Steps for Lawyers and Accountants to become business counsellors
Law school teaches legal theory, but often leaves a gap in understanding how those principles apply in the real business world. This course explores the role of the business counsellor—an advisor who bridges that gap by crafting effective contracts, advising on regulatory compliance, and helping clients manage legal risk in day-to-day operations. You’ll learn how these professionals bring exceptional value to clients by offering practical, proactive legal guidance that supports sound business decision-making.
The course also highlights how to build lasting client relationships based on trust, respect, and credibility. It covers essential business development skills, including effective marketing strategies and how to deliver compelling presentations that attract and retain clients. Whether you're early in your legal career or seeking to expand your practice, this course will equip you with the insights and skills to become a respected and effective business counsellor.
Alan Gutterman is one of the best-selling individual authors in the global legal publishing marketplace. His cornerstone work, Business Transactions Solution, is an online-only product available and featured on Thomson Reuters’ Westlaw, the world’s largest legal content platform, which includes almost 200 book-length modules covering the entire lifecycle of a business. Alan has also authored or edited over 90 books on sustainable entrepreneurship, leadership and management, business law and transactions, international law and business and technology management for a number of publishers including Thomson Reuters, Practical Law, Kluwer, Aspatore, Oxford, Quorum, ABA Press, Aspen, Sweet & Maxwell, Euromoney, Business Expert Press, Harvard Business Publishing, CCH and BNA. Alan has extensive experience as a partner and senior counsel with internationally recognized law firms counseling small and large business enterprises in the areas of general corporate and securities matters, venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, international law and transactions, strategic business alliances, technology transfers and intellectual property and has also held senior management positions with several technology-based businesses. He has been an adjunct faculty member at several colleges and universities. He has also launched and oversees the Sustainability Entrepreneurship Project (www.seproject.org). For more information, visit alangutterman.com.
This portal is provided as a training and development resource for City of Markham employees. Every course is delivered by a qualified subject matter expert or learning organization, is quantifiable in hours, and is verifiable — you receive a documented certificate of completion for every course you finish, stored on LearnFormula indefinitely.
If you hold a professional designation (for example in engineering, accounting, human resources, or law), courses may be counted as professionally relevant, verifiable learning activities toward your continuing professional development. Individual practitioners are responsible for confirming that an activity meets the requirements of their professional body. For questions about the City of Markham's training and development policies, please speak with your people leader or Human Resources.
