What Does a Corporate Lawyer Do?

Here’s What an Effective Corporate Lawyer Will Do for Your Business

At a certain point, every business or corporation will need legal representation. That said, we recognize that business leaders are often protective of their bottom line and will want to fully understand the role of a corporate lawyer before hiring one. So what does a corporate lawyer do for a business—or perhaps more importantly, what should they do?

At Merritt Law, we believe strongly in forming good working relationships with our clients that develop into a true partnership. We feel that an effective and reliable corporate lawyer has certain duties and responsibilities that they should always uphold for their clients. 

Here’s our perspective on what a corporate lawyer should do as part of their obligations to a business client.

Understand the Client & Their Objectives

At Merritt Law, we believe getting to know our clients is one of the most essential parts of our job as corporate lawyers. The better we understand our clients, the more effectively we can act on their behalf and in their best interests.

When beginning an engagement, we always ask our client: What is it you’re trying to accomplish? And how do we fit in with the corporation to do this? It’s also important to meet the client’s key people early on, in order to understand who we’re answering to and engaging with.

Overall, understanding the business and its key stakeholders is one of the chief things a corporate lawyer should do right from the outset.

Ensure Key People Understand Their Obligations

Once they’ve gotten established, another essential duty for a corporate lawyer is to ensure all directors, leaders, and other key individuals and stakeholders within the company understand their obligations.

There are important duties that directors, managers, and officers of the corporation owe to their corporation and its owners. These duties are legally referred to as “fiduciary duties”, and include the following:

• Duty of care 
• Duty of loyalty 
• Duties of confidentiality 

The duties of care and loyalty are the fiduciary duties that are often the subject of lawsuits. The attorneys at Merritt Law are well versed on those duties and assist the leaders of their corporate clients comply with those duties.

Another area that can lead to problems relates to the duty of confidentiality. It is often the case that a business decision will be made in a board meeting, and as a result, some members of the organization may “win” while others “lose.” The “losing members” may be inclined to complain to interested third parties who are not directors about the board’s decision. 

Merritt Law strongly advises against such practice because it is bad for the company and its directors. All directors must understand and accept that board decisions are decisions of the company, and must be supported by all board members outside the boardroom. Otherwise the democratic decisions made by boards of directors are undermined to the detriment of the entity as a whole.

Help Leaders Comply with Organizational Requirements

During board meetings, or when considering proposed legal documents or transactions, there are always specific organizational requirements that leaders will need to know, understand, and comply with.

One of the key things a corporate lawyer must do, then, is to ensure leaders know, understand and comply with the organizational requirements governing their specific entity.

Stay in Their Lane

While corporate lawyers accumulate business knowledge over time, and that business knowledge can help them do their job more effectively, attorneys are hired primarily to make legal decisions, not business decisions.

In some cases, we find that a corporate lawyer may attempt to insert themself into business matters better suited to the client involved in the industry and the day-to-day operation of the business. This can unnecessarily complicate both internal business decisions and business decisions with third-parties.  

Although corporate attorneys should be willing to provide counsel when asked, they need to always keep in mind that if a business is successful enough to hire a corporate attorney, they’ve been able to make good business decisions—and the attorney should be extremely careful not to “second-guess” those business decisions.

Merritt Law: We’re Accountable to You

At Merritt Law, we work hard to uphold our duties to your business clients, and in many cases we find ourselves shifting client perspectives on what a corporate lawyer does on a day to day basis. 

Our goal is to become a trusted part of each company we work with, providing sound legal advice and clearing the way for decision-makers to further the success of their company without fear of tripping over contracts, regulations, and other legal requirements.

If you’d like to learn more about our services or determine if we’d be a good fit for your business, get in touch with our team online or call 737-279-7290.