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MariaLeszczynski
Mr.Vawter
ISM3A
1/31/2016

AnOriginalComparisonofWorkplaceEnvironmentsEmphasisonLawProfessionalsinthe
CorporateField:
By:MariaLeszczynski

WhatconstitutesCorporateLaw?Whileitisanambiguousterm,corporatelawis
generallydescribedasthepracticeoflawasitrelatestotheformationandmanagementofa
business,corporation,orcompany.Themajorityoftheselawyerswriteandreviewcontractsto
benefittheiremployers.Theirdutiesconsistoffillingoutgovernmentreports,draftinglegal
documents,andevaluatingnewbusinessventures.Additionally,theyfrequentlyrepresenttheir
employerinlegalaltercationssuchastaxpenalties,lawsuits,ormergers.Theirintentisto
upholdtherightsoftheshareholdersandownersofaspecificcorporation.Inordertodosoto
thebestoftheirabilities,corporatelawyershavetoendureaquickpacedworkenvironmentwith
manymeetingstofinetunestrategiesandprovidethebestpossiblelegalassistancetotheir
clients.However,thespecificresponsibilitiesofacorporatelawyerdifferdependingontheir
placeofwork.Factorssuchaslongerorshorterhours,manyorfewclients,andmoreorless
involvementinthecompanyvaryinaccordancewiththelawyersplaceofemployment.
Specifically,therearegenerallythreeworkenvironmentsthatacorporatelawyermayworkat:a

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firm,inhouseforasmallcompany,orinhouseforalargecorporation.Eachenvironment
providesauniqueexperienceforalawyerworkinginthecorporatefield.
Themajorityofcorporatelawyersworkforafirm.Yet,justlikeanybusiness,thereare
manyvariationsamonglawfirmsallofwhichhavedifferentstructuresdependingontheneeds
oftheowner.Thesetypesoffirmsincludesoleproprietorships,generalpartnerships,limited
liabilitycompaniesorLLCs,andprofessionalcorporations.Toclarify,thereareotherkindsof
firmsbutthesearethemostcommontypes.First,asoleproprietorshipisanentitythatisowned
andmanagedbyonepersonwhoissolelyliablefortheactivitiesofthefirm.Thesefirmshave
anadvantageduetotheirsimplenature.Specifically,theyrequirelittletonoadministrationfrom
thestate,areinexpensive,andhavesimplifiedtaxes.Beingalawyeratafirmlikethiscanbe
beneficialbecauseanaccusationofmalpracticeonlycreatesliabilityfortheowner.Furthermore,
thesefirmstendtobesmallerandhavefewerlawyersworkinginthem.Secondly,ageneral
partnershipsignifiesthattwoormorepeopleownandcontrolthefirm.Again,thepartnersare
solelyliablefortheobligationsofthefirm.Butinapartnership,thepartnershavefiduciary
dutiestoeachotherandtaxesarepaidthroughanindividual'staxreturns.Inaddition,thiskind
offirmhaslowformationcosts,profitflowgoesdirectlytopartners,andhasmanyincentivesfor
lawyerstobecomepartner.OnesubsetofthegeneralpartnershipisaLimitedLiability
PartnershiporLLP.AnLLPmaybelimitedtocertainprofessions,butitoffersmoreprotection
againstpersonalliabilityfortheactionsoftheotherpartners.However,LLPsarenotavailablein
everystate.Third,aLimitedLiabilityCompanycreatesastructurewherethemembersare
protectedagainsttheactionsofthecompany.Theyhaverestrictedliability,lessrecordkeeping,
andtheoptiontobetaxedasapartnershiporacorporation.But,LLCsmaybesubjectto

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dissolutionifamemberleavesordies,unlessstatedotherwiseintheoperatingagreement.
Likewise,LLCsarenotallowedineverystate.Overall,LLCsarethepreferredfirmstructuredue
totheirhighlydesirablemixtureofflexibilityandsecurity.Finally,Aprofessionalcorporation
existsseparatelyandfunctionswithlimitedliabilityfortheshareholders,perpetualexistence,
andshareholderownership.Aprofessionalcorporationistaxedwhenitearnsaprofitandthe
dividendsoftheshareholdersarealsotaxed.Thesefirmsrequireextensivepaperworkwiththe
state,bylawsthatdictatethegovernanceofthecorporation,andobligatedtofollowcorporate
formalities.Eachfirmbringsauniqueexperienceforthelawyerandhasavarietyofdifferent
kindsoflawpractice.
However,thecharcteristicsoflawyerdwhoworksatfirmdarenormallysimilar.To
demonstrate,afirmsfrequentlyhirerecentlygraduatedlawyersbecausetheyareenergeticand
tendtomotivateexperiencedlawyersintheirlegaldepartment.Likewise,younglawyershave
fewerpersonalresponsibilitiessuchasspouses,children,orothersocietalobligations.Toclarify,
thesecircumstancesarenotalwayspresent.Newlygraduatedlawyersmayhavemany
commitmentsandarenottheonlyclassoflawyersthatworkatafirm.Dependingonthe
structureofthefirm,theowners,partners,orshareholderstypicallyhaveextensiveexperience
withthelawandhavecomplexresponsibilitiesastheyoverseethefirm'sactivities,ratherthan
participatingdirectlyineachofthefirm'scases.Additionally,oneofthedefiningcharacteristics
ofafirmisthatmultiplelawyersrepresentmultipleclients.Therefore,theselawyersneeda
broadknowledgeofvariousformsoflawnotjustcorporatelaw.Forinstance,alawyerworking
atanLLCmayrepresentanewlyformedbank.Thisparticularlawyermayhavetoworkwiththe
realestate,employment,andtaxaspectsofthelaw.Becauseofthisneedalawyeratafirmdoes

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notnecessarilyneedtospecializeinanyparticularpracticeoflaw.Whilesomedo,theirduties
stillvarydramaticallyfromlawyersworkinginhouse.
Whatdoesalawyerwhoworksinhousedo?InHouseisatermthatindicatesthata
lawyerispartofaspecificcompanysorcorporationslegaldepartment.Theselawyerswork
exclusivelyfortheiremployerhandlingthelegalneedsoftheshareholders.However,the
experiencealawyerhasworkinginhousedependsonthecorporationorcompanytheyworkfor.
Specifically,itmatterswhethertheyworkatalargecorporationorasmallercompany.Alawyer
whoworksatasmallfirmwilltypicallyhavedifferentresponsibilitieswithregardtothe
companytheyworkfor.Forthemostpart,asmallcompanywillhaveonlyoneortwolawyers
workingforthemtohandlealloftheirlegalneeds.Theselawyerswilltypicallyhaveabetter
understandingofthebusinesstheyworkforbecausetheyfocusexclusivelyononeclient.Thisis
differentfromafirmwherethelawyersrepresentmultipleclientswithuniqueproblems.
Becausetheyonlyhaveoneclient,inhouselawyersworkmorecloselywithalldepartmentsof
thecompanyandmustbeavailablefortheotheremployees.Toexplain,ifanyemployeewho
worksinhumanresourceshasaquestionregardingthelegalityoftheirapproachtoanissue,they
areabletocallthecompany'slawyer,withoutbeingbilledbecauseinhouselawyersearnafixed
income.Theyarepaidlikearegularemployeeonthecompany'spayroll.Ifacompanyconsultsa
firm,theyarebilledforeachhourtheymeetwiththelawyertodiscusstheneedsofthecompany
andforanyadditionalinteractiontheymayhavewiththelawyer.Furthermore,inhouselawyers
workregularhoursandhavegreatercontroloftheirschedules.Asaresult,alargenumberof
inhouselawyersareolderandhavemorepersonalresponsibilities.So,moreregularhours
benefitthosewhohavefamiliesorpersonalcommitmentssincetheytypicallyworkninetofive

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andreceiveregularpay.Whereasatafirmacasesmayrequiremoreattentionduetoaspecific
problemthatmaytakenumeroushourstosolve.Indirectly,theirpayissimilartoacommision
basedsystem.Alawfirmmustactivelyseekclientswhileaninhouselawyeronlyhasone
client.Grantedthataninhouselawyermayreceivelesspay,butitmaybeworthwhilefora
specifictypeofpersontoreceivelesspay,dependingontheirpersonallife.Nonetheless,many
oftheseresponsibilitiesdifferfromtheresponsibilitiesofalawyerwhoworksatalarger
corporation.
Manytimestheownersofagivencorporationmayassemblemultiplelawyerstohandle
thelegalimplicationsofaspecificdepartment.Sincetheiraremultiplelawyers,thelegal
departmentfunctionsasaninhousefirmwhichissimilartoaprofessionalcorporation.As
previouslymentioned,acorporationisauniquebusinessbodythatfunctionswithlimited
liability,perpetualexistence,andshareholderownership.Alawyerworkinginthisenvironment
adjuststothelimitedliabilityfortheshareholders,perpetualexistence,andownershipbythe
shareholders.Additionally,thisemploymentsettingrequirescollaborationwiththestateon
paperwrork,bylawsthatdictatethegovernanceofthecorporationandobligationstouphold
corporateformalities.Thisrequirementisnecessaryduetothestructureofthefirm,Large
corporationsworkinasimilarway.Therepresentationofonlyoneclientallowseachlawyerto
managethelegalaspectsofaspecificdepartment.Incontrast,afirmnotonlyrepresentsmultiple
clientsbutmayhandledifferenttypesoflawfordifferentcases.Thisalsovariesfroman
inhousestaffatasmallerbusinesssincetheymustalsohaveonelawyerpracticingvarious
formsoflaw.Toclarify,asinglelawyeratasmallcompanyorafirmmayhavetodealwiththe
company'staxes,employment,andmarketingwhileatabigcorporationthereisanemployment

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lawyer,ataxationlawyer,andamarketinglawyer.Becauseofthisrequirement,inhouse
lawyersformajorcompanieswillconsultwithfirmstoobtainanoutsidersperspective.Many
times,acompanywillhirelawyersfromafamiliarfirmandinterchangeworkexclusivelywith
thatfirmifanypressingmattersrequireoutsideopinions.Likewise,lawyersatalargerbusiness
arenotasaccessible.Theheadofanotherdepartmentmayhavetoscheduleoneorseveral
meetingstolearnwhattheyneedtoknow.Yet,theselawyersstillexperiencethebenefitsof
regularhours,setmonthlyincome,andmorereliablejobsecurity.Ayoungerlawyertypically
hastoworktheirwayuptotheladdertoobtainemploymentatalargerfirm.Sincenew
graduateslackexperience,theytendtobehiredbyfirmsratherthanmajorcorporations.
Therefore,thetypeofpersonwhoworksinhouseissimilaracrosstheemploymentspectrum.
Insummation,eachworkplaceprovidesauniqueexperience.Afirmwillhandlemultiple
caseswithmultipleclientsandgenerallyhavelawyerswithmoreknowledgeonvariousformsof
law.Incontrastaninhouselawyerwillrepresentonlyoneclientandhaveregularhours,regular
pay,andjobsecurity.Yetalawyerwhoworksforasmallercompanywillhavemoreknowledge
aboutthecompanyandwillbemoreaccessibletotheotheremployees.Whileaninhouse
lawyerrepresentingalargercorporationwillhavespecificknowledgeaboutonlyoneaspectof
thecompanytheyworkfor.Therefore,alawyerisnotconfinedtoonlyonetypeofexperience.
Variousdefiningattributesmakelawyersjobsdrasticallydifferentthanwhatthepublicusually
thinks.Thus,thelegalprofessioncanbecomplex,varied,challengingandexciting,withplenty
ofroomtogrow,changeandmigrate.

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