Corporate Counsel / Consultancy

What it's about

Several law students opt to work with the in-house legal department of a corporate after graduating from law school. Legal managers play a critical role in the functioning of a company, and are responsible for drafting, vetting, and in several cases, negotiating contracts for the company, ensuring and monitoring compliance with laws, and handling legal disputes that the company may be involved in. Corporate counsel are required to interact with several different functions in a company, understand business and operations needs, and serve these needs in a manner that is both suitable and legal. Exposure to some of the best legal minds in the country is a given, as corporate counsel 'brief' leading lawyers who appear for the company in courts and tribunals. GE Capital, ICICI Bank, ITC, IBM, Infosys, Satyam, Wipro, Dr. Reddy's, Biocon, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, KPMG and HLL are some corporate giants that frequent law school campus recruitment programmes.

Pros and Cons

Starting salaries are high, and are comparable with those offered to graduates from management institutes. Offers can go as high as nine lakhs a year. In addition, companies often offer various perks over and above the salary: accommodation, club-memberships, vehicles, coverage of medical expenses and soft loans, to name a few. While starting salaries are high, increases in salary are often fewer and far between than they can be in a law firm or in practice. A company job, however, does offer tremendous security and very good pay throughout your career. Hard work is recognised, and is rewarded through growth within the organisation, and you could reach the board of directors of the company. (M. K. Sharma is the Vice-Chairman and legal head of HLL.) Some corporate houses offer the opportunity to take on management and marketing functions to those that display an ability and competence to take on these functions. A degree in management is a great boost to your career if you decide to do so.