Corporate Lawyer

Corporate lawyers and legal counsels, careers of increasing strategic importance for companies in the modern world 

As legal experts, corporate lawyers study, help make understood and apply the law. Their role is designed to protect and defend the interests of those in the company they serve. Just like doctors, they can be generalists or choose to specialise in a particular field, such as tax law, insurance law, employment law, environmental law, intellectual property law, health law, and so on. In today’s major corporations, corporate lawyers often specialise in a specific field and work as part of a larger team. However, in SMEs, they’re usually generalists and have to deal with a more diverse range of issues on a daily basis. 

Sectors: all sectors and industries

Monthly gross salary of a junior corporate lawyer: €2,900

Synonyms: corporate solicitor, advisor, attorney, legal counsel 

The life of a corporate lawyer... 

Advising various departments 

Unlike solicitors and lawyers in private practice, corporate lawyers don’t have any clients to serve other than the employees of the company they work for. As a result, corporate lawyers have to constantly juggle working for a number of different departments, including human resources, finance departments, sales departments, etc.,  carefully advising them on the laws in force and how they develop over time. They also need to give precise answers to all the legal questions put to them. To do so, they’re constantly monitoring the company’s operations and helping to make complex legal texts understood, clearly explaining the law to their colleagues. 

Supporting the company’s development plans 

Corporate lawyers are increasingly called upon when companies are making strategic decisions, for example, future employment plans, launching new projects, etc. This helps managers and directors check whether or not their decisions comply with the laws and regulations in force. 

Issuing legal documents 

Corporate lawyers are also responsible for drafting and issuing all the legal documents that apply within their company, including contracts, amendments, declarations, agreements, deals, and so on.

Defending the company’s interests 

Corporate lawyers may have to manage disputes that arise in the workplace, for example, when an employee takes the company to court, or when a complaint is received from a supplier or client. Depending on the size of the company and the types of documents they need to process, they may work in collaboration with external legal teams. However, their primary role is to anticipate and alert the company to any potential risks, rather than solve legal disputes. 

Required skills

• Corporate lawyers need to be extremely thorough and able to analyse and summarise complex texts. They should have excellent relationship and negotiating skills, be confident speaking and writing, whilst always being precise and reactive to challenges. 

• A good level of English is vital. 

Typical educational background

• Masters in law as well as a specialisation, e.g. tax law, banking law, business law, insurance law, etc.

• What recruiters also like to see...

• Advanced legal qualifications

• Dual graduates (e.g. a masters in law + a business or political science background)