Corporate Law is a branch of law that cover rules and regulations for the formation and all operations of a business or a commercial organization. Corporate lawyers will work at either compliance or litigation for said businesses. Lawyers working in compliance makes sure that all national or state rules, regulations, and law are being followed and all procedures are done within the boundary of law.
Corporations are considered a separate legal entity apart from their owners, as such, they can be sued or have lawsuits against them. When there is a lawsuit or a litigation matter involving a business, it becomes corporate litigation. Corporate Litigation lawyers, on average, will handle matters related to employees, labor, disputes, contracts, finance and tax, mergers and acquisitions, and more.
Businesses generally have their own team of in-house lawyers or they work with a team of lawyers whose services are purchased for specific matters. There are many corporate lawyers in Chandigarh and India that can handle several corporate litigation matters in an efficient manner.
Corporate Litigation
As mentioned above, corporate litigation has numerous areas. While all such areas cannot be covered, the popular litigations have been elaborated on below in short.
- Deception, Fraud, White Collar Crimes: White collar crimes refer to crimes committed by people in respectable jobs in society. These crimes are done in much secrecy and the individuals take much care to conceal them, as such these crimes are hard to track. Corporate fraud, on the other hand, refers to activities that take place to hide or change important information. These frauds can be financial in nature or also misappropriating of assets and corruption. Under the Companies Act, 2013, any person found guilty of corporate fraud will be punishable with a prison sentence of 6 months to 10 years. A fine of an amount equal to the fraud amount will also be levied. The imprisonment sentence will differ depending on if the public was affected.
Also Read: A Study on Top white-collar crimes in India
- Violation of Contracts: Corporate lawyers need to be on top of their game regarding the signing of new contracts and ensuring the existing ones are not violated. A contract is considered violated if any of the parties have not upheld their part of the contract or attempt to break off the contract. Third-party influence during the signing of the contract will also violate the contract. If a contract has been violated by any party, it will lead to corporate litigation.
- Banking and Finance: Per the name, another major area of business litigation is concerning banks and other financial institutes. Litigation lawyer meaning the lawyers hired to deal with corporate litigations will generally cover a wide range of finance matters. Some major examples of banking and finance where corporate litigation is required are insolvency, bankruptcy, and debt restructuring. The corporate lawyer will also occasionally work at drafting up mortgage deeds, tax papers, loan documents, and other finance agreements. Other financial transactions done by the upper management such as the Board of Directors are also vetted and prepared by the corporate lawyer as well.
Also Read: What happens when a company goes Bankrupt?
- Capital Market: Capital Market is a financial market where stocks, bonds, and similar assets are bought and sold. The capital market also includes the stock market and the bond market. A corporate litigator will help corporations in the issue of IPO, debt securities, bonds, etc. Any problem that arises in the capital market that is legal in nature will come under corporate litigation. They could also offer their services to issues related to mutual funds, brokers, investors, AIFs, etc. The lawyers who work with the capital market should have a solid understanding of the SEBI guidelines.
- Dispute Resolution: Organizations and corporations hire a lot of people. During the daily course of life, there are bound to be disputes or disagreements of some sort. The disputes need a competent lawyer overlooking them to ensure no laws are being broken and there is a smooth resolution. Further, the corporate lawyer will ensure that the rights of the employees and workers are not being violated. Similar disputes that the commercial litigation matters covers are between shareholders, stakeholders, and third parties.
- Merger and Acquisition: Mergers and acquisitions are a part and parcel of large corporations. They are done to expand profit, expand the market or remove competition. Mergers and acquisitions, however, are an area that involves a lot of work for the corporate lawyer. Lawyers don several hats and perform several jobs like handling all important documents, overlooking the entire transaction, advice on IPO, fundraising, etc. They will also work with other lawyers, register with the registrar of companies, and complete all other requirements.
- Real Estate: Companies that have real estate and pieces of land stand a chance of litigation and thus require a real estate lawyer. The said lawyer will handle all matters of the real estate properties. There is a wide range of issues that could lead to litigation in this area. For instance, there could be breaches of contracts, fraud, disputes between owners or employees, etc. Real estate transactions and litigations have a wide range of rules and regulations influencing them. The corporate lawyer must also have knowledge of the local and national laws regarding zoning, permits, etc.
Corporate Litigation is litigation that involves many areas such as disputes, labour disagreements, contract violations, real estate matters, tax and finance affairs, etc. All of these and more can be easily handled by one of many corporate law firms in Chandigarh. For any corporate litigation situations, contact Lex Solutions.