Business Law Degree

Business law is concerned with the creation of new businesses and the issues that arise in existing businesses from interacting with other companies, public and the government.  It draws on a number of legal disciplines such as tax law, real estate, sales, and intellectual property. Business law attorneys deal with transactional work, which means that they do not need to represent clients in court. In fact, businesses seek help from business law attorneys in order to avoid future litigation. For business law, it helps to view businesses as separate entities from their owners and employees. Like people living in a society, businesses are also governed by rules and regulations, in order to give all businesses an equal opportunity to thrive.

With a business law degree, students can work on the legal aspects of a business. Since, business law is concerned with laws that influence modern business environment, a business law degree is a very versatile tool. It opens up a variety of career options for students. Another good aspect of a business law degree is that it can be pursued at many different levels. Students can opt for an associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, or doctorate degree in the field. It is important to select the right level of a business law degree. Individuals having little training and previous schooling can go for an associate’s or a bachelor’s degree, as both degrees can be opted with a high school diploma. While a master’s degree and other advanced degrees are for students who already have a bachelor’s degree. Advanced degree tracks in business law may also require students to have some relevant experience in the field, before continuing further studies.

Students can obtain a business law degree from a large number of educational institutions. So, it is easy to find schools that meet the needs and preferences of students. Many major universities, including private institutions and state schools offer business law degrees.  There are a number of important factors that can help students decide the right school. These include the range of coursework available, student teacher ratio in classes, tuition costs, availability of scholarships, and accreditation of the program. It is highly recommended that students select a school accredited by a recognized accrediting agency, since accreditation can have a huge impact on the quality of education and the career of students. Some online schools also offer programs in business law and this can be a great opportunity for individuals who cannot set aside extra time for a campus-based degree.
 

A business law career is different from a law career that focuses on litigation. Many lawyers are litigation attorneys who defend lawsuits in courts. However, business lawyers have to deal with transactional matters. For example, they work on purchase or sale of real estate, represent businesses and banks for loans, facilitate agreements between business, and help in starting and operating new businesses.  Business lawyers can be hired by a law firm or a business. Some businesses are large enough to require a lot of legal advice, so they keep lawyers on staff. The business lawyers generally do not require making court appearances. Also, business law jobs will not generally require you to work outside office. Business lawyers also gain useful insight of how to start and run a new business. With the business law experience, many more opportunities arise in future. After acquiring some experience, they can get the position of an in-house counsel in a large corporation or they can make a switch to another management position in the same company.

A number of career paths are available for individuals who opt for a business law degree. Business law graduates can work in new business ventures and agency or corporate compliance.  Salary generally depends on the type of job, demand for a particular specialty, and the level of education possessed by a candidate. Following are some prominent careers opted by business law graduates.

Accountants and Auditors
Auditors’ duties overlap with those of accountants. Auditors typically perform the following duties:

• Prepare and examine financial records
• Suggest ways to improve profits, enhance revenues and reduce costs
• Organize and maintain financial records

The following are types of auditors:

• Information technology auditors – They ensure that their employer’s financial data comes from a reliable source. They also review controls for their employer’s computer systems.
• Internal auditors – Their main duty is to eliminate waste and fraud and they do this by finding ways to improve the processes for finding waste and fraud.

They are tax collectors for all practical purposes, ensuring that all the 3 tiers of government, federal, state and local, get their taxes from individuals and businesses. They collect overdue tax payments, identify taxes owed, conduct audits and review tax returns. Due to the nature of their job, these are public officials, working for the government. The federal government employs most of them. The work could be office-based or involve conducting field audits.

Many recent graduates in business law can acquire the position of insurance underwriter. They also have the opportunity to specialize in a particular field of insurance such as life, health, mortgage, property, and casualty insurance. Salary as an insurance underwriter typically depends on specialization. However, experience in the field can also result in a higher salary. According to BLS, the median annual salary of an insurance underwriter was $70,110, in May 2013. The highest ten percent of insurance underwriters earned more than $111,750, while the lowest ten percent earned less than $39,410.