Legal Terms Explained

 

Legal Terms Explained: What Is Legal Counsel?

A legal counsellor is essentially a type of lawyer who deals specifically with the provision of advisory services. Most people would choose to seek legal counsel for issues such as negotiations or relatively non-complex disputes that do not require a court appearance. Many legal counsellors are also referred to as lawyers but there are one or two key areas of difference.

Lawyers Vs. Legal Counsellors

The primary difference between a lawyer and a legal counsellor is that legal counsellors are salaried employees. Lawyers of varying specialisations may be employed, or they may work as an advocate independently or have their own law firm.

Lawyers are typically paid based on the number of hours they work for each client and what the outcome of each case is. Legal counsellors may receive bonuses or incentives for generating successful outcomes for clients, but their main source of income is a set salary paid each month.

Corporate Counsel

Many large businesses choose to employ their own in-house legal counsel to help them navigate any areas of business that may require legal advice, interpretation or protection. A corporate counsel works directly and solely for a specific company, providing legal services and protection to that company and its employees.

While other forms of legal counsellors may work for a large variety of clients through the legal firm they are employed by, corporate counsellors are employed by one company alone. Their work could include legal research, compliance with government regulations, insight on contracts, patents, collective bargaining agreements, property law and the settling of disputes.

Dr Edgar Paltzer is an attorney-at-law who includes tactical and strategic negotiation support in disputes among his areas of professional expertise.

The Benefits of Legal Counsel for Companies

Legal counsellors are typically versed in a huge variety of areas of the law and specifically all those pertaining to the operation of a business. It can therefore be hugely beneficial to companies to have their own in-house legal counsel on hand.

Most lawyers tend to have unique and specific areas of specialisation, which means businesses could end up seeking the services of several different lawyers to deal with different issues. An in-house legal counsel can cover a broad spectrum of issues, often saving the company time and money.