Corporate law and commercial law sound quite similar, but there are actually a few key differences between these two fields.
The first step in understanding corporate law is to understand what a corporation truly is. A corporation is a business entity authorized to act as a single entity that has been formed in accordance with the law. Therefore, a corporate lawyer typically deals with the formation of legally-recognized businesses as well as mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, security laws and licensing arrangements. Corporate law is regulated by both federal and state laws.
On the other hand, commercial laws are defined by the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), which is a comprehensive set of laws that govern almost all commercial transactions in the United States. This uniformly adopted state code covers the laws and regulations for trade such as sales, leases, investment securities and transfers of funds. Commercial lawyers help businesses apply the UCC and assist in various commercial transactions within the industry.