The term commercial law firm itself implies that the law firm operates as a business. What this means for you as a client is that as a lawyer, you are expected to bring in business for the law firm. Your ability to do exactly that is what will determine how far and how rapidly you progress in your career.
The Commercial Nature of Law Firms
Law firms like Groth & Associates run as a commercial business because of the value they offer to all other types of commercial business. All business transactions and deals are based on written contracts that should be compliant with the law. This reduces the cost of doing business in the long run. Lawyers play an important role in reducing the cost of business for their clients by vetting all such contracts and legal papers before they are signed. They also play a direct role in sorting out disputes and conflicts between business partners or between the business and customers.
Working for a Commercial Law Firm
If you work for a commercial law firm, you will most likely be managing work for corporate clients. These are usually large or medium-sized businesses who seek legal advice or assistance from qualified lawyers to resolve their business issues. It is also common for new start-ups and even charities and NGOs to approach commercial law firms for consultation on how to set up their business legally and to ensure that they comply with the law in every way. Commercial law firms also work with banks, public sector organizations insurance companies and even directly with the government by offering them legal services in several areas.
How Commercial Lawyers Earn
As a lawyer working for a commercial law firm, you will be charging your clients for every hour you spend on their case. At the end of the work, you will bill your customer based on the number of hours and the hourly rate that you have agreed with your client. If multiple lawyers have worked on the same case, then the bill will be drawn up by counting the hourly rate of each lawyer separately. Obviously, experienced lawyers can command higher hourly rates than lawyers just starting out in their careers. All the profits earned by the firm are distributed to partners in any ratio agreed between them.
How Commercial Law Firms Operate
A common feature of law firms is that they are almost invariably structured as partnerships. This is part of the reason why they are viewed as prestigious organizations since building a career in one of these firms is a long, patient and painstaking process. Usually, it requires decades of service to qualify before one is offered a partnership position in one of these firms. Decision making is usually conservative with all partners getting involved in making decisions about whether to take up a case, and how to work with their clients. It is rare to find such decision making delegated to a board or committee, as is common in a typical corporate environment.
Size is not an essential feature of law firms that operate commercially, while being large does help in ensuring better coordination and acquiring current knowledge about business trends and issues. Most commercial law firms operate out of a central headquarters in a large metropolitan city, with branches in other major cities of the country. Many even have international offices that are managed by local partners. Nowadays, it is also common to find law firms that can be approached through their website. Additionally, there are smaller firms that offer commercial services in a limited number of areas of the law than large full-service law firms.
Conclusion
Starting your career with a commercial law firm is a great decision as it will expose you to the dynamic business environment and learn from some very experienced lawyers.
