When it comes to starting a small business, there three things everyone needs ABC, an attorney, a banker and a CPA or accountant. You need to have a small business lawyer in your back pocket for when you need legal advice. You can download legal forms from the internet or Google topics about a potential lawsuit, but any small business is one lawsuit away from being out of business. Instead of putting your legal future in the hands of search engine hire an expert, who know small business law. If you want to run a successful small business; you need small business lawyer.
Don’t wait until someone slaps your business with a lawsuit. Get legal representation now, You want to be prepared in case any legal challenges come up.
If you only hire a lawyer when you're facing a legal issue, the person you hire must struggle to learn about your business before then can effectively represent you. He or she must review your business's history, ask basic questions, and run up billable hours in the process.
When you already have an lawyer, who knows you that person can jump right into to assist you right away. You want to make sure you hire someone who already knows your industry, revenue model, business policies, and other essential information.
You Can’t Claim Ignorance As a Defense As a business owner, you can’t expect to understand every facet of the law. However, that doesn't mean the legal system will give you a free pass if you accidentally break the law. In fact, ignorance is specifically not considered a defense to a legal action. The law's complex verbiage demand expert attention, and you'll need an experienced attorney to keep you from making costly mistakes.
Contracts Need to Be Solid You can write a contract on the back of a napkin, but that doesn't mean you should. While you don't have to hire an attorney to create all your contracts, your main contracts that you’ll use to conduct business should be drafted by an attorney. You always want to make sure your interests are protected. A legal agreement prepared by the lawyer who knows your business is worth every penny. It will offer better protection and less issues with your clients. You also need a lawyer to review any contracts a Fortune 500 company or landlord put in front of you to sign.
Since a contract represents “an agreement," you want to make sure that you and your client or vendor both understand the terms. Contract disputes don't always arise from ill intent. Sometimes, the parties just disagree on the original intention behind the agreement, which is where specific wording, crafted by a lawyer comes in handy.
Benefit from Experience Attorneys are suspicious by nature not because they want something bad to happen, but because they know it can, and they recognize the warning signs related to legal issues. When you have a lawyer in your corner, your should treat them like a business adviser and engage with them on a regular basis. If your attorney sees a problem waiting to happen, you'll get advance notice so you can correct the issue and avoid costly legal hassles.
You can incorporate your business on the internet, but that’s as far as you should go with getting legal advice online. You need a lawyer for your small business. There are a lot of ways to get in legal trouble, from government regulation, employee issues, to contract disputes with clients. Anyone can sue you, whether they have a legitimate claim or not. Be smart and protect your small business. To learn more tools and tips to grow your small business, sign up for my weekly newsletter. I always share advice to help you win in business.
The article was originally published as why your small business needs a lawyer on www.succeedasyourownboss.com