The ability to understand the fundamentals, but extrapolate into new areas, is what I believe makes a great transactional lawyer. Those who master the foundations of a particular practice area, but stay flexible about what they can and are willing to do, have the best chances at career longevity, fulfillment, and success.
Transactional lawyers counsel individuals and organizations on the legal issues generated by their business dealings. Many transactional attorneys are drawn to this type of work because it is generally less adversarial than litigation. design personnel policies and/or counsel on real estate, regulatory, intellectual property and licensing matters.
Transactional attorneys aim to help clients avoid litigation through the preparation of contracts and through advising on how to follow the law. This, of course, can lead to a variety of cases that once again, litigators might not have exposure to. The third pro of transactional law: You will always have one type of client.
But once that is established, transactional and litigation once again grow apart as litigation is needed if a lawsuit seems eminent, while transactional law is required if both parties are in agreement that a lawsuit is not in either’s best interests. What is transactional law?
As a starting point, successful lawyers almost always have a true passion for their job. You have probably heard popular cliches like “choose a job you love and you will never work a day in your life”. Of course, we all know that in the real world it’s not quite that simple.
Transactional law is a type of practice that deals with business and commerce. Transactional lawyers help their clients deal with contracts and other types of transactions.
Transactional work includes legal guidance about business contracts, agreements, and lease negotiations. A transactional attorney can also file tax documents on behalf of your company.
A transactional attorney should never see the inside of a courtroom, either trial or appellate. In fact, if she has done her job well, a transactional attorney can prevent many legal “problems” from arising in the first place.
Chief Legal Officer The top legal position in a large corporation usually earns a multimillion dollar executive salary and may earn millions more in stock awards or options. The chief legal officer, sometimes called the general counsel, has responsibility for ensuring that company actions are legal.
transaction experience usually refers to the entire deal process from start to finish.
While transactional attorneys work to bring parties together and avoid future litigation, litigation lawyers are essential for cases seeking to win in court: They analyze the claims their client(s) may have. They are skilled negotiators, and work to discover all evidence and file motions.
Transactional law is the practice of private law relating to money, business, and commerce. Areas of focus include providing legal aid to entrepreneurs through contract drafting, real estate acquisition, and intellectual property affairs.
Intellectual Property (IP) Law – A Transactional Law Overview. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) attach to creative expressions, such as inventions, trademarks, copyrights. IP rights can be found throughout businesses as extremely valuable assets.
Corporate lawyers structure transactions, draft documents, negotiate deals, attend meetings and make calls toward those ends. A corporate lawyer works to ensure that the provisions of an agreement are clear, unambiguous and won't cause problems for their client in the future.
Law Clerk. A law clerk within a law firm is usually a law student, recent law grad or experienced paralegal who performs legal research and writing. Law clerks often work part-time or seasonally (usually in the summer). It is often considered an entry-level legal job or a sort of legal internship for law students.
Types of Lawyers That Make the Most MoneyTax attorney (tax law): $122,000;Corporate lawyer: $118,000;Employment lawyer: $88,000;Real estate attorney: $87,000;Divorce attorney: $86,000;Immigration attorney: $85,000;Estate attorney: $84,000;Public defender: $66,000.More items...
Highest paid lawyers: salary by practice areaTax attorney (tax law): $122,000.Corporate lawyer: $115,000.Employment lawyer: $87,000.Real Estate attorney: $86,000.Divorce attorney: $84,000.Immigration attorney: $84,000.Estate attorney: $83,000.Public Defender: $63,000.More items...•
However, the term "Transactional" is a bit vague. It refers to the legal practice of bringing people and/or companies (or other organizations) together to make a deal.
Lexis's Practice Advisor , Westlaw's Practical Law, and Bloomberg Law's Transactional Intelligence Center are good places to start researching transactional law areas. These resources are designed for practitioners — both new attorneys and attorneys new to these areas of law. They offer relevant laws & regulations, secondary sources, practice guides, outlines & checklists, model agreements & forms, and drafting tools.
Starting in Westlaw, click on the small menu icon in the upper left corner to toggle between the (standard) Westlaw and Practical Law platforms. You can browse the various "Practice Areas" to focus on a particular type of transaction or area of law ( e.g., Bankruptcy & Restructuring, Corporate and M&A, Labor & Employment, Real Estate, etc.).
A comprehensive eleven-volume treatise that provides essential information covering a wide array of topics concerning securities law. This definitive treatise is an exhaustive classic work that is the foundation of every securities library. The authors' analysis of all relevant statutes plus thousands of cases and SEC administrative decisions and letters clarifies virtually all questions that subscribers have on securities law.
Starting in Bloomberg Law, click on the "Browse" link in the upper left, then click on "Transaction al Intelligence Center" in the menu that pops out from the left side.
Starting in Lexis Advance, click on the tiles in the upper left corner to find the tile for Lexis Practice Advisor. You can browse the various "Practice Areas" to focus on a particular type of transaction or area of law ( e.g., Corporate and M&A, Labor & Employment, Real Estate, Tax, etc.).
Remember: No two deals are ever identical, so you will need to review and edit the prior documents to make sure they are up-to-date with current practice and the details of your current deal.
On a fundamental level, attorneys are communicators. They communicate with their clients, they communicate with other parties to the case, and they communicate with the court. Beyond that, lawyers communicate in a wide range of different ways.
Whether it’s by helping them through a difficult family law matter, protecting them against false charges, or securing fair financial compensation after an accident, attorneys advocate for people during some of the most challenging times in their life. Lawyers matter.
Finally, successful lawyers know how to persevere. The law is a tough field. There is no reason to sugar coat it; practicing law can be one of the most rewarding and meaningful careers out there, but it’s also a lot of work. As is true with any profession, success requires effort. There will be difficult days. You may be stuck dealing with a client who is making your life unnecessarily hard, an opposing counsel who is being rude for no reason, or a judge who rules the wrong way on a key procedural matter. You may simply be frustrated because you spilled hot coffee on your shirt that morning. It happens. What sets successful attorneys apart from ordinary attorneys is that they know how to persevere through the challenging times to get to the rewarding and meaningful moments that make it all worth it.
When you think about the job of an attorney, creativity may not be the first trait that comes to your mind. However, contrary to the popular conceptions of most people, successful attorneys are often highly creative people. The law is not purely a science. There is an art to effective legal practice. Remember, each client that an attorney deals with will have their own unique set of goals, objectives, and concerns. In some cases, ‘outside-the-box’ thinking can help craft a solution that the client may never even realize was possible. Successful lawyers know how to tailor their creativity to suit every situation. All cases should be approached with an open mind.
Whether it’s by helping them through a difficult family law matter, protect ing them against false charges , or securing fair financial compensation after an accident, attorneys advocate for people during some of the most challenging times in their life. Lawyers matter.
Willingness to Listen. One of the most underrated traits shared by almost every successful attorney is a strong ability and willingness to listen. Although strong listening is a part of overall communication skills, it’s important to highlight listening as its own professional trait.
A great lawyer knows how to get important ideas across in formal legal writing, in informal emails, in phone conversations, through discussions in official legal settings, and in private conversations.
A transactional lawyer oversees contracts and agreements relating to financial transactions. Verify all documentation, negotiate on behalf of the company, and offer legal counsel regarding intellectual property, real estate transactions, licensing and trademarks, and mergers and acquisitions. A transactional lawyer can also assist with estate planning. As a result, they can write wills, make the power of attorney documents, and create employee agreements.
As having only one type of client can at times be tedious, the advantage for the transactional attorney is they have less discovery to accomplish than would be the case with a litigation attorney who can have a mixture of individuals and businesses – all of which will require research and background work.
Transactional law refers to all aspects of business dealings between companies and/or individuals being addressed. Doing business involves numerous transactions and obligations. An effective, efficient process, combined with legal compliance, is the basis for a solid business foundation. Attorneys who specialize in transactional law assist with a wide variety of business, money, and commerce transactions. Here is an overview of transactional law, including basic categories and how it impacts businesses.
The following transactional law overview provides information on the various categories of law related to business transactions.
According to the definition above, a transactional lawyer provides legal advice on business transactions, contracts, and agreements.
Transactional and litigation law differs in that litigation is usually practiced in the courtroom where an attorney directly challenges another attorney who represents an opposing side.
While the litigation department can be stuck on one specific case for months if not years, such an elongated amount of time is not a factor with transactional law simply because no lawsuits and court proceedings are involved. Meanwhile, transactional law has more going for it when it comes to variety.
Moreover, I am a firm believer that these days there is a premium on being able to master general transactional law because things are changing so quickly. If you understand the basics, you’ll be less intimidated by that change and capable of responding to, or even leading, the legal response to changes in the global economy and commercial landscape.
Milbank boasts one of the most dynamic and prestigious corporate practice groups in the country. The group includes more than 445 attorneys with a wide range of educational backgrounds and work experiences. Rod Miller, a partner in the firm’s New York office and a member of the Capital Markets Group, recently answered some of the most frequently asked questions he hears from law students and associates about pursuing a career in transactional law.
Our program, Milbank@Harvard, for example, has Harvard Business School professors teaching our mid-level associates finance, accounting, marketing, and management. I think it’s important to have that understanding, particularly for mid-level associates, but having formal business courses, let alone an MBA, is certainly not a requirement for a successful career in transactional law.
A favorable trend has developed, however, and law schools have started to offer a number of practical courses that cover specific areas like negotiations in M&A transactions and “Deals” seminars, which I think do a much better job of exposing law students to the actual practice of transactional and business law. Law schools are also allowing students to take classes at different schools, like the business school. I had a Capital Markets class taught at the Business School, which did not in any way make me an expert in finance or capital markets, but it did open my eyes to something that I had never before had an opportunity to explore or understand.
It can be, but is not necessary—again, we encourage associates to dabble in different areas of law, including litigation, in order to discover what area of the law most interests them. Like transactional law, there are many kinds of litigation, so it’s important to experiment. Some litigators gravitate to a practice that focusses on internal investigations and reporting to a company’s board of directors or a special committee. Other litigators love going to court and taking cases to trial. Still, others love the writing aspect of litigation, and so they lean toward appellate law. I actually practiced with a firm that focuses on litigation for a few years out of law school before turning to “Big Law” and the transactional world.
Lawyers who litigate business law disputes, securities class actions, intellectual property matters or even family law disputes can gain a great deal by engaging, early on in their matters, lawyers or legal academics with a strong background in what is known as “transactional law.”
Because deal lawyers design business structures and relationships, in part , to avoid litigation they can bring a unique and persuasive perspective to situations where a conflict or dispute does emerge , perhaps many years later, about a similar business transaction or structure. Litigators, however, may only realize relatively late in a matter that they either 1) do not have a complete grasp on the complexities and subtleties of business transaction; or 2) are not completely confident in their ability to explain how such a transaction works to the fact finder.
It’s important litigators realize that the field of business organizations law has expanded in complexity over the last twenty years. The sooner that an expert with a strong transactional background is involved in a matter the more likely it is that the expert can add value to the matter for the litigator’s client. Understanding transaction structures and parties can help the litigation team focus on relevant issues. They can also shape their argument on behalf of their client more persuasively and effectively. This may lead to an early and successful resolution of the case or reduce the chance of surprise as the matter moves forward. This increases the chances that the client’s position will prove persuasive to the fact finder.
The opinion I prepared and the follow up deposition and trial testimony I delivered helped lead to a successful outcome for the client. I think my background in preparing nearly identical types of documents in very similar kinds of business transactions helped the attorneys present a stronger case on behalf of their client.
It’s probable that most people go to law school because they imagine themselves in a courtroom defending the innocent or putting away a bad guy. Or perhaps they imagine themselves arguing a complex intellectual issue in front of an appellate court.
But law students interested in business law realize they have a basic choice to make early in their careers. Either they become a litigator or what is known as a “transactional lawyer .”. The choice is a fateful one. Once made, it’s relatively unusual for a lawyer to switch to the other career path. For the most part, that means litigators and transactional lawyers lead very separate professional lives. Even when inside the same large law firms.
Milbank boasts one of the most dynamic and prestigious corporate practice groups in the country. The group includes more than 445 attorneys with a wide range of educational backgrounds and work experiences. Rod Miller, a partner in the firm's New York office and a member of the Capital Markets Group, recently answered some of the most frequently asked questions he hears from law students and associates about pursuing a career in transactional law.
I think they're helpful, but I certainly don't believe they're a must. Getting some training in business is a good idea. Our program, Milbank@Harvard, for example, teaches our mid-level associates basics in finance, accounting, marketing, and management. I think it's important to have that understanding, particularly for mid-level associates, but having formal business courses, let alone a MBA, is certainly not a requirement for a future in transactional law.
However, law schools have started to offer more practical courses that cover specific areas like negotiations in M&A and "Deals" seminars , which I think do a much better job of exposing law students to the actual practice of transactional and business law. Law schools are also allowing students to take classes at different schools, like the business school. That's what I did and it opened my eyes to what it means to be a capital markets lawyer.
It can be, but is not necessary —again, we encourage associates to dabble in different areas of law, including litigation, in order to discover what area of the law most interests them. Like transactional law, there are many kinds of litigation, so it's important to experiment. Some litigators gravitate to a practice that focusses on internal investigations and reporting to a company's board of directors or a special committee. Other litigators love going to court and taking cases to trial. Still, others love the writing aspect of litigation, and so they lean toward appellate law. I actually practiced with a litigation boutique for a few years out of law school before turning to "Big Law" and the transactional world.
Transactional lawyers look for ways to structure the most advantageous deals for their clients. They are also highly detail-oriented and are great at keeping a chronological checklist in their minds. Ask these questions to understand the everyday work and career opportunities in transactional practices:
Litigators are born storytellers who can regale an audience with vivid descriptions of court proceedings, discovery motions and heated negotiations in court, in discovery and at the negotiating table. They have a flair for the sweeping narrative as well as the intricate details, and are able to make their presentations fascinating. Use their strengths to get the inside story on some of the firm's significant cases and ask these questions to find out what litigation attorneys actually do on a day-to-day basis:
Regulatory lawyers help clients avoid and manage risk. Their strengths include relationships with both clients and regulators, and the ability to understand the needs of each. They are creative problem-solvers who do not feel bound to "the way things have always been done." Ask a lot of "how" questions to learn more about these consummate strategists.