As you aspire to becoming a legal practitioner, you should consider how much do business lawyers make? One main type of law is business law, which is concerned with businesses and the activities that go into operating, maintaining, and managing a business.
To secure a position in business law, as with other types of law, you must first become qualified and have the knowledge you need to succeed as a business lawyer.
This article will explain what a business lawyer is and what responsibilities they may have, how to become a business lawyer, provide a list of skills that many business lawyers possess, and, of course, tell you how much a business lawyer makes. Keep reading.
Table of Contents
Who Is a Business Lawyer?
A business lawyer is a well-educated professional who holds a Juris Doctor degree. To practice law, they must pass the bar exam. They provide legal advice to their clients and perform tasks such as drafting legal documentation.
Business lawyers provide legal counsel to businesses and corporations. This could include anything from rule violations to employee lawsuits.
They examine contracts for selling and purchasing real estate or products and advise their clients on any legal flaws or concerns with the proposed contracts.
Responsibilities Of A Business Lawyer
A business lawyer’s primary responsibilities include-
- Assisting businesses in preventing, navigating, and resolving complex legal issues.
- Assisting and advising businesses on the structure, policies, objectives, and procedures for their business operations.
- Making certain that all relevant laws and outcomes are understood and followed by businesses.
- Researching and resolving legal disputes by analyzing relevant laws, developing arguments, gathering evidence, and providing legal representation.
- Ensuring legal paperwork related to business operations is drafted, reviewed, completed, and filed.
- Examining and reporting to the appropriate authorities any potential or existing legal issues
- Contract terms, transactions, and settlements are negotiated on behalf of the businesses involved.
- Ensuring that all business processes, strategies, and actions are in accordance with all applicable local, state, federal, and international laws.
- Managing a large number of clients, cases, and legal activities with varying deadlines.
- Contract review and approval with business partners, employees, vendors, and suppliers
- Providing regulatory and legal advice to company owners and executive leadership regarding the organization’s industry.
- Writing and facilitating the completion of agreements between various parties
- Creating employee handbooks
- Representing the company for which they work in court, at regulatory meetings, and on administrative boards
- Handling mergers and acquisitions of businesses
- Companies are being restructured to meet the needs of their owners and investors.
- Appraising the organization in order to communicate its worth to potential buyers and investors.
- During a conflict, mediating between higher-level employees of the organization
- collaborating with board members and shareholders to develop company strategies
- Organizing and facilitating training sessions and workshops
- Managing a group of employees includes junior associates, compliance officers, legal assistants, and paralegals.
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Why Should You Become a Business Lawyer?
The practice of business law is both financially and intellectually rewarding. You will most likely earn a high salary and will collaborate with your clients to help them achieve their business objectives.
Another practical advantage is that the skills you learn can be applied to an in-house position with a company or government agency.
Some business lawyers go on to become entrepreneurs, launching businesses in which they leave the practice of law but continue to use their legal knowledge.
In the grand scheme of things, your work can have a significant impact on keeping economic engines running. Business law is also far less combative than many other areas of the law.
The work does not involve disagreements over what went wrong, nor does it involve attempts to assign blame and responsibility for what went wrong.
It is critical that such matters be handled by lawyers, but the business lawyer typically deals with parties who all want the same thing.
The bank lawyer’s client, for example, wants to lend money because it is financially advantageous, and the borrower wants to borrow money because it will benefit the borrower’s business.
Each side will try to get the best deal possible, and while negotiations may become contentious at times, both parties are ultimately working toward a common goal.
How To Be a Business Lawyer- Step by Step Guide
If you are interested in becoming a business lawyer, the steps you should take are-
Step 1- Earn a bachelor’s degree
Earning a bachelor’s degree in a related discipline, such as business, finance, political science, legal studies, government, or economics, from an accredited college or university is one of the first steps toward becoming a business attorney.
Consider how you can get involved in groups and extracurricular activities that will help you on your career path while you’re still in school.
Consider joining student government, starting a debate club, or volunteering at a law firm. You can also strengthen your relationships with your advisors, who will write letters of recommendation for you when you apply for law school or a job after graduation.
Step 2- Complete an internship
Look into internships at local law firms, government offices, or legal clinics. An internship will allow you to learn firsthand what to expect from a career as an attorney.
You can also meet professionals who can answer your questions, guide you on your career path, encourage you, become a part of your network, and refer you to a position later on.
During an internship, you may file paperwork, assist attorneys with drafting legal documents, assist the firm in preparing for a courtroom appearance, and conduct legal research to support a partner’s case.
Step 3- Apply for law school
The next step in becoming a business lawyer is to apply to a law school that is accredited by the American Bar Association.
The grade point average (GPA) required by each law school varies, as do the supporting documents, such as letters of recommendation and a graduate statement of purpose, that the college will want to see from applicants.
It’s best to check with individual schools to see what they require so you can prepare and submit a strong application for the admissions committee to review.
Most law schools require you to take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), a standardized test that determines your likelihood of success in law school.
Step 4- Earn your Juris doctor degree
Law school prepares you to earn your juris doctor (J.D.), the degree required to practice as an attorney. You’ll take classes in areas such as:
- Procedural Law
- Administration of Justice
- Torts
- Intellectual property rights
- Civil and Criminal law
- Legal representation
- Taxation
- Find out the elective courses available to you in your area of concentration, such as contracts, antitrust law, and business transactions. Attend career fairs hosted by your college while you’re still in school. You’ll have the chance to meet with attorneys from various companies and firms and talk about your career goals and the skills you’ve already learned in school. You can ask these professionals if you can meet with them off-campus for an informational meeting to learn more about their firm.
Step 5- Pass the bar exam
Even if you excel in law school, you must still pass the American Bar Association’s (ABA) bar exam. The exam covers-
- Sales and contracts
- Criminal procedure and law
- The rule of law
- Real estate
- Evidence
- Torts
It is also intended to assess your knowledge of general and more specific legal issues that you may encounter while working in the field.
States may have different requirements for who is eligible to take the bar exam, so check with your state’s bar exam board to ensure you’ve met the requirements before you’re scheduled to take the exam.
Step 6- Get licensure in your state
After passing the bar exam, you can apply for state licensing. This usually entails paying a fee, getting fingerprinted, passing a background check, and submitting an application to your state’s licensing board.
Step 7- Meet with professionals in the field
When looking for a job as a business lawyer, you may have better luck if you’ve taken the time to network with current professionals in the field.
Investigate the various professional networks that are available to you so that you can gain access to networking events, industry news, and training that can help you build your knowledge of business law.
Those you meet can give you insight into the industry, advice on how to get a job, and recommendations for continuing education courses to take or employers to look into when applying for jobs.
Step 8- Develop your resume
A strong resume can persuade a hiring manager that you are the best candidate for the open position, or at the very least that you should be interviewed to learn more about you and what unique qualities and experience you can bring to the company.
Create a strong resume objective that includes any relevant work experience, volunteer work, and skills that distinguish you from your peers.
Consider sharing some of the most relevant courses you’ve taken if you’re a recent graduate.
What are the Types of Business Lawyers?
In corporations, business lawyers perform a variety of functions. They act as business attorneys for their companies in civil and criminal litigation, represent the company in bankruptcy proceedings, and handle other legal tasks in the best interests of the company.
Business lawyers can specialize in transactional, corporate litigation, and regulatory law.
Transaction Lawyer
Transactional lawyering entails negotiating sales, drafting important documents, and providing legal counsel in the business world.
Furthermore, the primary goal of transaction lawyers is to negotiate and document the complex contracts that comprise a small or large business.
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Corporate Litigators
When a transaction does not go as planned, it is necessary to resort to court-based litigation. Business litigators may handle takeovers, shareholder lawsuits, and bankruptcy issues. Litigation can occur before a judge or between the parties and a mediator.
Regulatory Lawyer
Government regulations, which are the focus of regulatory law, govern business activities. Regulatory lawyers assist businesses in resolving issues that may arise with government agencies.
Banks, insurance companies, and firms subject to securities laws are common employers of regulation lawyers.
How Much Does a Business Lawyer Make?
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for all lawyers in May 2020 was $126,930. The salary of a business lawyer may vary depending on the specialty area in which they work.
According to PayScale.com, business attorneys earned a median salary of $117,827 in December 2021, while litigators earned a median salary of $99,906. Meanwhile, regulatory law attorneys earned a median annual salary of $110,248.
Frequently Asked Questions
Strong oral and written language understanding and use, attention to detail, research and understanding, analytical and critical thinking, dedication and commitment, preparation
According to Larry Richard’s 1993 study, the most common personality types for lawyers are: ISTJ (17.8 percent), INTJ (Intuitive TypeJ) (13.1 percent), ESTJ (10.3 percent)
A law degree provides the following skills: research skills using various sources, including verbal questioning, evaluation skills and the ability to clearly interpret and explain complex information, analytical skills, reasoning, critical judgment skills, and the ability to formulate sound arguments.
You must be able to effectively communicate with your clients, staff, partners, associates, other lawyers, and vendors.
Improving your communication skills will allow you to express yourself more confidently, which will help you attract more clients and influence your peers and referral sources.
Conclusion
A Business Lawyer is an attorney who focuses on advising business owners on legal issues affecting businesses, such as taxation, business transactions, and intellectual property rights.
A Business Lawyer or Commercial Lawyer is another name for a Business Lawyer.
So, answering the question “how much does a business lawyer make” depends on all the queries answered in this article.
References
- learn.org– How much does a business lawyer make
- crushthelsatexam.com– Lawyer salary
- ziprecruiter.com– What is the average business lawyer salary by state
- salary.com– Business lawyer salary
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