Corporate law refers to the body of laws and regulations that govern the formation and operation of companies, corporations and organizations that exist to conduct business; it refers to the body of law that regulates the conduct of these entities. A corporate law attorney advises business entities about their legal obligations, rights and responsibilities when conducting business, business structures and deals and ventures that they enter into.
Corporate law attorneys are involved in structuring financial transactions, drafting legal documents, negotiating deals and dealing with parties in a transaction. They work to ensure that the provisions of a contract or agreement are clear and unambiguous and that any conditions contained in them will not negatively impact their client. They also advise on the legal duties and responsibilities of corporate officers such as directors and other insiders. There are many varieties of corporate practice, following are some in which corporate attorneys can specialize:
• Corporation Formation and Governance – corporations are legal entities that are defined by their laws of incorporation; there are specific rules about their creation, organization and dissolution. A corporate attorney specialiazing in the area of corporation law is involved in drafting their articles of incorporation which document the terms of their creation and the management of their operations. They may also deal with other business entities such as partnerships, limited liability companies, trust and others, each of which has its own set of legal rights and responsibilities.
• Mergers and Acquisitions – this aspect of corporate law deals with the acquisition of (or merging with) other companies in order to gain property, market share, patent rights or a brand name. Corporate attorneys involved in these activities provide legal counsel about any proposed transactions.
• Venture Capital – this involves the financing of new business ventures and can involve finding investors, organizing the company’s operations and maintaining their legal and business structures once they have been formed.
• Corporate Securities – securities refer to tradable financial instruments that are used to raise capital in both public and private markets; these can be in the form of equities (shares in the company), debt (loans to the company) or a hybrid of both. Corporate attorneys in this area specialize in securities law that control the disclosure of information to shareholders and investors when capital is raised and the requirements that apply when, for example, a company’s stock is traded on public stock exchanges.
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