Law as a career option in India provides great opportunities to the students. But choosing the best career option can sometimes be overwhelming. But to make it easier for you, we have chosen one career option of a Legal Advisor to study in detail.
Who is a Legal Advisor?
A company/organization always needs a specialist who could help them in legal advising. Most multinational companies hire an entire team of legal advisors/counselors in order to do everything in compliance with the law.
Legal advisors are lawyers who are employed by big companies, the government, and other organizations to provide legal advice/services to the organization and its employees. In simple words, legal advisors are in-house lawyers, as compared to advocates and attorneys, people who provide services to the public rather than to an employer. Let’s discuss the Legal advisor career in detail.
Eligibility Criteria to Become A Legal Advisor
- Diploma or certificate courses cannot be the sole criteria.
- Candidates must at least have an LLB degree from a recognized University.
- Individuals with an LLM degree can also be Legal Advisors.
What is the role of the Legal Advisor?
A legal advisor job profile usually consists of working as a legal counsel in a law firm. Legal advisors usually advise company leaders and CEOs in aspects of the legalities before the company takes a step further. The company legal advisor helps the clients to arrive at the right decision.
To know more about their legal career, read further:
Also read: 7 Highest Paid Lawyers in India
Overseeing Contracts
Legal advisors play a major role in providing guidance about laws to the company clients. They help their clients with contracts, documentation, legal drafts, and resolving disputes. A legal advisor in the financial sector is usually required to do so.
Cost-effective Advice
Legal advisors provide cost-effective and commercially sensible legal advice for construction contracts management.
Resolving Disputes
Disputes are very common in the field of law. It can be resolved by dragging the case to the court or without that also. Legal advisor jobs include resolving buying and selling disputes and property infringements.
Types of a Legal Advisor
Corporate Lawyer
- They offer legal advice related to the formation, operation, and governance of the company.
- Their work is to help the organization avoid any kind of litigation work.
- They usually deal with corporate governance, contracts, venture capital, mergers & acquisitions, and securities.
- They help the clients in preparing a contract, signing a contract, claiming liability, in business transactions, the advisability of prosecuting, or legal rights and obligations.
- Their average salary ranges from INR 7-8 lac per annum. But after an experience of about 1 year, their salary can increase up to 9-10 lac.
Also read: Top 5 Lessons from Ram Jethmalani to Become a Great Lawyer
Contract Lawyer
- Their work is to draft and review contracts to ensure the client’s rights are protected.
- Contracts are complex documents that require a legal advisor to decode them. A contract lawyer ensures security against complications, errors, and misunderstandings. They also help prevent any legal issues that arise from a poorly written contract.
- They usually work for law firms and charge on an hourly basis. Companies hire such lawyers as businesses deal with a lot of contracts.
- The average salary of a contract lawyer ranges from 4-5 lac per annum.
Tax Lawyer
- They work for businesses, law firms, or individuals and advise them on tax-related issues, including filing a tax return.
- They help businesses save a substantial amount of money by taking advantage of allowed deductions.
- They assist companies or individuals at the time of an audit by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
- They usually work for big business enterprises and are known to be the richest lawyers.
- The average salary of a tax consultant in India is 5-6 lac per annum.
Business Lawyer
- They provide legal advice to business firms and companies that affect business transactions, intellectual property rights, taxation, etc.
- They help clients register their company, prepare contracts, guide with disputes and breaches of contracts, resolving business issues, real estate and property disputes, compliance & risk management, etc.
- They assist businesses to form company objectives, policies, and procedures for their smooth operations.
- They earn around INR 7-8 lakh per annum. They could work on their experience and earn up to 12 lakh per annum.
FAQs
Q1. Can I be a Legal Advisor if I have pursued a Diploma in Law?
Ans. No, you cannot pursue a legal career with just a Diploma in Law. A minimum of LLB or LLM is required to get licensed and establish a career as a Legal Advisor.
Q2. What is the difference between a legal advisor and a lawyer?
Ans. A legal advisor is generally employed by a company or corporation and works ‘in-house’, while a lawyer is employed by a law firm. A legal advisor will only give legal advice to their employer, while a lawyer engages with various clients in the company and provide a range of legal services and advice.
Q3. Do legal advisors go to court?
Ans. Legal Advisors usually work in the office environment. But they may have to go to court a few times.
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