Legal Counsel Job Description
Overview
A legal counsel is a lawyer who provides legal advice "in-house" as an employee of an organization and are often concerned in labor or contract disputes, payment issues, harassment suits, or other workplace conflicts. They also provide general legal advice about corporate decisions regarding corporate growth, mergers, or other practices. Legal counsel duties and responsibilities are to draft and negotiate contracts, ensure compliance with corporate law, and also provides counsel for employee and management conflicts.
Steps to take to start your career as a Legal Counsel and other jobs like it
- Obtain a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. You choose to major in pre-law or political science but you can pursue any undergraduate major as long as you complete the prerequisite coursework required by law schools.
- Prepare and complete the standardized tests required by most law schools (LSAT and in some cases the GRE) as a high score on this test can help open more school options for you. Prepare the other required documents that include undergraduate course transcripts and usually written statements, recommendations and often interviews with each school.
- Seek opportunities to gain practical experience through internships, externships, or clerkships during law school, while pursuing your undergraduate degree or even before that. Practical experience can provide valuable insights into the legal profession and help you develop essential skills such as legal research, writing, and advocacy. There are roles that match with almost any experience level in the legal field so if you have a passion for this career, start early as familiarity with the professional environment in this space will help.
- Graduate from an accredited law school to earn a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree. Law school typically takes three years to complete and covers a wide range of legal topics, including contracts, torts, constitutional law, and legal writing.
- After graduating from law school, you'll need to pass the bar exam in the jurisdiction where you intend to practice law. The bar exam assesses your knowledge of legal principles, procedures, and ethics. California is widely considered to have the hardest exam. Additionally, some states require applicants to pass a separate ethics exam or the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE).
Education Requirements
So to get into this role, you need to first get a bachelor's degree and then get your Juris Doctorate, which is usually a three-year degree.
My Education Path
I double majored in international business and anthropology. I knew that I wanted to be in Silicon Valley. I wanted to help tech companies. I knew that some of them had ideas that would change the world, but it wasn't going to be me, so I decided to go into a field that could help enable folks. I used my business degree and went to law school. I majored in high-tech law. And then for a lot of tech companies, you spend a couple of years in a law firm. So I did just over three in a law firm. After that, I transitioned to a role in-house at a tech company.
Average Day as an Attorney
There really is no such thing as an average day when you're in-house counsel because you have to flex what you're doing to the needs of the business. And so, you know, there are really easy times sometimes, and there's really chaotic times most of the time.
Workload Challenges
And so you have to be prepared to roll with the punches and do what needs to be done. And sometimes that's long days, and sometimes it's really fun ones. So it's a rollercoaster, no doubt. If you're a zero-inbox kind of person or a nothing-left-on-the-checklist kind of person, be ready to be disappointed because there's always something to do. And it's not the worst thing in the world, but it is a lot sometimes.
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Education you need to become a Legal Counsel
These are the most common degrees or certificates earned by Jobtrees users prior to becoming a Legal Counsel
There may be other required degrees or certifications needed for this job. The below info shows you the most commonly desired education level from employers when hiring for this job.
- Doctoral degree in Juris Doctor
- Bachelor of Arts (b.a.) in Political Science
- Master of Science (m.sc.) in Biotechnology
- Bachelor of Arts (b.a.) in Slavic Studies
- Bachelor of Science (b.sc.) in Industrial Engineering
- Master of Science (m.sc.) in Biology
Annual Pay Estimate for Legal Counsel and Other Important Info
See how many years Legal Counsel's are in their job, how much they make, how long it took to get there and how available this job is in terms of open positions.
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Career Paths for Legal Counsel
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