Why does your business need a lawyer? Take a look at these common reasons that your business should know a reliable lawyer.
If you own a business, you know how much detail, work, time, and effort go into it. Your main focus is producing the best product you can, and getting customers to be interested enough to buy it.
One aspect of owning a business may get overlooked because it will add an additional cost to you, without adding any obvious profit.
We’re referring to the legal aspect of owning a business.
Starting a company and running it comes with a lot of complicated legalities that can be easily missed.
Having a lawyer to take care of these legalities is very important. It allows you to make sure everything going on is in agreement with the law, allowing you to just focus on bringing in the money.
In this blog, we’ll discuss why you need a lawyer for your business to be successful.
Why You Need a Lawyer
Starting a business is expensive. In the beginning, you’ll need to be worried about getting things up and running if you hope to stay afloat for more than a year.
Making a profit will be difficult, so adding a lawyer to your payroll may seem like something you should decide against.
But having a lawyer will actually save your company money when things start to go wrong (and more than likely, things will go wrong at some point).
Here are eight reasons why you need a lawyer for your business.
1. Issues With Employment
When hiring a new employee for your business, you’ll need to have them read over and sign an agreement or contract of employment.
It’s best to have a lawyer write this up so you know it’s done correctly and that there is no loophole for the employee to be able to sue you over in the future.
The contract will need to be clear on whether the employee is an exempt or non-exempt worker, whether they are part-time or full-time, what the overtime rules are, their benefits, and compensation.
2. Protection Against Lawsuits
If you get hit with a lawsuit and don’t already have a lawyer working with you, then you’ll be in trouble.
A lawyer can not only help prevent lawsuits from happening in the first place, but they can mitigate or resolve the lawsuits that do get filed against your business.
This is an example of why having a lawyer before you need one is so important. Be proactive with the livelihood of your business, not reactive.
3. Patents
Protecting your idea is vital to the sustainability of your company. If you do not protect or patent your product, anyone else can take it and make their own business.
You’ll need a lawyer to fill out a patent application for you because it is a long and complicated process.
It’s also expensive, and having a lawyer can ensure that it’ll be done right the first time, so you don’t have to spend an excessive amount of time or money on patents.
4. Following Regulations
There are tons of regulations out there on businesses. Depending on where you start your business and what kind of company it is will determine what regulations are in effect.
Some regulations you’ll need to know all about and abide by are environmental, FDA, and zoning.
A lawyer will help you navigate these regulations successfully, so you don’t end up unknowingly breaking the law and costing your company a ton of money.
5. Terms of Service
If you’ve ever signed up for something, you likely had to sign a terms of service agreement before proceeding.
These agreements are long and complicated, detailing a ton of important information that will protect your company from future lawsuits.
The agreement will outline a code of conduct for the customer, details of warranty, a liability disclaimer, and a privacy policy (which is sometimes separate from the terms of the agreement).
This is something you’ll definitely need a lawyer for because of the complicated and in-depth nature of these agreements.
6. Incorporation
Incorporating your company will allow for a separation between you, the entrepreneur, and the actual business.
This means that any legal issues to arise regarding your business will not be directly put onto you. You will be protected from personal liability.
Having a lawyer will help you decide what corporate structure will be best for your company’s success and your protection.
7. Partnership Agreements
If your business has more than one founder, it is very important to have a lawyer draw up a partnership agreement.
The agreement should outline the splitting of equity, sharing of profits, how your company will make decisions, and the division of responsibilities.
Having an agreement in place will prevent or mitigate any future litigation should any issues between the founders arise.
8. Financing
When starting a business, you’ll need outside help to fund your company. You need a lawyer to make sure that you’re getting the best deal from these investors so you can maximize your gain.
Financing can come from a number of sources including venture capitalists, grants, crowdfunding, and investors.
If you have investors, you’ll need an outline of what the investor can and can’t do, and how much control or say they have in making business decisions.
You’ll want a lawyer who will help you get the most money from these sources with the least amount of risk attached.
For Additional Help
There are a ton of reasons why a business will need a lawyer to represent them.
Even if your company is not facing any legal issues, its best to be proactive and have one in place for when something does go wrong. View here for more information on hiring a lawyer for your business.
If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact us today.
