The difference between a good business lawyer and an idiot who graduated from a law school: Three reasons why a lawyer needs to understand the client's business strategy

Not every lawyer is going to be a business lawyer - The most illustrious Indian lawyer Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa

 Lets say you are one of the luckier lawyers, and actual businessmen who make money come to you. 

Smart businessmen will usually come before they get into trouble - they will also pay better, because they care more about protecting their business than saving a bit of money by going to some lame lawyer. The can also afford to pay better, as they take good care of their booming business and do not have to pay out big-buck judgment day compensations and/or bribes here and there. They can also focus on their actual business rather than running after ten regulatory bodies, banks and investors trying to save their neck for non-compliances.  

Those are the clean, smart, focused, money making entrepreneurs - every lawyer's dream clientèle. If you see them, help them with everything you have. It's just that you probably don't have enough if you are the average Indian lawyer, for you don't understand jack of business. 

I know most of my readers are from sophisticated law schools, some of you are fancy mooters and great debaters, and maybe toppers read this blog too? Well, how many of you understand the basics of business? Even the simplest concepts like revenue models, discounted cash flow, burn rate, or project management is not understood! Talk about vocational studies - despite all your knowledge of takeover code and contract act - you can't even join in a conversation between a couple of new age (or old age) CEOs talking about their business strategy.

To top that, business models and processes have changed like crazy. The new age businesses, where the real growth is, carry out very different sort of activities. If you are their lawyer, you'd have to protect them in course of those businesses. Do you understand what is SMM or Social Media Marketing? If not, and you are trying to draft their contracts, End User License Agreement or website usage policy, I pity you and your client. My heart goes out to your client. He could as well pay money for the services of an IDIOT.

Well, the smart ones figure out quickly - and move on in search of good lawyers. Even if you are in a firm that advises businessmen, and be damn sure that they will if we are talking about a money making and well paying firm, you could be the star just if you knew how businessmen think, what value they seek, and what they want you to understand. If you can speak their language too, then there's nothing like it.

Traditionally, this is the example cited to explain why lawyers need to understand business strategy:

Think of a business making low cost products, on thin margins, and with lots of competitors - it will need more legal support to protect it from product liability suits, finetuned distributor agreements, strong trademark protection. Think of another business, with a niche and patented product, not much competition - it will spend more on Intellectual Property creation and enforcement. Well - I don't think this is a great argument - almost every good business will need all of these services - to give them every advantage they can get. I will give you stronger reasons: 

So, there the first reason:

#1 Win the confidence of your client: he has come to you so that you can protect his business. If you don't get how this business is done, he will never trust you. Everyone wants God and lawyers to understand things without having said anything. If you don't know how business is done, you wouldn't even ask the right questions.

Quick tip: before talking to your client at length about the services he want, figure out how business is done in his domain or industry. Talk to those who may have some idea.

    

#2 Tell him what he has not thought of or doesn't know: Every good businessman knows some law. Heck, some of them even take pride in knowing more than you. If you let them get away thinking that way, you are screwed. Your bills are even more screwed. Show them no matter how smart they are, you are way ahead as far as law is concerned - and the only way they'll understand is if you can tell them how the law you are talking about is connected to their business. That is the job of a lawyer - to explain to him how his business needs interact with law. If you don't get the business part, you suck and  don't blame things like competition and profession for your unhappiness.  If you belong to this class of lawyers, you'll probably stay where you are, in the gutter if you are going to advise businesses (try getting bail for criminals instead or fight over disputed property in prolonged court battle, success is more likely for you there).

Great lawyers, into a different business

Quick tip: Listen to your client - before paying money to come to you, he or she is most likely to have thought of some strategy. You need to add value to what he is thinking. Do not hesitate in pointing out flaws in his ways.

#3 You are competing with more experienced lawyers: More experienced lawyers are not preferred because they know more law! Heck, the laws are the same for all the lawyers. It is just that because they have been around for long, they understand business better - people in business find it easy to work with them.

However, something has changed over time - as a I said earlier, there are some very different sort of new age businesses around these days - and even the most of the rest need payment gateways and affiliate marketing and things that the old lawyers can't fathom. 

If you are a young, enterprising lawyer - that's your market. Do you understand these businesses or are you as badly stuck as the old lawyers?