<p>Is it necessary (by necessary I don't mean a requirement but extremely beneficial) for lawyers who work in firms geared toward business litigation and corporate law to have an undergrad degree in econ, finance, etc?</p>
<p>You don't need to major in those areas to excel at corporate law. As long as you take several courses in accounting, you should be able to do well in corporate law.</p>
<p>I don't even think accounting courses are required. My law school offers an "accounting for lawyers" class designed for people with no such background. Many of them go into corporate fields of law.</p>
<p>Stacy is correct that no courses are required for either law school or for any particular career in law (save patent law, where, as has been much discussed here, a science background is necessary to even take the patent bar). However, as a longtime corporate lawyer, finance, accounting and quantative analysis coursework and/or experience is invaluable in serving your clients and understanding their needs. Of course, you can certainly be a corporate lawyer without that experience (and I'm sure that many are), but, in my opinion, many of the best corporate lawyers do indeed understand many of the "business" issues facing their clients. </p>
<p>For example, you may have the securities laws memorized forwards, backwards and sideways (difficult though that may be). However, without an intricate understanding of the similarities, differences and interplay between tax accounting, accounting rules governing how companies keep their books (generally accepted accounting principles) and accounting rules as dictated by the SEC in Regulation S-X, as well as your client's financial and business goals, you may do your client a disservice. In other words, you need to be able to have an articulate conversation and give pertinent advice, suggesting different paths, with the chief financial officer and comptroller of the company you represent, as well as the accounting firm working for that same company.</p>
<p>Would reading these topics on my own be sufficient, instead of taking classes at the undergrad level? I'm not sure if I'll have any room to fit courses such as these in my schedule. I feel confident I can learn the material, and plan to if I decide corporate law is what I want to pursue. My main concern is actually getting into corporate law without the courses on my transcripts.</p>
<p>Not to ask a silly question, but how do you know that you want to be a corporate lawyer if you haven't ever taken coursework or done internships in finance, accounting, etc.?</p>