To become a corporate attorney, you must graduate from an approved law school in the area where you want to practice. You must complete all steps required to becoming a lawyer. You then must choose your area of specialization and begin to build up a base of clients within that field.
In the United States, this means first attending law school for three years from a school approved by the American Bar Association. Some law schools will offer specialty programs in business law; for example, UCLA Law School offers a program in Business and Public Policy. If you know before going to law school that you wish to become a corporate attorney, you should consider attending a law school that offers such a specialty program.
In addition, some schools offer a degree called a JD/MBA. This means that a person can attend school for four years and receive both a master's degree in business administration (MBA) and the Juris Doctor degree necessary to become a lawyer. It takes one year less to complete such a program than it does to get both degrees separately, so it can help you excel in your quest to become a corporate attorney since it will demonstrate that you have learned both the law and business.
Even if you opt not to get a special certification or a dual degree, you can still become a corporate attorney as long as you graduate from an approved law school. Taking courses in business law and contract law is usually advisable in such situations. Corporate law firms and clients will look at your transcripts to determine your relevant experience, and these courses can help you appear as a qualified candidate for a corporate law job.
Upon graduating, you will need to pass the bar exam in the United States, or other relevant tests in your local area. You will then need to choose your specialty within the field of corporate law. Corporate lawyers do a number of different things, from writing contracts to acting as tax lawyers or employment lawyers. Consider which area you are most interested in and begin pursuing jobs within that field.
You normally will have to work for a law firm, at least in the beginning, to become a corporate attorney. While working within the firm environment, you should get experience working on corporate law cases in your area of interest. Publishing in professional journals and joining professional organizations can also be key to gaining a reputation as a corporate lawyer and to finding businesses to hire you to represent them.