What is Corporate Law?
Whether negotiating the acquisition of a multibillion dollar company or assisting a small Internet start-up company, 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.
Many corporate lawyers work in law firms, particularly large or mid-size firms, where they counsel clients and handle business transactions including negotiation, drafting, and review of contracts and other agreements associated with the activities of the business, such as mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures; they also advise business clients on corporate governance and operations issues such as the rights and responsibilities of corporate directors and officers and the general oversight of the legal activities of the company. In addition, corporate attorneys assist business clients with the financial information they must provide to their owners, employees, and shareholders, including reports that must be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other government agencies.
Other corporate lawyers are employed directly by corporations as in-house corporate counsel. In-house counsel act as internal advisers on myriad business and legal issues, including labor and employment issues, intellectual property issues, contractual issues, and liability issues.
Counseling Publicly Held Companies
One role of a corporate lawyer is counseling publicly held companies. A publicly held company is a company with shares of stock that are traded on public stock exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of stock represent an investment in a business; members of the public who own stock thus have an ownership stake in the business. Corporate lawyers must be familiar with many state and federal securities laws that govern publicly traded securities. They assist publicly held companies with matters regarding the issuance of securities as well as the detailed reporting requirements of state and federal agencies such as the SEC.
Public companies are held to strict standards with regard to disclosure of information that may have either a positive or adverse material effect on earnings and may therefore affect the price of their stock. Thus corporate lawyers advise publicly held companies with regard to issues such as the public disclosure of disappointing financial results, an adverse judgment in a litigation matter, or the initiation of a government investigation regarding the company. The company may, for example, need to advise the public about an impending product recall, litigation that has been initiated due to an environmental problem, or an unfunded pension liability.
Corporate lawyers also advise their clients on issues concerning trade secrets and other types of intellectual property such as patent and trademark licensing; antitrust issues; international transactions such as the acquisition of foreign businesses or real estate; and contractual matters such as technical assistance agreements between the company and outside consultants hired to provide computer and other information technology assistance.
Counseling Privately Held Businesses
Corporate lawyers also counsel privately held businesses, in which the stock or ownership is "closely held," meaning that it is owned by a limited number of shareholders, with none of the stock being traded on a public stock exchange. A large number of companies are privately held and may be structured as corporations or partnerships. Some large corporations are privately held, as are many investment banking firms, accounting firms, Internet start-ups, hospitals, churches and other religious institutions, medical practices, and family businesses.
This article first appeared “What Does A Corporate Lawyer Do?" on LawCrossing, also on Wordpress.
LawCrossing is the world leader in "pure" monitoring and reporting of legal jobs, through its active and growing research into all legal employers throughout the world.
Whether negotiating the acquisition of a multibillion dollar company or assisting a small Internet start-up company, 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.
Many corporate lawyers work in law firms, particularly large or mid-size firms, where they counsel clients and handle business transactions including negotiation, drafting, and review of contracts and other agreements associated with the activities of the business, such as mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures; they also advise business clients on corporate governance and operations issues such as the rights and responsibilities of corporate directors and officers and the general oversight of the legal activities of the company. In addition, corporate attorneys assist business clients with the financial information they must provide to their owners, employees, and shareholders, including reports that must be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other government agencies.
Other corporate lawyers are employed directly by corporations as in-house corporate counsel. In-house counsel act as internal advisers on myriad business and legal issues, including labor and employment issues, intellectual property issues, contractual issues, and liability issues.
Counseling Publicly Held Companies
One role of a corporate lawyer is counseling publicly held companies. A publicly held company is a company with shares of stock that are traded on public stock exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of stock represent an investment in a business; members of the public who own stock thus have an ownership stake in the business. Corporate lawyers must be familiar with many state and federal securities laws that govern publicly traded securities. They assist publicly held companies with matters regarding the issuance of securities as well as the detailed reporting requirements of state and federal agencies such as the SEC.
Public companies are held to strict standards with regard to disclosure of information that may have either a positive or adverse material effect on earnings and may therefore affect the price of their stock. Thus corporate lawyers advise publicly held companies with regard to issues such as the public disclosure of disappointing financial results, an adverse judgment in a litigation matter, or the initiation of a government investigation regarding the company. The company may, for example, need to advise the public about an impending product recall, litigation that has been initiated due to an environmental problem, or an unfunded pension liability.
Corporate lawyers also advise their clients on issues concerning trade secrets and other types of intellectual property such as patent and trademark licensing; antitrust issues; international transactions such as the acquisition of foreign businesses or real estate; and contractual matters such as technical assistance agreements between the company and outside consultants hired to provide computer and other information technology assistance.
Counseling Privately Held Businesses
Corporate lawyers also counsel privately held businesses, in which the stock or ownership is "closely held," meaning that it is owned by a limited number of shareholders, with none of the stock being traded on a public stock exchange. A large number of companies are privately held and may be structured as corporations or partnerships. Some large corporations are privately held, as are many investment banking firms, accounting firms, Internet start-ups, hospitals, churches and other religious institutions, medical practices, and family businesses.
This article first appeared “What Does A Corporate Lawyer Do?" on LawCrossing, also on Wordpress.
LawCrossing is the world leader in "pure" monitoring and reporting of legal jobs, through its active and growing research into all legal employers throughout the world.