When you hear the term “corporate lawyer,” you likely think of a very professional person wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase. But, what does a corporate lawyer do, and do you need one? Let’s find out.
The Role of Corporate Lawyers
A corporate lawyer’s role is to advise their clients of their rights, responsibilities, and duties under the law.
When a corporation hires a corporate lawyer, they represent the corporate entity, not the company’s stakeholders or employees. This is because a corporation is treated very similarly to a person under the law.
A corporation is a legal entity that is created under state law, typically with the aim of conducting business. Under the law, a corporation is treated like a unique entity or “person” and is separate from its shareholders and owners.
Corporate law involves all of the legal issues surrounding a corporation— these can be plentiful because a lot of corporations are subject to complex state and federal regulations. Most states require that corporations hold regular meetings, like annual shareholder meetings, along with a long list of other requirements.
The job of a corporate lawyer is to make sure corporations are always complying with these rules.
What Kind of Work Does a Corporate Lawyer Do?
The majority of a cooperate lawyer’s time is spent helping corporations avoid litigation and includes everything from:
- Contracts: Reviewing, drafting, and negotiating legally binding contracts on the corporation’s behalf. This includes everything from lease agreements to multi-million dollar acquisitions.
- Mergers and acquisitions (M&A): Corporate attorneys conduct due diligence, negotiate, draft, and oversee all of a corporation’s deals that involve the company merging with another organization or acquiring another company.
- Corporate governance: Corporate lawyers help their clients create the appropriate framework for how their business is directed and controlled. This includes drafting articles of incorporation, creating bylaws, and advising corporate directors and officers on their rights and responsibilities.
- Venture capital: Corporate attorneys help startups and existing companies find capital in order to build and expand their businesses.
- Security: Corporate lawyers advise their clients on securities law compliance— this involves the complex regulations that are aimed at preventing fraud, insider trading, and marketing manipulation.
Other corporate attorney duties include:
- Negotiating employee contracts
- Preparing and filing government reports
- Reviewing new relationships with vendors and subcontractors
- Drafting legal documents
- Administering training workshops
- Representing the cooperation before administrative boards and court trials
- Formulating employee handbooks
How You Can Benefit from the Services of a Corporate Lawyer
Here are some of the most significant benefits associated with hiring a corporate lawyer:
- Help your organization become incorporated: When you count on the expertise of a corporate attorney, you will have the required tools to be successful. The incorporation process is pretty complex. A corporate lawyer will help you understand the process of becoming incorporated and how your corporation must operate to stay in compliance.
- Taxes are less complicated: An attorney is just as beneficial to a corporation as a tax professional or accountant. This is because experienced business attorneys understand the implications tax mistakes can have, and how to deal with the IRS. Corporate attorneys also undreamt which taxes apply to specific businesses and the best strategies to fight an audit.
- Stay protected from litigation: There are risks for every entrepreneur—especially when talking about litigation and lawsuits. Making sure your enterprise is protected is critical, but its’ also important to consider how you would handle a lawsuit should one occur.
In a nutshell, a corporate lawyer advises their clients on how to comply with rules and laws. But, their scope stretches much further than that. Any people starting a business could benefit from a corporate lawyer. This is because a corporate attorney can help entrepreneurs structure and plan their business for success— even if the structure they end up going with for their business is different than a corporation.
It’s a very wise decision to have an attorney on board to craft the managing documents of a business, review contracts, and help with other strategy decisions.
For all of your corporate lawyer needs, count on The Ferebee Group. We are a dynamic full-service law firm that specializes in helping clients of myriad industries achieve remarkable results. Contact us today and let’s get started.
