What is Commercial Law?

[0:00]So, the million-dollar question is, what is commercial law? In answering this question, this video will consider the definition of commercial law and also the various practice areas. Commercial law governs the transactions between different business entities and also different commercial parties. And within commercial law, there are both contentious lawyers and also transactional lawyers, and so you must be wondering what that means. Well, a contentious lawyer is one that identifies disputes between different parties. And once the lawyer has identified the dispute, they help the client resolve the dispute. And on the other hand, a transactional lawyer is one that drafts and reviews the legal documents that underpin their clients' deals. With that being said, some practice areas have both contentious lawyers and also transactional lawyers involved in their deals. So, what are the different practice areas? Different firms have different practice areas, but some of the common areas include: the corporate practice area for example, whereby corporate lawyers tend to focus on deal execution and completion. or the finance practice area, whereby finance lawyers advise clients on finance-related matters. In the finance department, the work can be varied and can include acquisition financing, infrastructure financing, asset financing, restructuring, and other areas. There are also dispute resolution lawyers who focus on challenging disputes for clients. Traditionally, clients have used litigation, which is a court-based approach whereby the dispute is settled by a judge in court. But more recently, clients have started to pursue alternative dispute resolution methods because litigation can be costly. It can also be quite time-consuming and quite a lengthy procedure for both parties. And if the trial becomes publicized, the litigation may be harmful for a company's reputation. Therefore, clients have started to use mediation or arbitration, because these methods are more flexible. These methods also tend to be more private and confidential. This is different to litigation where scandalous information can come out in court and become public knowledge, which could harm the client's business reputation. And these methods are generally cheaper because they don't have to involve a court process. So now that you know the advantages of these alternative dispute resolution methods, you must be wondering what these methods entail. Well, if arbitration were selected as the alternative dispute resolution method, an impartial person, called an arbitrator, would be nominated by both parties and they would help to settle the dispute. Alternatively, if mediation were selected as the alternative dispute resolution method, both parties would appoint a mediator, who would help them to reach a mutually beneficial agreement. Aside from these practice areas, there are other smaller departments, such as tax, IP, real estate, and many others. These departments often help other practice areas, but they may also have their own clients and their own matters. Ultimately, in order to succeed as a commercial lawyer, you need to know how a business operates. This information will be covered in the next video, along with more information about the different practice areas. If you have any questions or suggestions, do not hesitate to contact us on our LinkedIn page or via email. Thanks for watching. See you next week!