<p>Calm down, molly.</p>
<p>What I was trying to say is, all the knowledge and expertise in the clients' industry is going to do you absolutely no good, if you can't do your primary job->know the law.</p>
<p>I totally agree, undergrad majors generally don't matter.</p>
<p>haha I am calm...it's harder to pick up on tone online i guess.
[quote]
A good corporate lawyer (as well as tax lawyers) will find him or herself having to become a mini-expert in each of the industries of his or her clients.
[/quote]
oh, lordy....good thing i'm not doing tax law. I wonder what it is that makes people interested in it...it just makes me bored thinking about it. Tax Law. <em>shudders</em></p>
<p>I feel like tax is more stable than corporate/M&A. No, it's not sexy, but neither is poring through hundreds of contracts.</p>
<p>But Sallyawp-would a client prefer a lawyer who knows the client's industry upside down, inside out and backwards but has a terrible track record as an attorney and can't sue or negotiate to save their lives, or someone who knows absolutely nothing about the client's industry but is an excellent lawyer and can sue and win and successfully negotiate settlements in their sleep, to represent them in a high stakes lawsuit?</p>
<p>Yeah, I know, the likely answer is both. But who would end up second chairing?</p>
<p>Yeah, but to do the latter effectively you must have a solid understanding of the former otherwise you are nothing more than a technician who is blind in important ways. Solid competent technicians are a dime a dozen in any area of law. It's combining that with an understanding of the client's world that gives a lawyer real value.</p>
<p>
[quote]
But Sallyawp-would a client prefer a lawyer who knows the client's industry upside down, inside out and backwards but has a terrible track record as an attorney and can't sue or negotiate to save their lives, or someone who knows absolutely nothing about the client's industry but is an excellent lawyer and can sue and win and successfully negotiate settlements in their sleep, to represent them in a high stakes lawsuit?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Great question! The answer is that clients want lawyers who have both knowledge of a client's industry and products and excellent negotiating, drafting and other legal skills. Most clients aren't going to pay top dollar on an hourly basis for someone with one but not the other, at least not for long. </p>
<p>If anyone out there wants to be a corporate/commercial transactional lawyer or a commercial litigator, I will tell you right now that the ability to read and understand financial statements (which includes an intimate understanding of GAAP and the ability to do and understand fairly simple math (okay, sensitivity analyses included)), to understand and appreciate the commercial and industry ventures into which your client has entered (joint ventures, joint development agreements, acquisitions, partnering arrangements, trade associations, etc.), to understand the regulatory framework in which your client must operate, to appreciate the labor (unions) and employee issues that your client must deal with, including compensation and benefits issues, and to understand the competitive landscape in which your client operates its business, among a whole host of other issues, will be absolutely imperative in giving your client appropriate legal advice for the situation at hand.</p>