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• Corporate Law

• • Overview

  Put Simply...

  Corporate lawyers are an elite group in legal practice. The value in being a corporate lawyer, especially in a big and well-known firm is its own all-access pass; there are no doors which will be closed to you. The practice of corporate law involves general corporate matters such as incorporation of companies, directors’ and shareholders’ rights, articles of association, board meetings, secretarial matters and public listing or delisting of companies among other things.
  
  Transactional activity under corporate law deals with Mergers & Acquisitions, joint ventures, buy-outs, break-up of companies into independent subsidiaries, equity finance, IPOs and fresh issues of shares and debentures in multiple markets. No two corporate transaction or deals are the same. The difference involved can depend upon several factors such as type of industry, single or multimarket businesses, and size of the companies and so on.
  
  Clients in this area range from multinational corporations to investment banks, privately-held companies, small and medium scale businesses, regulatory bodies and governments.

  What is involved in Corporate Law?

  As a corporate lawyer, your portfolio of work will comprise of acting on mergers & acquisitions (M&A), restructuring of corporate entities, hiving-off of unprofitable sections, listing clients on stock exchanges across the world, securing finance from private equity players and venture capitalists, etc.

  Your work on any deal or transaction will move through different stages: (a) negotiating and preparing draft documentation in association with account, secretarial and financial advisors of your client, representatives from management and with similar counterparts on the other side; (b) completing of due-diligence reports – check on status of debts, employees, ownership details, existing liabilities; (c) procuring finance, either from banks or private investors, securing guarantees and other assets; (d) finalising the deal with all involved parties, getting necessary approvals through resolutions at board meetings, and completing registration and other formalities with local authorities wherever necessary.
  
  Among the different types of deals and transactions which constitute corporate law, a big portion of work involves dealing with private equity funds and listing clients’ companies on recognised stock exchanges. A private equity player usually holds some kind of stock or ownership in unlisted companies. A private equity lawyer’s job is to make relevant financial arrangements when it comes to floating a new business venture, or further expansion of operations, or a tie-up or takeover with another company, or MBO financing. Stock exchange listings will always depend on the size and segment of the company.

  What is needed for Corporate Law?

  Exemplary skills and knowledge of business law, current trends, legislative and regulatory developments and a familiarity with corporate and business law in other jurisdictions where clients have operations, or are looking to invest is very necessary.
  A corporate lawyer needs to have strong communication and negotiation skills, an excellent academic background, the ability to think ‘out-of-the-box’, capable at analysis and strategy and able to pay meticulous attention to detail.
  
  Teamwork is an essential feature of most corporate transactions, you will work with groups of professionals who share a common objective, hence interpersonal and people management skills should be top-notch. A good corporate lawyer is very ambitious, constantly thrives on challenges and is relentless in chasing goals.

  Current climate for Corporate Law?

  Recent legislation such as the Companies Act enacted in 2006 is expected to change the way corporate transactions are approached and managed; the M&A market is booming and the deals continue to get bigger and bigger. Private equity investments in the corporate sector have been growing steadily in the past few years and PE funds have begun to invest in both local and overseas markets, often collaborating as a group to pool resources and go after big-value transactions.
  
  Emerging markets such as the BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China are the new hot destinations for both public and private sector investments, with many fledgling and growing businesses getting listed very regularly on the Alternate Investment Market (AIM) exchange in the UK. Some uncertainty and worry has definitely seeped into the market with the US sub-prime market crisis having global effects and as lending in general gets tightened across the board.
  
  

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