Day in the Life of a Business Lawyer (Corporate Lawyer): 20 Tips for a Business Lawyer
From discussions on the same over at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com, a business lawyer – also called a corporate attorney, corporate lawyer, or commercial lawyer – is a legal professional who focuses on issues that affect businesses, including taxation, business transactions, and intellectual properties. Life as a business lawyer is always seen through as being glamorous, especially when seen through the lens of hit TV shows like Suits. However, is life really as glamorous as it is made out to be? This article will look to list 20 tips when it comes to life as a business lawyer.
Getting in the office early
If you ask a group of business lawyers in private practice to describe their most productive time of the day, most of them will probably say it is the early morning, before their offices officially open for business. As per RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com, early morning in a law office is when the phones are not ringing, clients are not scheduled for appointments, among other distractions, hence why business lawyers like getting into the office early in the morning.
Catch up on your reading
Given the peace and quiet that is there in the morning as already mentioned, most business lawyers prefer to spend the early morning catching up on their reading. This includes reading the local business journal or business section of the newspaper, skimming through any trade publications looking for articles relevant to clients’ industry sectors, as well as noting any article that might be interesting to send to clients.
Responding to emails
The next task carried out by a business lawyer in the morning is to respond to email and voice mail messages from the night before according to RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com. Emails will contain requests for contract drafting or review and/or questions about documents you have previously drafted.
Setting the day’s agenda
Once you are caught up with your reading and emails, the next step is to set the day’s agenda. As a business lawyer, here is when you spend time creating the day’s to-do list, noting where input from more senior attorneys is needed and where matters can be delegated to more junior attorneys.
Review of cases
If you have cases to prosecute in court or administrative hearings, the hours before the rest of the office staff arrives is an excellent time to conduct last-minute reviews of the cases on the court docket or hearing calendar for the day. It is also an opportunity to review the status of some of the pending cases in the office to make certain whatever needs to be accomplished to move them along is done.
Conference calls
Next up come long conference calls with opposing counsel to discuss ongoing cases, particularly picking up where you might have left off the previous day as articulated at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com. Business issues that require input from the clients are tabled and discussed.
Checking your messages
After the long conference calls, a business lawyer will need to check if there are any messages you may have received during the time you were on the conference call. Such messages may be from senior attorneys in your team as well as clients you are handling.
Working with clients
As a business lawyer, a major part of your day is meeting with or interacting with clients as captured by RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com. A client, for instance, may reach out for information on filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This is why having great people skills is key in this line of work.
Working with colleagues
In addition to working with clients, a business lawyer doesn’t work in a vacuum which means interactions with team members will be a key part of your day. If you are a junior or mid-level attorney, for instance, you will have to work closely with senior attorneys in the firm, keeping the up to date every step of the way.
Multi-tasking
Most corporate attorneys handle several deals at once, which means you will be multitasking as a business lawyer throughout the day. This is where help from assistants and paralegals comes in handy as they can take care of come of the administrative tasks required as far as cases go.
Training sessions
One of the most common duties in the day-to-day life of a business lawyer is attending training sessions as covered at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com. Most large firms have periodic training sessions on relevant corporate law topics.
Research
As a business lawyer, research is going to be a big part of your daily life in the office, especially when preparing for a case. A client may raise a question about an ongoing case, for instance, and it falls on you to research extensively so that you can give your client a satisfactory answer.
Phone calls
You will also spend a significant amount of time on phone calls with both clients and opposing counsel as a business lawyer as described at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com. You will likely be calling the opposing counsel to explain to them your client’s business position and comments.
Client pitches
Pitching to clients is another thing you will have to do during the course of your workday as a business lawyer. As a business lawyer, not only is it important to do a good job for existing clients to retain them, but you must also actively play a role in bringing in new business by pitching to potential clients.
Proofreading
Documents need to be impeccable in business law which is why proofreading is important. Reading through documents in their entirety to see if there are changes you may need to make is something you will have to do before you can distribute said documents to your clients.
Staying current on trends
Business lawyers must ensure they stay current in their knowledge of the laws and, therefore, remain in good standing with their state bar association as discussed at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com. This is a part of your job description you must take seriously.
Staffing
It might not happen daily, but it is worth noting that hiring and training attorneys and support staff take up a considerable amount of an attorney’s time when it is necessary to add or replace someone. This is another task you might have to do when needed.
No typical day
As every business lawyer will tell you, there is no such thing as a typical day as a business lawyer, which is one of the things many love about the job as outlined at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com. You never know in the morning what is going to have happened by the evening.
Reconciliation of conflicting demands
As a corporate lawyer, a big part of your job is to reconcile the conflicting demands of constant emails that need responding to with the urgent twists and turns of a case that can require you to drop everything. It is down to you to make the right judgments on this throughout the day.
Testing software
Recent years have seen an increase in firms engaging with new technology, including AI recently. This serves to make everyone’s life easier. As part of your day-to-day life as a business lawyer, you may be required to test sophisticated software followed by onboarding.
These are some of the things to expect in your day-to-day as a business lawyer, with more on this topic, and then some, to be found over at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com.