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The Burning Question

Commercial Awareness - what's it all about?

Law firms will often stress that their lawyers need to be 'commercially aware'. This phrase often causes confusion as it means different things to different people. However, in essence, it means that commercial lawyers deal with more than just the law. They must understand their client's business and the environment in which it operates. So what is 'commercial awareness', are you commercially aware and why is it so important?

Commercial awareness does not the mean the same thing to a student as it will to an experienced businessperson. Nobody expects you to be a grizzled veteran of the boardroom or the shop floor; what firms are looking for is a combination of basic knowledge, interest and enthusiasm for commercial matters, and, most importantly, the ability and willingness to 'think business'.

The Burning Question is designed to help you improve on these aspects of your knowledge. Each week, with the help of our sponsors, we will pose a question that addresses various themes relating to commercial awareness. The answers we provide will sometimes explore the types of issue you should be thinking about, while, in other cases, they will provide concise parcels of factual information. Cumulatively, they will leave you better equipped to join the business world.

So what can you do to make yourself more commercially aware, aside from reading The Burning Question?:

• Read the Financial Times, the business pages of the broadsheets and the business sections of the Sunday papers to gain an understanding of what is happening in the business world.
• Look at the websites of firms and their clients. In particular, look at their recent press releases, which will give you an understanding of the current issues on which the company or firm is commenting publicly.
• Read the legal trade press - Lawyer 2B, The Lawyer, Legal Business, Legal Week - to find out which firms are working on what transactions/deals.
• Use vacation schemes or work experience opportunities to find out how that business operates.
• Talk to your family and friends to gain an understanding of what they and the organisations they work for do. Networking is one of the most effective ways of building up your knowledge.
• Get involved with university activities that relate to business, such as becoming a treasurer of a society or taking part in business games.