When Should You Hire Corporate Lawyers?

Juliet D'cruz

Updated on:

Business owners may become involved in various legal situations, such as litigation, or need assistance with transactional matters. Owners of both small and large businesses often consult legal professionals for various reasons, such as buying real estate, starting a new business, complying with labour laws, and preparing to pay taxes. Cooperating with a legal professional can help a business owner ensure that the company runs smoothly and complies with all applicable laws. 

Do I actually require an attorney for my small business?

All businesses should be strategic in hiring an attorney to assist them. An Los Angeles intellectual property lawyer can be especially important if your business needs to protect its original creations and ideas. In some cases, business owners require a lawyer’s help. Some of these scenarios include facing allegations of employee discrimination, criminal charges stemming from alleged illegal behaviour, and negotiating to sell the business. 

All types of businesses need attorneys to provide legal guidance on contracts and other matters. Any kind of business transaction can require different levels of negotiation, document preparation, and review. 

Business owners often do not have the level of knowledge or experience required to handle the legal aspects of running a business. Consulting a qualified professional to manage the legal affairs that affect your business can be a huge benefit. Some of these tasks may include preparing documents, registering intellectual property, and protecting your business interests with written agreements.

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Some of the primary reasons why a corporate attorney can be beneficial for a business can include those relating to:

  • Company formation, governance, and operations: Company attorneys can help clients create, organize, or dissolve business entities. To form a company, they can draft the company bylaws, register the company with the state, and perform any other required tasks. 

They can also help the company determine which type of business entity to choose, such as a partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability company, or corporation. Each business form has its own set of responsibilities, organizational structure, and tax burden.

  • Business contracts: One of the most common tasks for which a business attorney is retained is contract negotiation and review. Business owners often enter into many different types of contracts, such as leases and partnership agreements. 

The process of creating a legally binding commercial contract generally involves an exchange of information between the parties. This includes thorough discussions and negotiation. Finally, the parties sign the contract containing the agreed-upon terms. You can hire a business lawyer to oversee the process and participate in contract negotiations. They can ensure that the contract is valid and therefore legally binding. 

When you want to review and negotiate a contract relating to your business, it is best to seek legal help. An experienced lawyer can help protect you from the potentially adverse legal consequences of a bad contract. With their assistance, you can rest assured that your business interests and your legal rights are well-protected within the document. 

  • Managing potential legal issues. Although a business owner would generally need to hire a legal professional for any of the issues listed above, one of the most valuable things that a business lawyer can do for a company is help prevent these scenarios from occurring in the first place. A professional can evaluate your business operations and help identify any potential issues that may arise or threaten your company. 

For example, when a potential employee takes legal action based in part on questions that your human resources team asked during a job interview, alleging discrimination on the basis of gender, all you can do is hire a professional to defend the lawsuit. On the other hand, if you have consulted with a lawyer in advance regarding anti-discrimination laws and the questions that companies should not ask during the interview stage, you would have known not to ask an applicant whether they are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. A small effort and financial investment earlier in the process can save you a considerable headache. 

In certain situations, a business owner may want to avoid unnecessary attorney’s fees but still get the benefits of working with an experienced lawyer. You may be able to negotiate an arrangement in which you complete most of the initial work with regard to an issue, and the lawyer exclusively provides legal review or guidance with respect to what you present. 

For example, you can use self-service resources or online templates to draft a contract with a provider, having the lawyer simply review the document and provide advice before both parties sign it. Or in the example above, you can research the types of questions to ask during the interview, and then submit the list to the legal professional for their approval. 

Through an arrangement like this, you can avoid potential trouble in the future by seeking the assistance of a Los Angeles corporate lawyer, and you incur minimal costs, because the attorney’s only responsibility would be reviewing your work.

Companies can choose to retain legal professionals to help them complete various legal tasks, especially those that are complex, time-consuming, or go beyond the scope of a business owner’s standard capabilities. 

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