A legal specialist is entrusted with a responsibility of managing set of clients in a law firm or handling day to day affairs in the legal department of a company. A legal specialist works either with the partner of a legal firm or under a legal director or company secretary within the legal department of a company. A legal specialist mostly performs vital duties and administrative tasks related to legal documentation, case research and reporting.
A legal specialist day to day job involves:
Providing general oversight to the department or the client on matters related to legal and compliance
Overseeing the company secretarial functions including board meeting and resolutions
Analyze and Prepare legal documents like RFPs, Service Legal Agreement, Strategic Partnership Agreement, Franchise Agreement, Reseller Agreement, LCs and Trade Agreements,
Help the company or clients in preparing the documents or contracts related to hiring and termination.
Represent the company in the court of law for legal matters or assist the senior attorneys in research and documentation
Help the company or clients on corporate taxation and compaliance issues
Represent the company or client during takeover, merger or acquistion
Prepare legal documents which will minimize the risk for the company or the client.
To start a career as a legal specialist one should have atleast five years experience with a law firm or a company as a trainee, intern or junior legal representative. One can also start his career as an assistant to a judge or a senior public attorney or prosecutor.
On the education front, the candidate should have a legal education from a recognized university with a specialization or experience in corporate and taxation law and a membership with the bar council. The candidate should have excellent research skills and legal documentation skills besides problem solving skills.