When you open a small business, you should have two professionals on board from day one: an accountant and a small business attorney. Our society has become increasingly litigious, and is more so during down economic times. If you wait until you’re being sued or have a problem with a contract, it’s too late.
It is relatively easy for an employee to file a claim against an employer, and civil litigation is expensive. Even if the claim is frivolous your business may receive negative exposure that damages your reputation and affects your bottom line.
If any aspect of your business violates environmental protection laws, heavy penalties will result, even if you did not cause the contamination. When you buy a business you are inheriting everything that comes along with that business.
The above situations are ones that will have you scrambling to call a lawyer, so don’t wait. The best use of a your attorney is as a partner to guide and protect you in all aspects of opening, running and even selling a business–before you’re faced with legal issues. A small business attorney can help you with the following:
- Contract review and negotiation;
- Developing sound policies for recruitment, hiring, discipline and termination; Creating non-compete agreements;
- Signing a lease;
- Business planning and protecting intellectual property;
- Regulatory compliance;
- Banking and finance law;
- Negotiations and
- Litigation.
Many people—including small business owners—dread the idea of having to deal with lawyers for a variety of reasons. And let’s face it: lawyers are expensive, especially when they bill by the hour and charge for everything from a ten-minute phone call to an envelope and a stamp. For this reason, you might think that waiting to invest in legal counsel until you absolutely need it is the best way to handle your business concerns.
A better plan is to incorporate an attorney as part of your ongoing business expenses, contracted on a fixed-fee basis. In this way you’ll be able to predictably and accurately budget for legal costs, and you can feel free to ask questions anytime, at no extra charge.
