COMMERCIAL AWARENESS
What is commercial awareness?
A significant portion of law today revolves around business and commerce in the marketplace, between cities and regions, and across geographies. Commercial awareness is, therefore, one of the key requirements that a good and competent solicitor needs to master.
Commercial awareness can be simply defined as staying up-to-date on daily happenings and developments in the business and commercial world.
For aspiring lawyers, commercial awareness is an important attribute that can make the difference between becoming and not becoming a lawyer. Clients expect their lawyers to know in-depth details on how a business is run, the key factors for profitability and growth, and how to make optimal use of resources at hand.
Unfortunately, becoming commercially aware does not happen overnight. It must be developed over a period of time, beginning with your basic legal education and growing as you embark on your legal career and climb the ladder.
Commercial awareness involves knowing about the current deals, transactions and issues in the business world that might affect a client. Lawyers must have an understanding of the business environment and the operational grid under which business is conducted on a daily basis. In particular, they must be able to put into perspective how their legal advice will affect the client’s business.
Commercial awareness is not a static concept; it is dynamic and constantly changing. The flexibility to adapt and adopt changing commercial acumen is the hallmark of any brilliant solicitor or top-rated law firm.
Why is commercial awareness important?
Solicitors provide their clients with advice and legal assistance on issues that are either related to or governed by economic, social and political events. While clients know a lot about their business, they generally are not experts in the law. This is where solicitors come in, and it is their job not only to provide legal expertise, but also to match up their knowledge with that of their client and gain an in-depth understanding of their business.
For solicitors, understanding a client’s business means—first and foremost—understanding what the business does and where it operates. However, this is just the beginning. For a solicitor to add value to a business, they also need to become fully acquainted with how the business functions internally, who its competitors are, and how other external factors might affect any legal action they decide to take. A solicitor should be able to advise a business in understanding what the consequences of taking legal action might be and knowing the best ways to help them achieve their business aims.
Firms only offer positions to those who can demonstrate that they’re up to speed with political, economic and social developments; they want to know you will keep up with being commercially aware after your training, so if you start it now and make a habit of remaining business savvy, this will benefit your applications.
Commercial awareness shouldn’t be about being able to regurgitate facts. Instead, it’s a way of thinking—you should be intrigued about the profession you want to develop a career in and the market it operates in.
Gaining commercial awareness
As was mentioned earlier on, it is best to start early on the road to gaining commercial awareness. Firms will be testing your commercial awareness as soon as you begin applying for training contracts. Most application forms have sections that are devoted to gathering information on how tuned-in to the business atmosphere you are as a prospective solicitor. This does not mean that you have to be a business and economic guru; at this stage firms are only interested in checking that you have some basic understanding.
Researching commercial awareness
Research is the easiest way to gain commercial knowledge. There’s no textbook on commercial awareness, but you should try reading newspapers, business publications and company newsletters, relevant books, watching relevant TV programmes or downloading business podcasts.
Try and stay up-to-date on the latest deals, transactions, legislative changes and other relevant developments on a daily basis such that you are able to understand and appreciate the big picture as well as contemplate micro-level analysis. Signing up for email updates on issues you’re interested in or that you think are relevant is an excellent way of becoming a bit more commercially aware every day.
Practical ways of gaining commercial awareness
That being said, work experience is probably the most practical way to gain commercial acumen.
Working any kind of job, not necessarily one in law, will provide insight into how a business is conducted, what factors contribute to success or failure, how to utilise resources to the best extent, and what will be the bottom-line results. Even doing short internships during the summer holidays at companies in an industry segment you are interested in will add weight to your CV.
Other methods include participating in discussion forums, industry-specific networking or business clubs, or attending lectures and seminars focusing on business and commerce. You can also interact with various kinds of business professionals on a one-to-one basis among your circle of peers, friends and acquaintances.
Proving your commercial awareness
For a prospective solicitor, displaying a keen sense of commercial awareness will be a major portion of the application and recruitment process. It begins with the details you provide in your application forms, continues with researching the law firm, and ends with providing final proof of your proficiency during the interview process where time will be spent on assessing your commercial awareness.
In your application forms for vacation schemes and training contracts, law firms will try to gauge how commercially aware you are. They might provide specific case studies and expect you to show your knowledge of their clients and current events to reach conclusions. Sometimes, they won’t mention commercial awareness at all, but they’ll expect you to demonstrate it nonetheless. For instance, if they ask you why you’ve chosen to apply to that firm specifically, you should demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of what the firm does and perhaps align it with some of your own interests.
In interviews, you should be prepared to answer in a similar way. However, as interviews are more fast-paced, you should be ready to think through answers quickly and be articulate. Interviewers will not just be looking for signs that you’re up-to-date on recent developments—they also want to see that you can communicate your knowledge effectively.
The people you will be meeting during the recruitment process will be well-qualified and experienced in the nuances of commercial awareness. The way you tailor your responses will definitely give them an idea of the potential you may or may not possess in applying the concept in your career as a solicitor. As a result, it’s important that you begin preparing as soon as possible to show recruiters how committed you are to staying commercially aware throughout your career. Get it right, and you will be well on your way to succeeding in the legal career of your choice.
Podacasts to develop commercial awareness
In a boost to millions of jobs and businesses, Rishi Sunak said the furlough scheme would be extended by a further four months with workers continuing to receive 80% of their current salary. Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will continue until end of October. From the start of August, furloughed workers will be able to return to work part-time with employers being asked to pay a percentage towards the salaries of their furloughed staff. The employer payments will substitute the contribution the government is currently making, ensuring that staff continue to receive 80% of their salary, up to £2,500 a month.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-extends-furlough-scheme-until-october
Germany's economy shrank by 2.2% in the first three months of this year as the coronavirus pandemic pushed it into recession. Germany is Europe's largest economy, but the drop is not as bad as in some of its neighbours, such as France, which has seen a decline of 5.8%, and Italy, which reported a 4.7% fall. This effect is partly due to a decision by Germany's 16 states to allow factories and construction sites to stay open, as well as an unprecedented rescue package by the government.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52673727
Japan has fallen into recession for the first time since 2015 as the financial toll of the coronavirus continues to escalate following Germany which slipped into recession last week as more major economies face the impact of sustained lockdowns. The world's third biggest economy shrank at an annual pace of 3.4% in the first three months of 2020.
Ryanair has said it expects passenger numbers to halve in the current financial year as the coronavirus crisis continues to blight air travel. The airline said it expected numbers to fall below 80 million, down from its original target of 154 million. Ryanair is set to cut 3,000 jobs - 15% of its workforce - as it restructures to cope with the coronavirus crisis.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52703555
Global stocks and oil prices rallied as investors welcomed tentative signs that the easing of lockdowns in many major economies has so far not sparked a large second wave of coronavirus infections. Expectations for an economic rebound from the pandemic, coupled with strong central bank support, have helped stock markets rise sharply recently, with the S&P 500 up more than 25 per cent since hitting lows in late March.
https://www.ft.com/content/30e4d2c6-6f52-4cd5-9b63-dbf2ff7d1b64
SoftBank has warned that it may not pay a dividend for the coming financial year for the first time since its 1994 listing, following an $18bn blow from the Vision Fund that plunged the Japanese group to a historic full-year loss. What is more, Alibaba founder Jack Ma quits board after 13 years with Japanese tech group.
https://www.ft.com/content/9a105f37-3832-4132-b629-f7345828e1c3
BT has reportedly started talks to sell a multibillion pound stake in Openreach, which runs the UK’s broadband network. Offers of a potential sale of a stake in Openreach value it at £20bn, according to the FT, which is double BT’s market value.
Huawei has warned that its survival is at stake following the US government’s latest efforts to cut the Chinese company off from international semiconductor supplies. The US government, which believes that Huawei is helping the Chinese government conduct cyber-espionage and technology theft, put Huawei on an export control list a year ago, a move aimed at curbing the company’s access to US-made and designed semiconductors needed for products including telecoms network gear and smartphones. Earlier on Monday, Richard Yu, head of Huawei’s consumer electronics unit, accused the US of fighting to defend its “technology hegemony”. “The so-called cyber security reasons are merely an excuse,” he wrote on WeChat. So the war continues…
https://www.ft.com/content/3c532149-94b2-4023-82e0-b51190dc2c46
There are more and more talks about universities moving to online model of learning. The most popular virtual communicator Zoom is now worth more than the world’s 7 biggest airlines combined - $48 billion, according to Economic Facts. The idea of more advanced ways of remote studying was also one of the topics on Legal Education Conference organized by Legal Cheek last Thursday. Is it the future of higher education?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52647601
Despite the crisis, Qatar stays active. The Qatar Investment Authority is looking to invest $320bn in various sectors, specifically in the health and tech industries. “We are looking at businesses that we believe will prove resilient over the long term, despite some negative effects resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.” Mr Emadi, who is on the QIA’s board, told the Financial Times. In the past the Qatari fund sponsored the purchase of such assets as Harrods and The Shard. During the 2008-09 financial crisis it invested billions of dollars in Barclays, Credit Suisse, Volkswagen and Porsche.
https://www.ft.com/content/418da0bb-c9eb-4575-b61f-48b329f02d0a
Global stocks drop as tension flared between the US and China over the origin of the coronavirus pandemic. The benchmark Stoxx 600 — which tracks the region’s largest companies — fell 2.6 per cent by mid-morning.
https://www.ft.com/content/bf249679-728c-4771-8aac-8f27f5b827e2
Oasis and Warehouse will close all stores and online shopping after administrators failed to secure rescue deal. It creates a subsequent loss of more than 1,800 jobs. Both brands called in administrators earlier this month and made 200 head office staff redundant without any payoff.
Banks are dusting off their no-deal Brexit plans as concerns deepen that Britain and the European Union won’t agree a trade deal by December. Despite fundamental disagreements in the talks and political focus shifting to the pandemic, PM Boris Johnson has insisted he won’t request an extension. Under the plans banks would move more staff and activities to their new EU hubs to serve customers inside the bloc rather than from Britain.
Whereas UK-US trade talks will begin on Tuesday via video conference calls.
https://www.ft.com/content/a5f8eeb1-2c49-4125-927d-1ff0762dfdb5
And the news which I find the most interesting:
Both the European Patent Office (EPO) and the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) have recently held that artificial intelligence (AI) systems or machines cannot be considered as the inventors of patentable inventions. In both cases, the applicant had designated a machine named "DABUS" as the inventor of the invention for which patent protection was sought (AI DABUS). As a result, the applicant argued, AI DABUS should be recognized as the inventor and the applicant, as the owner of the machine was an assignee of the IP rights created by AI DABUS. Both the EPO and UKIPO held that AI DABUS could not be regarded as an inventor under the applicable legal framework, which in the context of inventorship only refers to natural persons. The EPO also referred to the fact that under the European Patent Convention, the position of inventors is safeguarded by granting them various rights such as the right to be referred to as such in the European patent applications. However, AI systems or machines do not have any such rights because they have no legal personality comparable to natural persons.
The question arises whether patent laws should be amended to accommodate machine created inventions. What is your opinion?
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