What Is Commercial Law?

What Is Commercial Law?

Commercial law is an area of legal study and practice that deals with conflicts related to selling and purchasing goods, products, and services. In commercial law, lawyers and legal professionals can specialize in niche areas, like intellectual property law or consumer protection. Careers in commercial law often involve intense legal research and require strong attention to detail.

Careers in Commercial Law

• The primary profession within commercial law is a commercial lawyer or attorney. However, beyond specializations, even being a lawyer can have different aspects:

  • Private practitioners work for private law firms, practicing private law.
  • In-house counsel work for a specific business, like a bank or technology company, providing legal advice and oversight on matters exclusive to that business.
  • Government attorneys work for government institutions and often act as legal representatives for states or districts in disputes between businesses and regions (like a city suing a business for pollution or a business suing a state for unfair regulatory practices).
  • Academic lawyers teach and study law.

• Other careers in the industry include:

  • Paralegal and Legal Assistant: Helps lawyers get ready for trials or meetings by performing research, communicating with clients and other professionals, and drafting certain legal documents.
  • E-Discovery Specialist: Performs in-depth research using technology like social media, online archives, and more, drafts documents, and analyzes information to help attorneys build stronger cases.

Education

To become a commercial lawyer, you must complete law school and pass the bar exam. Any major can apply to law school, though business, economics, or political science could be particularly relevant. These areas of study can give you an excellent foundation of knowledge in how business and economics work. However, for other careers in commercial law, you don’t need to go through law school. In fact, paralegals generally only need an associate degree, while e-discovery specialists usually need a bachelor’s. Both careers can benefit from taking business and pre-law courses, though.