%20stick%20to%20client%20confidentiality.
• https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/jobs-and-careers/story/career-in-corporate-law-all-you-need-to-know-1524468-2019-05-14
• https://www.zippia.com/corporate-lawyer-jobs/skills/
• https://www.shiksha.com/law/corporate-law-chp

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