Do I have to study accounting to be a corporate lawyer? -

I m really interested in law but I m really bad at accounting and hate it. I want to be a lawyer in the business sector but is there corporate lawyers who don t have to study accounting?

Sorry. All attorneys must understand accounting. You should take at least a year and preferably two years in college. It is the top discipline for developing logical thinking skills, and in the practice of law you must know how to read financial workpapers and statements, and understand what underlies them.

It depends upon what you mean by a quot;corporatequot; lawyer. I work for corporations as a litigator, and I am regularly involved in securities, quot;corporate divorcequot; contract, and other types of cases, and I don t have a lick of accounting in my background. Now, I DON T file securities regulation documents, I DON T do mergers and acquisitions, I DON T advise businesses on tax consequences. Accounting is pretty important for all of those fields.

No, you do not need it. But, it is good to have a solid business background in college before you go to law school. Accounting is a great discipline. The fact that you hate it is irrelevant. Step up to the plate. If you think accounting is challenging you ain t seen nothing yet. Law school is the ultimate.

Not all lawyers who work in a corporation deal with finances -- in fact, often very few on more than a very limited basis.

No. Corporate law more often deals with contracts than accounting.