What Does a Corporate Lawyer Do & Do You Need One?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ต.ค. 2024
- Brett Cenkus answers the question what is a corporate lawyer, what do they do and do you need one?
Even in law school, he was unaware of what a corporate lawyer does. As you'll see, Brett describes a corporate lawyer (or transactional lawyer) as a business generalist. No courtroom for us, but the advice of a quality business attorney is invaluable.
In the 20 years since getting his law degree, Brett has spent about half of that in business himself. And, you want your business lawyer to have some sort of business experience. It means they understand the challenges you face, your needs, and concerns because they've been where you are.
So, whether you're figuring out your career path or are researching the attributes to look for in your next corporate attorney, watch the video and let us know what you think.
_____________________________________________
Have questions? Book a call, and talk to Brett today:
clarity.fm/bre...
_______________________________________________
You can reach Brett through:
clarity.fm/bre...
/ brettcenkus
/ bcenkus
www.cenkuslaw.com
braatenwoods.com
merger-resourc...
_______________________________________________
Brett A. Cenkus has 20+ years of experience in business law, finance, and entrepreneurship. Through Cenkus Law, PC, he provides advice and services for mergers & acquisitions (M&A), securities offerings, founders’ agreements, and other general business law issues.
Through Braaten Woods, LLC, Brett helps business owners in the lower middle market ($2MM - $25MM) position themselves for sale, find buyers, negotiate, and close M&A deals.
Brett also maintains merger-resources.com, a site packed with free articles, videos, checklists, deal diagrams, template contracts, and other tools to help pass M&A knowledge to others.
Brett regularly consults with entrepreneurs and invests his own capital as an angel investor.
From 2010-2013, Brett served as Chief Legal Counsel of a publicly-traded international oilfield services company. From 2001 to 2006, he and a partner founded and built Paragon Residential Mortgage. Bridge Investments acquired Paragon in 2006.
Brett holds a Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania.
Brett lives in Austin with his wife, Cathryn, and two children. He enjoys reading, squash, classic movies, great food and wine, and the New England Patriots.
#corporatelaw #mergersandaquisitions #businesslaw #corporatelawyer
Here’s how my dad explained it to me:
You don’t have to go to court
You get paid well
You basically sign papers and read things over
That is a great explanation!
Hi first of all your dad is a legend. I wish someone would have said that to me 😂. Being a first one to go to college and in law school in my family it feels so good knowing that I can make my parents happy. But it was nerve wrecking knowing most of my friends came from a good school and their parents were actually lawyers. When I talked to some of them, I learned so much just having conversation with them. Their insight was deep and I knew they had that edge as they knew more about the practise as they grew up watching their parents read documents or working once in while at home. But ya it disappears overtime like that. I believe it’s all about hunger. We must be hungry to make something, to do something to make our life better than it was yesterday.
My dad said the same thing 😂😂😂
@@punbishal5874 straight up 💯💯
My father wanted me to study civil engineering this is how he explain it. U dont have to do any heavy lifting you just stand up and order ppl around
Transactional lawyer is a good way to put it! People never understand me when I say I want to be a lawyer but dont really want to be arguing in court
OH MY THE SAME, LIKE WHEN I SAY I WANT TO BECOME A LAWYER, THEY ALWAYS THINK ABOUT ARGUINGS IN COURTS AND ETC...
Same with me fam
It’s almost like when people say they wanna be a doctor and they assume you wanna do surgeries 😂
Same girlllll
Wow...you are the best..you have explained it properly in very simplified manner..
Hi Brett,
I'm a third year law student and i really like your videos as it is so relatble to me. Hope you could do a video on what a law student should do to better prepare themselve to be a corporate lawyer. (:
Tai, I will do this in the next couple weeks. Thank you for asking!
@G Ha I learned a lot from voraciously reading books and magazines over the years -- self-study. That may sound sophomoric, although I was one of those kids that read the Wall Street Journal and Business Week (maybe not cover to cover!) in high school. I devoured tons of material about business throughout high school, college, law school, post-law school. None of that is a replacement for real experience, although it gave me tremendous context and a framework for my experience when it came. I also grew up around small business (we have a fourth generation extended family business) and I studied Economics in college, so I had studied and read a lot before law school. Since then, I have 20 years in law, finance, and entrepreneurship. In all, I have a lot of experience in business and finance spread over many years. But, I still put a whole lot of stock in all those nights and weekends reading books and magazines anyone can get their hands on. You can learn a ton without leaving your house. Harvard Law School did a lot for me in many ways, although it wasn't the primary way I learned about business and finance (more like a distant fourth!).
Brett Cenkus I know I am a year late lol (better late than never I guess) but I like how you said you were the kid in high school to read the Wallstreet Journal and other business mags/books because I am a first year college student and I do the same. I am currently studying CyberSecurity but I am looking to change to Finance and try my luck getting into Law School. I guess my question to you at this point is if that is the right decision? I know you can self study but would it help more if I made that transition? Great video by the way
Wow when he was explaining the type of students. I definitely fit in the I am in Law school but I definitely dont want to argue and i love business too
Definitely affirmed my interest in corporate law. Thank you!!
You're welcome!
The explanation of the deciding reasons for becoming a transactional lawyer was so funny. I decided I wanted to become a lawyer when I was 4 years old, chose corporate during my freshman year of highschool. That same year we held a mock trial court case for our final eval projects (i went to a special hs) and I scored extremely well. I had loads of fun preparing my case but I realized that it didn't do much for me. I really got into it tho when we started going over contracts which everyone else hated. I'm applying to law school this year and I guess I finally know exactly what it is I want to do. 😊
Did you get in?
What was your biggest challenge on your way to becoming a corporate Attorney ?
Thanks for the great question. I had to think about it for a bit, and I turned my answer into a video! You can find it here: th-cam.com/video/i5QYwKkzl_o/w-d-xo.html
I had the same struggle, I started studying law but arguing and going to court rooms was something that I was not very attracted to (ironic for a person that wants to become a lawyer). But then I heard about Corporate Law and now it's what I want to do. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Great video, myself a corporate lawyer and I still have friends come up to me and say "Oh! Now I know someone who can take me out of jail" they don't understand what a corporate lawyer does. Cheers!
Ha! We need more TV shows of lawyers sitting at desks, painstakingly noodling over the exact words to best protect their clients' interests. Of course, no one would watch but, if they did, they'd get it!!
I can so relate with him. I found some class mates so passionate about the law and they wanted to be lawyers since like 13 and here I was choosing law just cuz I thought I might enjoy it and it would be useful for my future.
Has it worked out for you (are you happy you chose law)?
Brett Cenkus yes I am. I particularly like the aspect of company law. It is pretty fun.
@@punbishal5874 Great to hear!
May I ask what you majored in in undergrad? Where did you get the business background knowledge you talked about and is it necessary to have that before going to law school to be a corporate lawyer? Awesome video!
Great video. I'd like to study corporate law. Well, I have 3 questions
1. You really need to pass LSAT to study corporate law??
2. How much does it cost to study corporate law??
3. Do corporate lawyer have free time for vacation with family??
Hi Brett, great insight, I am a law student and hoping to take the corporate route when I finish
Great to hear!
insightful video thanks!! I'm trying to decide if I want to go to law school or not. These kind of videos really help me understand the legal world better. A few questions though what did you do before you went to law school? what did you study in undergrad? I'm trying to decide if I should get some work experience or go to law school ASAP
Zack, I studied Economics in college. As I said in my answer to Priyanka, I don't think your undergrad degree is all that important to your career in law. If you know you're going to law school, I recommend studying what you want to study, which is not bad advice no matter what you end up doing, although it's even more pertinent if you study law. You'll get all the legal training you need over time. Other subjects, especially the arts, writing, marketing -- I'd make a case that these are more valuable long-term than pre-law classes. If you were inclined to take a couple years between college and law school, studying accounting would be a great move, IMO, especially if you go into corporate law. If I did it again, I'd do that. Like law, accounting is a technical subject, a type of language (in a way) that you either speak or don't. It's helpful in corporate law to speak it. I worked for a year as an analyst at Bloomberg Financial Markets -- a great company and a fun year, although not that valuable for my career necessarily.
How am I only bumping into your channel now?! This is excellent content!
thank you for the great feedback and support, Letlotlo!!
@@BrettCenkus Absolutely! You've made a fan all the way from South Africa.
Thnx for the explanation and I'm subscribing.🎉
Very well put.. I have just been educated on the difference. Thank you for the insight!
My pleasure!
How does your week look like in regards to hours worked?
Also, what’s a big difference between a corporate lawyer that works on its own, and someone who works in a big company or government?
Thank you that was very informative.
Thank you very much Mr Cenkus for that information...very useful!!
you're welcome, Jay!
Love this >>> Explained complex subjects in easy to Understand Language! 🙏 Thank You So Much & would like to hire you as our small business grows! 🌷🌿🌎💖
Thank you for the positive feedbacl, Toma. Best success in growing your small business!
Thank you so much, you've given me purpose to study law after finishing business school.
I thought graduating from law school you could practise any type of law but you specialize in a certain type of law to serve it best. My question is do you have to chose a type of law in law school that you will peruse or not.
Loved this ❤
Thank you
What is your watch brand? Sorry, I subscribed and glean much from your videos and look forward to seeing most of them...
Thanks for the video, I used to be a corporate lawyer in Ukraine before I immgrated in the USA, here in the USA I got my Criminal Justice Degree and A.B.A. approved Paralegal Certificate and I am now working on my A.B.A. approved Masters Degree in US Law. I am interested in becoming a corporate lawyer here in the US and/or military J.A.G. lawyer. Do your you have any advice for me; my Ukrainian experience help me somehow here in the US?
I'm still in school and I've got no idea what career I want in the future. However, i've always had an interest in helping victims of crime and I've been trying to research different careers in law but I still have no idea what to do. Do you have any suggestions?
You should go for criminal law.
Zohra, the first choice you have is whether or not you definitely want to be a lawyer. Law school is a general degree. You don't need to specialize in criminal law or corporate law or litigation -- you can make that choice later, during or at the end of law school (or even switch careers later). The commitment to a law school is a big one, though, given it's three years and has gotten expensive at most schools. If you aren't ready to make that commitment, you should try to intern or even get an admin job at a criminal law firm -- any exposure that might help you understand that world would help.
I’m just watching this video. I have an associates in Criminal Justice. Want to get my bachelor’s in finance and then law school is what I want to do . Definitely corporate lawyer is what I would like to pursue.
Ppl think I’m wasting a lot of time and money and what I’m doing makes no sense lol.
Thanks a lot for making this video.
why do they think you're wasting your money? You're welcome (for the video)!
Brett Cenkus they think I’m between business and criminal justice and that I’m confused but actually I’m not. I love the process and everything I’ve learned so far
@@kidakokici8567 that's awesome! I am happy to hear it!
I also want to be a corporate lawyer bcz I don't have much speaking skills and cannot fight in the court
Hi Brett,
Thank you for your videos. My son’s in 9th grade and has just recently begun considering a possible career in corporate law. Could you please explain the difference between a corporate lawyer who works for a corporate law firm (salaried by them, and the firm gets contracts after contracts [gig after gig] / client after client) and one who works solely for a large corporation, such as Pfizer, Coca-Cola, Ford, etc., is on their payroll, etc.?
Is there a common personality type difference: the corporate attorney that works for a law firm needs to have a more sales mindset versus a corporate attorney that works in-house for a large corporation doesn’t have that pressure?
I also solicited panhandle for change $cents dollar s an I got three out of da western Union credit buying purchase
I am currently doing My A level and I'm completing in a months time. Just wanted to really know what i'm getting into before I study law
what are you currently taking in A-levels ? I'm just asking because I'm gonna be doing my gcses next year so im just curious what i need to study at A-level to go into law school
@@thrkan I studied Literature English Language and I.T. But Law, History and English Language is the best A level Combination for aspiring Law Students
@@xxxxx4031 hie a u from zim
Hello Brett, I read in one of your previous replies that some corporate lawyers use their background to become investment bankers or work for hedge funds. That is pretty much the exact road I'd like to go down albeit years of work later. Any recommendations or advice on how one makes that transition? Any further education needed or do many factors overlap? Thank you
ooo subbing to this cause I want to see the reply lol
I thought I wanted to be a litigator, but now I'm much more interested in corporate law. I plan on majoring in accounting in undergrad, would you say this is a good choice? Or is there a more beneficial major?
Gabbie, accounting is a great background for a corporate lawyer, probably my #1 recommendation if the goal is purely to prepare yourself for law school (I encourage you to not make that your only goal!). I also recommend economics (so much of legal policy is intertwined with economic theory), philosophy (improve your overall thinking and logic), and English/a writing major.
Brett Cenkus how about finance
Brett Cenkus THANK YOU FOR THIS COMMENT!!! I’m actually majoring in philosophy and planned on double majoring in English and minoring in economics for the longest!!!
please tell that corporate counsel or in house counsel required to give bar exam for work in a private company
What did you major in before going to law school? Did it help you while pursuing your corporate law path?
Amazing information, I have a quesion
I am a budget analyst in government and work on reviewing budgets and contracts. I am thinking about going to law school for part time as I think it might pay off financially. Any word of advice for me?
This video just cleared my doubts on what I will do if I go to law school
U wanna know what my problem is,I love business I'm very business minded and try my best to learn new things about,but at the same time I live arguing as well...I'm very straight forward and like putting my point down and challenging someone based of their knowledge and basically what lawyers who work in court do. So my problem is that I don't know which law type I should do,anyone with help or some advice
Learn both and you can decide what you want to do after completing them
@@zainahmad1373 ok then ,I'll tell u after 10years
Great informative video. I am currently attending Queens University of Charlotte's business school and am also working for a law firm in Charlotte, NC, and wanted to have an idea of how my business background can be tied to the field of law.
Also, I prefer speaking and writing and talking, which type of law should I go into?
speaking and writing are important to most lawyers, Anime, including me with corporate work. Although, a large part of my work involves negotiating, if you like arguing (or persuasive talking to use a softer term), that feels more litigation
Dear Brett
I need your help in hiring a good lawyer in France, because we inherited shares in a big hotel company there, and we need a good lawyer to transfer those shares to us. Can you help us in this matter?
Thank you
My mom is a corporate lawyer and my dad was a chief of police and im a director of a company i was born January 15 1974
corporate lawyer need high analityc...awesome
Can do both corporate and litigation
what are the steps, can a company take if another company named themselves, a similar name that you are using, and your company is registered ,
Is it possible to use this education and apply to a union representative position?
Great video...
Thank you, Julius
@@realtopia2479 Hi, from your experience how do do you see someone coming from an Accounting background taking up law to be corporate lawyer as well. Is it worth it? Appreciate your view on this. Thanks
@@juliusiha4409 Accounting is a great background for corporate law. However, I think your question may be about the value of becoming a corporate lawyer to bolster/advance an accounting career. If that is the question, my answer is that it does not make a ton of sense to do that (other than if an accountant wants to actually become a corporate lawyer) due to the amount of time/effort/cost to get the law degree and the fact that it is not an absolute requirement, i.e., an accountant does not need to get a graduate degree but every corporate lawyer needed an undergraduate degree.
Hello Mr. Amazing! What business courses do you think would be useful for a future corporate lawyer? At least to start developing that business mind.
A background in economics is helpful because a lot of legal policy is intertwined with economic theory. Understanding basic accounting and financial concepts is also very useful because those concepts (and tax) are important to a deeper understanding of what drives many corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Beyond business courses, I recommend studying philosophy to improve your overall thinking and logic and writing (English) classes since writing is critical to most areas of law practice.
@@BrettCenkus I appreciate your response! I start LS in September so I have quite a bit of time on my hands and am eager to learn something useful. With your advice, I think I'll start learning some basic econ/finance. I'll take accounting and business courses in LS as well. Thanks again!
@@stickersdogcat42 you're welcome!
I only want to be a lawyer because there is no thing I love in this life more than arguing
Hey Brett just starting out in m&a in the UK. I think finding a lawyer that is 'on the same page' as the business owner is paramount. How does one go about finding this elusive creature?
Hey, I plan on becoming a corporate lawyer. I was thinking of the dual degree MBA/JD route...do you think having an MBA is useful if you plan to go into corporate law?
Me tooo !!
i will like this video
thank you, Isaiah!
you have a Turkish last name. hopefully I will be corporate lawyer
I am graduated in international commercial law from a foreign university, do i have any chance to get a job in the USA?
I am going to be doing A levels very soon In the uk do you have any suggestions on what A levels to choose I am currently looking at doing accounting business and law with a conflict of maybe switching accounting for economics
Hey I need your suggestion LLM in Company Law or Corporate governance?
Need help with mine I need my father's last name
Then I should take up MBA or MA Econ to become a better corporate lawyer I guess.
Isaac,
Those fields would help, although there are a lot of other fields that would help you as a corporate lawyer, so I wouldn't go so far as to advise you that choosing one of those fields is the best path for a future corporate lawyer. A great corporate lawyer needs some business savvy and comfort with numbers, although you don't need a two-year MBA to get to the threshold level that a corporate lawyer needs to be effective.
If you were inclined to go one of those two routes, I think an MA in Economics is more valuable than an MBA because it's a great background for understanding logical ways to think about the world, economic systems, and how lots of moving pieces in a complex system interact with each other, and that broad-level understanding is helpful (more helpful, IMO, than strictly learning more math or business generally).
Hi, I'm following a llb now and I want to be a corporate lawyer. So I want to know what are the other degrees that I can follow to gain more qualifications?( business administration,business management etc.) And what is the best masters programme to follow?( masters in law or a specific masters programme)
Thank you
Hi Brett
Any advice on what type of courses/major/minor one should take up in college in order to become a corporate lawyer before they get to law school?
Thanks!
P.S. Great videos!👍
Economics (so much of legal policy is intertwined with economic theory), philosophy (improve your overall thinking and logic), and writing classes -- those classes will give you important ways of thinking that will help you throughout your legal career. Actual undergrad law classes (e.g., business law, constitutional law) are, IMO, less useful. You'll learn those subjects in law school, so aside from having a little more background than your classmates, it doesn't do much for you, IMO.
I am a founder and have a start up for industrial bio-tech in San Diego, but, I'm still in college. Can you help?
Loved this explanation! Very helpful, thank you. Could I ask what you majored in undergrad school?
Thank you for the feedback! I majored in Economics
I love this guy! He is so motivational and lowkey person which gives the right advices, I admire really. Keep up the good work!
Thank you!
So I want a triple major. I want a bachelor's degree in psychology and a masters in business. I want to be a corporate lawyer. I speak 5 languages. I plan on using them in law. I want to add more languages.
¡Great! I just subscribed
thank you, JC!
If I own a LLC, Anything the LLC owns isn't really mine, but the LLCs, correct or incorrect?
correct
Sir i am from India persuing LLB 5 year from a reputated law college . Want to study LLM in aborad with scholarship and get a job in abraod how can i prepare myself
In other words king makers 😎
I really don't like arguments but i want to be a lawyer 🙂🖐️ does that make sense
.then BOOM *corporate lawyers exist*
hi I am in my last year of high school and I must soon apply at universities for a certain course.I was just wondering if I am making the right choice by wanting to study corporate law.
sir i was born in 2003 and I turned 30 in april, and I have watched almost every episode of perry mason because of my mother🤣love 1:15 that reference, god bless!
Hello, am a law student and I want to get into real estate and am not really interested in litigation. What can I study for masters in ur opinion.
I'm currently pursuing a Criminology degree. Do degrees outside business matter when you're interested in going into corporate law in the future?
No, your undergraduate degree is not critical. I think some degrees are more useful for a future career in corporate law than others (e.g., Accounting, Finance, Business, Philosophy, English (writing) more so than History, Art Literature, and Criminology). However, IMO, the main driver of what you study in undergrad should be what interests you. The one exception to that general advice is that, if you're committed to working before law school, an Accounting degree and a few years of experience in accounting is a super helpful background. However, the key there is the work experience on top of the degree. Also, all areas of study have some relevance. Criminology doesn't matter much to corporate law, although the policy-making aspect of it will be a good background for you in law school and beyond in helping you think well (systemically).
Wow that was so helpful in so many ways, I'm so relieved that I don't have to be in court. 😪
I'm glad it was helpful to you, Andisiwe!
Great video! What lawyer do I need for identity theft from another country overseas. My company is registered in NY and the identity theft was from Europe. I tried solving this in the European country where this happened, 3 year later the police closed the case without an output to my favor. Is it possible to sue the country for poorly managing the case?
I am studying business with majors in banking and finance, marketing. We take classes in law related stuff like corporate, tax, commercial etc and I will go to law school after this to become a corporate lawyer!
Just inquiring but, what maths do you do in corporate law? At any level e.g. basic to intermediate. Your reply would be very insightful :).
to be a corporate lawyer is the LLB be must have?
This is a great video...
Im in South Africa and I was just thinking of doing a Master Degree in Corporate Law.
Would economics be a good undergrad to prepare me for law school and my career as a corporate lawyer?
yes, studying economics helps cultivate analytical skills and has a good mix of theory and practical application. I think it's one of the better undergrad majors from the standpoint of value to your law school studies. That said, the value is not SO strong that you should study economics purely to help you in law school. Study what you want to study. I've never seen research around this issue, although I'd be surprised if there is any correlation between undergrad majors and law school success and, if there is one, I'd draw conclusions cautiously.
Haloo
Hello, good morning, what should be done to immigrate to the United States as a refugee?
Thanks it has been of some help I am real in a dilemma right now I have remained with one year and I wish I would master my degree in law but I am in a dilemma under what major will I fit thanks it was helpfully
Hello Brett,
I just wanted to speak with you regarding corporate law would be helpful if I could have your email
this is random but where did you get that khaki blazer? it looks cool, thanks!
Hey Brett! Just a question out of pure curiosity but, what college did you go to?
for some reason I want to do business with you lol
Thank you, Kenan!
Credit card
What will on the effects of current technologies on futureof law.
This is the most honest and spot on video I’ve seen out there about the reason some of us became corporate lawyers. 😂
Can corporate lawyers settle in foreign countries ?
Do you know what’s the best way to get a J.D. and what state would be best? Some state you can just take the bar exam, in certain state. But which state would you consider best to practice corporate law? Thank you!!
Charline, I am not aware of any state where you can sit for the bar exam without going to law school (getting a J.D.), except for states where you can apprentice for a number of years (i.e., work under a licensed lawyer). There are all sorts of different opinions about the hardest state bar exams, although I think shopping for the "easiest" exam should only be a relevant factor if you failed a previous bar exam. Even then, the primary factor driving this decision should be where you want to live and work. Also, the UBE (Universal Bar Exam) looks like a possible game-changer. I don't have all the details regarding it, although it allows you to more easily get licensed in the other participating states (there are something like 35+ states involved), so I recommend looking at that and, if there aren't other more fundamental drivers for your decision, choose a state that is involved in the UBE.
@@BrettCenkus Thank you so much for your help.
I'd love to see a video on Commercial litigations :p
a video on that topic is on the way (already shot, in editing)!
Must u do an undergrad in law to become a lawyer
How much is the average salary for a corporate lawyer?
Very Helpful thanks a lot buddy
you're welcome, William!
What a levels do you need for corporate law and I love your videos