Being a Legal Advisor and what the job entails
Are you interested in becoming a Legal Advisor? If you answered yes to this question then you are not alone. Many people pursue law degrees with the hope of finding jobs as attorneys or Legal Advisor jobs. Start your search for Legal jobs on Job Mail and you will be well on your way to finding your dream job.
What is a Legal Advisor?
A Legal Advisor is at the core a lawyer who is either employed by the government, large corporations or other organisations to provide legal advice on legal issues they are likely to face. Because of the nature of Legal Advisor jobs, these are generally jobs that require an individual with a fair amount of legal experience behind them. This is because an Advisor is viewed as an in-house lawyer who deals with all of their employer’s legal issues.
Legal Advisor job description
Now that you have an idea of what a Legal Advisor is, let us look at what you can expect to do on a day-to-day basis.
With most Legal Advisor jobs the Advisor employed for the job is expected to be a specialist in a specific field. This field will depend on the nature of the company or organisation he or she works for. Depending on their specific needs, companies create these Legal jobs to deal with legal disputes, company law issues or to oversee contract signing or advise the employer about corporate management. You will, depending on your company, be expected to carry out these duties.
On top of this, your duties as a Legal Advisor may include:
- Advising your employer about legal issues relating to the business’ activities – these issues may range from patent and intellectual property issues to contract management issues.
- Representing your employer in court or before their clients or their clients’ attorneys.
- Preparing legal documents on behalf of your employer – these documents may include employment contracts, business contracts or any other legal documentation that will require your legal expertise.
- Managing both internal and external legal resources.
- Reading and reviewing all the legal documents that the employer receives and making sure that they are properly drafted and reviewed; and
- Carrying out negotiations and ensuring that company claims are enforced and adhered to on time.
Legal jobs are quite challenging and you will definitely find working as a Legal Advisor to be an interesting and challenging job that will constantly push you to grow as an individual.
Educational path to consider
Working as a Legal Advisor is a job that requires a lot of expertise in the legal field. Because of the nature of this job you will be expected to have pursued and completed a law degree at a recognised institution. Interestingly, the country you studied your law degree in may influence which Legal Advisor jobs you can pursue.
Normally with a lot of Legal jobs you will need to have pursued a law degree from a recognised institution in South Africa to be able to do the particular job. However with Legal Advisor jobs it will depend on the nature of the job you are applying for.
If you are looking for Legal Advisor jobs in companies that deal with a lot of international clients, studying abroad may actually be helpful. You may find Legal jobs from companies that specifically deal with clients in Germany. There is a possibility that these clients will be looking for a lawyer who studied German law at a German university.
On top of having pursued a law degree, many employers will also want you to have been admitted as an attorney. This means that you must have completed your articles at a law firm recognised by the law society, passed all your board exams and have been admitted as an attorney.
Alternatively, you must have completed pupillage for a year with a sufficiently experienced advocate and passed all the exams you need to pass in order to be admitted as an advocate.
Generally, you will also need to have some post admission experience, depending on the Advisor jobs you are applying for. Higher levels of experience will push up your Legal Advisor salary.
Skills of an ideal Legal Advisor
In order to succeed in a career as a Legal Advisor there are a few skills that you must possess. You must possess strong analytical skills. In addition to this you must have both good oral and written communication skills. This is very important because the bulk of your work will be centered around your writing and communication skills.
Another important skill you must have is a deep knowledge and understanding of the law and the ability to apply this knowledge in your work environment. This is very important and your high Legal Advisor salary will be directly tied to your legal expertise.
There are plenty of opportunities in the Legal industry. This post is intended to shine some light on the Advisor jobs specifically and provide some guidance. Visit Job Mail and browse through the numerous Legal Advisor jobs and apply for the job you want.
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Yes I am very intrested in being a legal advisor
Hi there – If you have not registered your CV on Job Mail yet, follow this link: http://goo.gl/EhnxH1. Once you’ve registered, look for Jobs that you need at http://goo.gl/CvYAUa and apply for them! Alternatively, set up a job alert to receive the latest jobs in your field via e-mail at http://goo.gl/eTcGJC. Hope you find employment soon!
Im very much intrested im busy with my law degree
Hi there – If you have not registered your CV on Job Mail yet, follow this link: http://goo.gl/EhnxH1. Once you’ve registered, look for Jobs that you need at http://goo.gl/CvYAUa and apply for them! Alternatively, set up a job alert to receive the latest jobs in your field via e-mail at http://goo.gl/eTcGJC. Hope you find employment soon!