You might be curious to learn more about commercial law. The phrase “commercial law” refers to a broad range of legal services intended to help businesses profit from their goods and services.

What is commercial law?

Business law and corporation law are two more names for commercial law. It focuses on the legal framework governing business, trade, sales, merchandising, and the organizations and people involved in those activities.

Commercial law is a civil law branch that deals with various subjects, including corporate law, securities and derivatives law, finance and banking, tax law, trade practice law, and consumer law. Commercial lawyers are frequently asked to guide their clients through and deal with difficulties that are relevant to the business sector. Globalization, deregulatory policies, tax reform, and changes in regional trade relations are a few examples.

Features

Australian commercial law is based on several sources. The Corporations Act of 2001 (simplified by the Corporate Law Economic Reform Program Act of 2004) outlines the legal requirements for how corporations must be organized and conduct themselves both internally and in their dealings with other organizations. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is responsible for enforcing this law.

Industry codes of practice, or regulatory frameworks created for use within specific industries, are another topic commercial lawyers cover. Examples include the Code of Banking Practice of the Australian Banking Association and the General Insurance Code of Practice of the Insurance Council of Australia Limited.

Lastly, business lawyers frequently consult legal sources for their clients’ commercial problems. For instance, they might mention rules governing trade, labor relations, and taxes.

Experience

Graduates can gain experience in commercial law at smaller firms or considerably larger top-tier companies. Your supervisor and the size of your team will influence how you approach and participate in a given transaction. Speaking with major corporations, meeting, or working alone to rewrite contracts are all possible daily activities.

As a recent graduate, you can get the chance to work on significant transactions involving renowned Australian and international organizations. Graduates interested in business or who appreciate dealing with contracts and commercial transactions may find this especially satisfying. The drawback of dealing with a global customer is that you can find yourself scheduling meetings at strange hours to fulfill the needs of stakeholders in various time zones.

Commercial legal firms known as the “Big Six”—Allens, Ashurst, Clayton Utz, Herbert Smith Freehills, King & Wood Mallesons, and Minter Ellison—depend on hiring exceptional graduates to uphold their stellar reputations. Smaller businesses, however, provide a range of different, fascinating prospects. Graduates can also pursue commercial jobs with a variety of companies that conduct business.

What do commercial lawyers do?

Commercial lawyers typically specialize in one industry or practice area, such as intellectual property (e.g., Technology, Media & Telecoms). The smaller firms are an exception to this rule, where the phrase is used to describe clients who are businesses rather than people.

Depending on the practice area, a lawyer’s responsibilities as a commercial solicitor in the commercial legal sector vary. Still, a large portion of transactional work is dedicated to safeguarding each client’s economic interests by effectively managing a variety of risks. This can entail, for instance, analyzing the law to determine how to shield a client from liability for statements published on their website.

A commercial law company lawyer’s typical day might involve drafting various commercial agreements and common legal language, like disclaimers.

What are my chances for a career in commercial law?

For ambitious graduates who want to grow in their professions, commercial law is broad and offers a variety of pathways. At a prestigious commercial firm, becoming a partner can take many years. To accomplish this goal, you must show that you are a skilled lawyer with solid client relationships, business acumen, leadership potential, and, perhaps most importantly, evidence that you would be a profitable addition to the firm’s upper echelons. A commercial lawyer can advance in other ways as well, such as by becoming a senior in-house counsel, obtaining more deserving clients, or working on more significant and intricate deals.

Different areas of Laws

• Contract law
• Intellectual property law
• Employment law
• Corporate law 
• Data protection law

Why study commercial law?

A dependable area of law, commercial law, grows and prospers alongside our economy. Studying commercial law will not only improve your research abilities, attention to detail, and client relations, but it will also provide you with the knowledge and abilities you need to keep up with business news and economic changes.

As a result of its examination of the particular industries in which people trade, commercial law provides a wide range of options for research. Commercial lawyers, for instance, can offer excellent contract law counsel as well as tax guidance. Therefore, there will always be a need for lawyers who desire to focus on commercial law.

Qualifications for becoming a commercial lawyer

Strong research abilities and a feeling of curiosity are requirements for commercial attorneys. They must stay informed about, acquire in-depth knowledge of, and be well-rounded in understanding their client’s business environment.

The smallest error in an agreement could cause a big problem for a client’s business, therefore, attention to detail is crucial. Effective teamwork is crucial as larger-scale commercial work requires collaboration with other solicitors and firm support workers.

The functions of commercial law

As a subset of civil law, commercial law regulates business and commercial transactions in both public and private spheres. Transportation by land and water, agency and principal, merchant shipping, insurance, partnerships, guarantees, corporate contracts, sales and production of consumer products, hiring procedures, and bills of exchange are all examples of areas of commercial law.

Although commercial law has changed significantly over the years, its primary purpose remains to give business owners flexibility in managing their operations while adhering to the law. This type of legislation aims to advance free trade.

Commercial code reforms aim to find and remedy legal gaps and contradictions. In order to find solutions to complicated legal problems, courts may also refer to other legal frameworks. For instance, new revisions emphasize how technology affects certain areas and how commercial transactions are impacted. However, the modern period has also introduced more limiting business practices.