Will your business ever need a lawyer’s help? At a glance, it might seem as if you don’t need their help at all until you realize that there is a lot of running a business that involves a lawyer’s help. From the incorporation to the drawing up of contracts of employment and rental, a business lawyer can do more than just assist you through the litigation process. But is hiring a lawyer matter? Is it something necessary to the success of the business?
Here are some guidelines when you can handle things independently and when it’s time to hire a lawyer:
- Naming your business may be something you can do on your own. When picking a name for your business, you have to consider a lot of factors including which name will have a name recall on your target clients. Name recall allows your potential customers to remember your business name; thus, they can’t help but remember you and tell their family and friends about the products and services that you provide.
- Filing for business registration may also be done independently. All you need is to follow the step-by-step process provided by the business bureau in the area. Register your business for tax purposes to avoid legal problems in the future. You may also apply for the Employer’s Identification Number to give you access to government services to make the filing process a lot easier.
- While you may not need a lawyer’s help for the tasks listed above, you will need one for those in the second list. For more complex business processes, you will need the help of someone who knows and understands business laws. Here are some of them in a list:
- • When forming a corporation, you need a lawyer to deal with all the complexities that come with the process. The articles of incorporation can be done without a lawyer’s help, but the management aspect including the complex tax declaration often requires the services of a corporate lawyer. Unless you are a lawyer yourself, you know that you can’t do this on your own.
- Filing for a patent for the products that you sell can be a long, tedious process that you’d rather someone else do for you. It can take years before you get approval and you cannot take care of that and still run the business at the same time. Consult with a lawyer whose expertise is into patents and let them take care of the job for you. Let them evaluate your product so they can help you understand the value of applying for a patent.
- Going through the litigation process without a lawyer is like putting yourself in hot water. Whether it is dealing with lawsuits filed by former employees or customers, including discrimination lawsuits and environmental complaints, let your business lawyer deal with them. They can help negotiate on your behalf because they have your business’ best interest in mind.
If you are still not sure if hiring a business lawyer is necessary, then simply imagine your business without one. You’d be surprised at how complicated things could be.