![How Much Does A Corporate Lawyer Make? – [Job Description & Educational Requirements]](https://www.parkaman.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/How-Much-Does-A-Corporate-Lawyer-Make-300x200.jpg)
Being a corporate lawyer is a fulfilling job in all aspects. One good thing about this area of law is that practitioners may work independently or to work in a company. However, whichever route he or she follows, they must direct their clients through their obligations and legal rights. It is also their responsibility to represent their clients in any criminal or civil cases.
Corporate Lawyer Job Description
It is the job of a corporate lawyer to ensure that his or her client company’s transactions follow the legal process. They work as advisors to their client company on various issues such as;
- Formulating their contracts
- Providing and analyzing their legal proceedings evidence.
- Providing advice on the company’s obligations and legal rights in their business transactions.
- Helping their clients with advice on matters that pertain to taxation.
- Assisting with business sales, mergers, and acquisitions, venture capital sourcing, carrying out “due diligence”, and drafting contracts.
With their vast job description, it then means that corporate lawyers need to specialize in various aspects of the law. They should specialize majorly in the corporate law which encompasses securities law, tax law, accounting law, and contract laws respectively. A corporate lawyer has to understand the many aspects of these laws as regards to their client company.
Corporate Lawyer Educational Requirement
To be a corporate lawyer, you will need patience and time to study for at least seven years before you receive a call to the bar. You will have to pass through a four – year degree course and the LSAT {Law School Admission Test} which is the least requirement for law school. It will be followed by a three-year Juris doctor course and your state’s bar exam. After all these exams, you will then get the license to practice law.
How Much Does a Corporate Lawyer Make?
Corporate lawyers are usually involved in multi-million deals for their respective companies. Majority of the corporate lawyers work in famous big law firms or medium-size companies that attracts investment banks, public liability companies, governments, accounting firms, big private companies, and non-profitable organizations as their clients.
They provide both commercial and legal assistance during the start-up of their client’s business. They spend so much time working for the companies that employed them, strategizing and advising. Their duties are so vast that their appropriate salary runs in the six-figure category. Even the junior associates are earning incredible salaries.
Payment Structure
The payment structure of corporate lawyers is sub-divided into;
- Initial Salary
The initial salary of a corporate lawyer sometimes starts from $30,000 to $100, 000 per annum. Although the amount depends on the state you are working in, the size of your firm, and the financial circumstances of your employer. Outstanding corporate lawyers that graduated from the best law schools may expect lucrative positions and much higher starting up salaries. That is if they gave an outstanding performance during their internship and they have the required skills. If you go online, you can see various listings of programs for salary ratings. For instance, you will see the starting salary listing for graduates from Columbia Law School at the minimum of $165,000. Other law schools that produce high salary earner are the University of Virginia, University of Chicago, and Stanford University. Graduates from other law schools have to make do with more modest starting salary even though they get a job in a profitable corporate law field.
- Average Salary
In 2014, the average salary which is paid to a corporate lawyer annually according to the PayScale was $98,823. The average salary payment of corporate lawyers per annum is usually based on their experience and knowledge. Most of the corporate lawyers that secured a lucrative job in a good corporate law firm expect yearly salary increment.
Conclusion
It is a normal phenomenon that corporate lawyers who are working for in-house businesses receive lesser salary payments. While on the other hand, the corporate lawyers that work for prestigious law firms that carry out million-dollar deals get higher salary payment.
Although it is a general phenomenon that the attorneys that earn higher salaries are those that work in large firms, however those working at in-house businesses are not doing badly. You will find out that they are not financial worse-off than their contemporaries.
In a nutshell, corporate lawyers receive a substantial amount of money annually no matter their firm.
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