Please summarise for us what a commercial lawyer does

Commercial lawyers provide value for their clients through technical, industry and legal expertise. This takes form in a multitude of tasks, undertaken both independently and as part of a team. A commercial lawyer spends a lot of time conducting research for their clients, particularly around risk, regulations, and legislative and technological changes. It is also crucial for commercial lawyers to develop their knowledge of the challenges their clients face to draft tailored advice. By applying critical thinking and analysis to advise the client, the commercial lawyer produces value. 

Working in commercial law thus involves a lot of interactions with clients, whether it be in the form of email correspondence, virtual or in-person meetings. This requires effective communication skills to build rapport with clients and foster collaboration in the future. Client meetings also involve precise drafting of file-notes and meeting minutes to ensure correspondence is organised, and accurately presented to other members in the team.

A commercial lawyer frequently works within a team, to ensure that the clients' needs are met in a timely and sophisticated manner. Teamwork allows large projects to be broken down into tasks that are assigned based on team members' individual strengths. Depending on the deal, commercial lawyers may work on negotiating, reviewing and drafting contracts, undertaking due diligence processes prior to M&A activity, or preparing to represent clients in litigatory proceedings. Some of these tasks have been accelerated by automation, providing commercial lawyers with further opportunities to work with a higher level of technical complexity. 

Our thoughts

Positives

• I like that the answer starts with a strong high level summary.
• It covers many key aspects of the role of lawyers, including elements such as teamwork, which demonstrates a decent understanding of the role (and reflects well on the applicant’s motivation to learn about the career). 
• The answer isn’t vague or too high level in most instances. For example, it breaks down what “research” might actually involve, which again demonstrates solid research into the role. 
• I like that the paragraphs generally cover different categories of tasks – research/commercial awareness, client work, and document-based work. This makes it easier to read on a quick skim.
• I like that the answer acknowledges both transactional and contentious work (some people forget that commercial law isn’t just about “deals”).

Potential points for improvement

• I wasn’t particularly convinced by “It is also crucial for commercial lawyers to develop their knowledge of the challenges their clients face to draft tailored advice. By applying critical thinking and analysis to advise the client, the commercial lawyer produces value”. It could have been more punchy and precise – it uses a lot of words to make the point that lawyers must understand their clients and think critically. It also arguably focuses more skills rather than what a commercial lawyer “does”.
• “…whether it be in the form of email correspondence, virtual or in-person meetings” isn’t written correctly. Better phrasing would have been “…whether by email, via virtual meetings, or in person.”
• Again, I’m not sure that the point regarding communication skills directly answers a question focused on what a commercial lawyer “does”.
• I’m not totally convinced by “A commercial lawyer frequently works within a team, to ensure that the clients' needs are met in a timely and sophisticated manner. Teamwork allows large projects to be broken down into tasks that are assigned based on team members' individual strengths.” This includes repetition of the teamwork point, then focuses more on the benefits of teamwork (and makes an assumption based on how tasks are assigned), rather than what a lawyer actually does.

We cover common trainee tasks, the role of different practice areas, and why certain skills are necessary for lawyers in our Introduction to commercial law course.