Owning a small business is a dream for many people. Those that are going to own their own business can find that there are a lot of unique challenges that come with business ownership. One way that you can help to protect your business and prepare for growth is by working with a business attorney from time to time. A business attorney can offer a range of services that can help your small business going forward.
Support with Business Formation
One of the reasons that you should work with business lawyers when you are starting a small business is because they can help you with the business formation. While you can try and run a company directly through your name, taking advantage of formal business structures is often a preferred option. Businesses today have a variety of different legal structure options to consider including being a corporation, creating an LLC, or even an LTD based on the type of business you want to run. These structures can provide business owners with personal protections and tax benefits. Your attorney will help you decide which structure is ideal for your situation and will give the support that is needed to create and implement the structure from a legal perspective.
Preparation and Review of Business Contracts
When you are a business owner, you are going to enter into a variety of different business contracts. These will include contracts with vendors and clients, lease agreements, asset purchase agreements, and loan agreements. Each of these agreements are very important for a business and can have a major impact on the future of your organization.
When you work with an attorney, they can help with the preparation or review of various business contracts. This will help to ensure that the agreements are properly documented and meet your business agreements and do not include any provisions that are out of the market and disadvantageous. Your attorney can also provide support with any negotiations that are needed to bring the agreements to a final position for you to sign.
Legal Support and Consultation
Another important service that you can receive when working with an attorney is consultation for your business. As you build and grow your organization, you are bound to come across various challenges and changes to your company. Many of these will require that you make formal business decisions. As there can be a lot of options to choose from, using your attorney as a trusted sounding board is always a good option. Your attorney can provide you with sound consultation on your options and can also describe the approaches you can take to continue to protect your business from a legal perspective.
Regulatory and Compliance Support
Depending on the industry that you are in, your company could be held to a variety of regulatory and compliance requirements. If you are not in good standing with these requirements, it could create a variety of challenges including penalization and damage to your company’s reputation. Fortunately, when you have an attorney by your side, they can provide the advice and legal guidance that you need to understand your regulatory and compliance obligations to ensure you remain in good standing.
Litigation
Another important service that your business attorney can help with is litigation. When you are going to run a business, you are bound to have disputes with various parties. This can include disputes with customers, vendors, lenders, investors, or other parties. In some cases, one party in a business relationship may feel that they have incurred a loss with another party. No matter what side of these agreements you are on, it is important to have legal support and representation by your side.
During any type of legal support, your business attorney can offer great services during the process. This can include handling negotiations and settlements outside the courtroom and potentially representation in the courtroom. This will help to take some responsibility from you and can help ensure that you receive the best outcome for your organization.
Debt Collection
A business owner is often going to offer some extended repayment terms to their clients. Most of the time, the client will pay their bill on time, but there are situations in which debts will not be repaid on time. In these situations, you will need to have support to help you collect these debts. Your attorney will be able to offer many services that can help with various debt collection methods. This will include creating a detailed sales and repayment agreement that will clearly identify when the debts need to be repaid. They can then help with any legal collection processes if the invoice is not paid in time. This can include sending out legal notice letters or taking further action. These legal processes can increase your chances of collecting past-due accounts while also ensuring you can focus on other areas of your business.
If you are a small business owner, having legal support is very important as business attorneys can offer several legal services for your company. The business law attorneys of Dickson Frohlich can offer a range of services that can be used to help provide your business with legal protection. This can ensure you are entering into beneficial agreements, are properly structured, and will be able to face any challenges that come your business’s way.
Interesting Related Article: “Hiring a Lawyer: What Type Do I Need?“