5 Surprising Benefits of Hiring a Lawyer for Your Small Business

When you start a small business, there are many different factors to consider. How to create capital, finding investors, and crafting marketing strategies may all impact your chances of success. However, one important action that can protect your growing business and give you peace of mind is to hire a lawyer to represent you and your company when needed. You may even be surprised to know the many benefits retaining a lawyer can offer you as an entrepreneur, from everyday tasks to the unexpected.

1.      Helping You Establish a Business Structure

All small businesses are different, and establishing how you choose to present your company can be challenging when you are not familiar with business law. Having a lawyer on your side can help you understand the difference between partnerships, corporations, and limited liability companies. Since each of these structures is bound by different rules, working with a lawyer to establish what kind of company you wish to create can save you from accidentally wasting time, money, and other resources.

2.      Making Sense of Contracts

When you run a small business, you will probably enter into contracts with a variety of providers, whether they clean your employees’ uniforms, provide you with high-speed internet, or rent you office space. Contracts can be dense and their language is sometimes murky, so having an experienced lawyer at hand can help you move through their details with more efficiency and avoid potential lawsuits.

Having legal assistance with your providers’ contracts can also help you avoid any misunderstandings that might lead to future litigation. Payment dates and details, early termination fees, and careful documentation of these and other details let you know exactly what is expected of you as the owner of your company.

3.      Employee Codes of Conduct

Whether you have six employees or six dozen, outlining their codes of conduct can be a challenge. Having the support and advice of a company lawyer can be helpful in this instance because he or she can assist you with the language needed to lay out rules and regulations everyone can understand. Whether you require a certain style of dress or want to inform your employees of penalties related to late arrivals or missed work, a lawyer can help you draft a guidebook and contracts you can refer back to it easily in case of a dispute.

4.      The Creation of Trademarks and Brands

Creating the right brand for your company can catch prospective customers’ eyes and make it easily recognizable. However, coming up with a brand or having a marketing company come up with one for you can be a slippery slope. Licensed attorneys, such as Suzzanne Uhland, can ensure that whatever brand you run your company under is original, legal, and help you avoid legal entanglements with other companies who believe your brand is too like theirs.

If you do happen to enter into a dispute over a brand or logo, having a lawyer in your corner may help you resolve the issue through remediation instead of litigation. Avoiding court fees and time away from your business means saving precious resources you cannot afford to waste.

5.      The Protection of Intellectual and Business Property

When employees leave your company for whatever reason, you may worry that they might take business secrets and ideas with them. A lawyer can help you prevent this by drafting a non-compete clause that prevents any employee from working for direct competitors. The more closely you can guard your company’s private information, the lower the risk that another company will be able to take advantage of it.

Running a small business can present many challenges. However, when you decide to retain a lawyer to help you draft documents, manage the details of your business structure, and assist you in protecting your investment, you can focus more on growing your company and ensuring a better chance of success.