Additional Information
Corporate lawyers go through training just like any other lawyer. Aspiring
lawyers have usually have a full four-year degree before starting law school
-- it depends on the entrance requirements of the law school they want to
attend.
Then, they must write an aptitude test (LSAT) to get into a three-year
law degree program. At law school, they may attend specialized clinics or
courses pertaining to corporate law.
While any undergraduate degree in the arts and sciences is considered good
training for law school, business or economics degrees are the best training
for anyone interested in becoming a corporate lawyer.
Many people in the field today hold both law degrees and MBAs.
Lawyer Wendy Reid says law students should not focus on one area of law
because lawyers don't generally find a niche until they've worked in the field.
"You try to hit all the core courses in law school [to figure out] what you
like," she says.
"It's not like you go in and say, 'I'm only going to do corporate work.'
Normally what happens is you come out of law school, you apply for a job and
you go into the law firm. You do what they tell you to do and you move around
-- if it's a large law firm, you may be slated for their corporate department.
But if it's a smaller law firm...you do a little bit of everything until you
get some experience. [Then], you start developing an area that you're interested
in," says Reid.