How to Become A Corporate Lawyer South Africa

A corporate lawyer is a lawyer who specializes in corporate law.

What do you need to become a corporate lawyer?

To become a corporate lawyer, one needs to get a degree in law by taking up a five-year Bachelor of Law(B.A. LL.B) degree course after completing their higher secondary education(Class 12), or by pursuing the three-year B.A. LL. B after obtaining a bachelor’s degree in any discipline.

Do corporate lawyers go to court?

Most business lawyers do not get involved in litigation or argue cases in court. Most of the business lawyer’s time will be spent on negotiation, legal analysis, contract drafting, advising, and writing.

What can a corporate lawyer do?

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

Skills for a corporate lawyer

Here are some skills that corporate attorneys possess that help them find success in their career:

Knowledge of corporate law: It’s important to have a solid foundation of corporate law topics like civil procedures, contracts, torts and constitutional law.

Ambition: Becoming and working as an attorney is a lot of hard work, and ambition is key to a successful career.

Communication: A large part of your responsibilities as an attorney will be communicating with others, both verbally and through written communication. You’ll draft legal documents and other written reports and need to form strong relationships with corporate stakeholders, other attorneys and members of the court.

Negotiating: Negotiation skills are good to have so you can help resolve conflicts, talk through the different parts of contracts and other legal documents and come to a mutual agreement with other parties that are involved in the operations of the business.

Research: Laws update, and it’s imperative that you have research skills that can help you discover and learn more about the field of law. Many practicing attorneys continue to take continuing education courses and attend trainings that help grow their knowledge in a particular subject so they can best serve the organization they work for.

Some responsibilities of corporate lawyers include:

Reviewing and approving contracts with business partners, employees, vendors and suppliers

Advising company owners and executive leadership of regulations and laws pertaining to the organization’s industry

Writing agreements between various parties and facilitating their completion

Developing employee handbooks

Representing the company they work for in court, during regulation meetings and to administrative boards

Handling company mergers and acquisitions

Restructuring companies to meet the needs of owners and investors

Appraising the organization to share its value with potential buyers and investors

Below are steps to Become A Corporate Lawyer South Africa

Understand what a corporate lawyer does.

Corporate lawyers serve only one client – the corporation they work for. As a corporate lawyer, you will be called upon to handle a variety of legal tasks including corporate taxes, mergers and acquisitions, corporate structure issues, employment law, and government reporting.

Get an undergraduate degree.

Becoming a lawyer is a long process involving many years of study and training. Before you go to law school you will need to complete an undergraduate degree.

There is no fixed subject you are required to study, but you should consider the kinds of skills that lawyers need to possess when choosing your course.

You will need excellent writing and comprehension skills.

You will need to be able to critically analyze an issue and clearly articulate your position with adequate supporting evidence.

Gain some experience while you study.

It’s a good idea to think about your time studying as an opportunity to gain some useful experience as well as qualifications.

Think about the chances to develop your skills in practice working in student government, debating societies, or writing for the student newspaper.

Look for internship possibilities with local law firms.

Consider a part-time job at a local firm to help support you while you study, most law schools already offer this opportunity during the summer, as this will give you the experience of working in law.

Take the law school admission test.

Before you near the end of your undergraduate studies you need to be already thinking about the next step. In most instances you will need to take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) well before you plan to actually go to law school.

At the beginning of your final year of undergraduate studies, look for LSAT dates and locations local to you.

The LSAT is a standardized test, which is administered four times a year at designated sites across the world.

Go to law school.

 Once you have passed the LSAT you can go and apply for law school. This can be a long and arduous process, so it’s important that you have some patience and are committed to your career choice.

Apply to study for a Juris Doctor (JD) degree at American Bar Association approved law schools.[7]

The law school application process is very competitive, so don’t only apply for your first choice.

How long does it take to be a corporate lawyer in South Africa?

The standard requirement before one can practice as a lawyer is completing an LLB degree which takes 4 years. Alternatively, some students choose to first study a BCom or BA which takes 3 years and then study another 2 years to complete their LLB.

How long does it take to become a corporate lawyer in South Africa ?

Becoming a corporate lawyer takes patience and time seven years of college, plus the bar exam and even a Master of Law if you want to work internationally. Carefully selecting your undergraduate major and your electives in law school will help you towards your goal of practicing corporate law.

Where can I study corporate law in South Africa?

LLM Programs in Corporate Law / Company Law – South Africa

University of South Africa (UNISA) – College of Law. Pretoria, South Africa 141 Followers 11 Discussions.

University of Pretoria.

University of Western Cape.

University of Witwatersrand – Oliver Schreiner School of Law.

Is corporate law a good career?

Working as a corporate lawyer could be a very rewarding and profitable career path. It’s a must to examine for a few years, so be ready for exhausting work and sacrifice.

You will want to get certified, acquire expertise, after which proceed your skilled improvement and examine in your specialism in corporate law.

Do you need math to be a corporate lawyer?

Lawyers do not have to be expert mathematicians; they do not even have to know calculus. However, all lawyers should have a solid understanding of complex math, accounting and algebra to fulfill their job requirements. Furthermore, scoring well on the LSAT entrance exam requires some math understanding.

Where can I study diploma in law in South Africa?

Institutions Offering Diploma in Law

Damelin Correspondence College, Johannesburg. Law and Taxation.

University of South Africa UNISA, Pretoria.

INTEC College, Cape Town.

Johannesburg City College, Johannesburg.

Are corporate lawyers in demand?

The demand for corporate lawyers will only increase in the near future and there is a great potential for corporate lawyers owing to various new areas of expertise that have emerged in recent years. In each such transaction, there is lot of corporate law involved. Corporate lawyers are the need of the hour.

What skills do you need to be a corporate lawyer in South Africa ?

Corporate lawyers should have excellent writing, communication, and negotiating skills because these skills are relied upon so heavily in day-to-day corporate law work.

What do you need to become a corporate lawyer in South Africa ?

To become a corporate lawyer, one needs to get a degree in law by taking up a five-year Bachelor of Law(B.A. LL.B) degree course after completing their higher secondary education(Class 12), or by pursuing the three-year B.A. LL. B after obtaining a bachelor’s degree in any discipline.

What can a corporate lawyer do in South Africa ?

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.