Does anyone here PREFER being a transactional attorney to a businessperson
Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2020 1:19 pm
Hello, as a 0L who is interested in some type of transactional work(perhaps in-house), where I can be a strategic advisor to clients, I see the following threads all the time, which state:
A. Transactional law is a waste and nothing but proofreading and semi-clerical work.
B. Any sane person who is interested in business matters would become a businessperson rather than transactional attorney.
C. All transactional lawyers secretly wish they could transition over to becoming businesspeople.
For starters, the above complaint may be true for NY M and A, since most of these threads deal with that particular practice, but I am wondering the following:
1. Is the above true for other types of transactional law? For instance, do Silicon Valley/startup lawyers or Real Estate lawyers get a chance to be true strategic advisors to clients? I would think that this might be the case where there are many aspects of SV/Startup life where the legal aspects truly affect profit and loss (i.e how angel and VC deals are structured, Stock option plans, IP leasing). There are probably also aspects of Real Estate dealmaking (i.e air rights, complex lease options) where creative legal thinking could add value to the deal.
2. Do any of the transactional attorneys here ever feel that they get to strategically add value to their clients?
And finally:
3. Are there any transactional attorneys here who would not want to trade places with their businessperson clients? For instance, are there any real estate attorneys who would prefer to remain real estate attorneys rather than become real estate brokers/developers?
I feel that it would be more intellectually stimulating to think through the mechanics of a complex lease option real estate deal than to schmooze potential real estate buyers.
Thanks
A. Transactional law is a waste and nothing but proofreading and semi-clerical work.
B. Any sane person who is interested in business matters would become a businessperson rather than transactional attorney.
C. All transactional lawyers secretly wish they could transition over to becoming businesspeople.
For starters, the above complaint may be true for NY M and A, since most of these threads deal with that particular practice, but I am wondering the following:
1. Is the above true for other types of transactional law? For instance, do Silicon Valley/startup lawyers or Real Estate lawyers get a chance to be true strategic advisors to clients? I would think that this might be the case where there are many aspects of SV/Startup life where the legal aspects truly affect profit and loss (i.e how angel and VC deals are structured, Stock option plans, IP leasing). There are probably also aspects of Real Estate dealmaking (i.e air rights, complex lease options) where creative legal thinking could add value to the deal.
2. Do any of the transactional attorneys here ever feel that they get to strategically add value to their clients?
And finally:
3. Are there any transactional attorneys here who would not want to trade places with their businessperson clients? For instance, are there any real estate attorneys who would prefer to remain real estate attorneys rather than become real estate brokers/developers?
I feel that it would be more intellectually stimulating to think through the mechanics of a complex lease option real estate deal than to schmooze potential real estate buyers.
Thanks