Are you wondering when will you need an attorney for your business? Does your present business problem needs an attorney? Can you start without one and save some money, then get one later if and when a problem arises? I’v got some answers for you!
For most small business owners, they treat calling an attorney to be like deciding whether to go to the doctor. If you have a serious health problem, you will immediately consult your doctor. But if you just have muscle pain or fever, you might wait a few days to see if it turns into pneumonia before you drag yourself to the dreaded doctor’s office.
When Do You Need A Lawyer?
Hiring a lawyer when starting a business depends on what legal type of business you’re trying to start. The less complicated your business, the less you’ll need an attorney.
Here are some situations in where you might be needing a help of a business lawyer.:
- You and your business partners want to make so-called “special allocations” of profits and losses in your partnership agreement or LLC operating agreement (this is a tricky area that needs the help of an experienced tax attorney).
- You or your business partners want to contribute appreciated property to a partnership or LLC (this also requires the assistance of an experienced tax attorney).
- You’re buying a business and a major environmental issue comes up (environmental protection laws carry heavy penalties for landowners, even for those who didn’t cause the contamination).
- You have employees and you want your business to be protected against unpredicted circumstances such as suing your business for discrimination or sexual harassment issues.
How Can A Lawyer Help You?
A business lawyer can guide you how to start and manage your business. Buying a business and making sure your existing business complies with current regulations can be quite complex. In addition, business attorneys with a focus on litigation represent you in court if you’re being sued or need to sue someone else.
Having a lawyer in your business is great when you’re starting a business, managing a business, transferring a business, or having trouble with your business.
A transactional business attorney can help with:
- Taxes
- Corporate compliance
- Business formation
- Drafting and reviewing documents
- Leasing and licensing property
- Managing employees
- Mergers and acquisitions
Things You Can Do Without A Help Of A Lawyer
If you’re just starting out in business, you can take care of most tasks yourself. The following is just a small sample of tasks lawyers charge lots of money for that you can easily accomplish yourself with a good self-help resource:
- crating a business plan
- research and reserve a trademark or trade name for your business
- looking for a domain name for your online store
- creating a legal partnership agreement, limited liability company (LLC) operating agreement, or shareholder’s agreement
- applying for an employer identification number (EIN), needed for employee tax
- hiring independent contractors and contracting with vendors
- creating contracts for use with customers or clients
- creating a buy-sell agreement with partners
- applying for any licenses and permits the business requires
- interviewing and hiring employees (there are federal and state anti-discrimination laws which regulate the hiring of employees)
- lease commercial space, and interview and hire employees, and complete the necessary IRS paperwork.
If you want to learn about hiring a business lawyer, watch this video from Neil Patel:
Now, do you need a business lawyer? I hope this post helped you. If you want to share anything related to this post, please let us know in the comments.
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