Working with a lawyer is a crucial aspect of starting and managing any business. Lawyers can ensure that your company protects your legal rights and get you set up with contracts that can actually be upheld in court.
Although anyone can create their own contracts, the reality is that the right language is needed to ensure that contracts achieve their intended purpose. Lawyers spend almost a decade studying the law before beginning to practice, and they have a career of experience in mastering their field.
Business and tax lawyers from reputable firms like Mockensturm Limited offer insights necessary to help businesses make decisions that will protect their legal rights. Read to learn why hiring a business lawyer can help your business succeed.
What Business Lawyers Do
Business lawyers focus on advising entrepreneurs on a wide range of business matters. Lawyers often work with entrepreneurs when they first get started to structure their corporations in a way that provides maximum protection.
In complex situations, lawyers may even develop a structure featuring several international corporations to reduce taxation or take advantage of laws in certain jurisdictions.
Once operations get started, business lawyers can advise entrepreneurs and key decision makers on the right course of action. Most of the advice business lawyers give involves taking advantage of certain legislation and avoiding key sources of liability.
However, since business lawyers usually work closely with business professionals on a daily basis and tend to be highly passionate about business, some business lawyers may also assist as business advisers, board members, or referral agents.
Over half of business profits often go to taxation, so a major part of the work business lawyers do often involves tax planning and tax structuring. Today, international tax structuring is often a vitally important part of what business lawyers do.
If international taxes are structured strategically, many businesses are able to significantly reduce their tax burdens. Many tax plans also take into account taxes that shareholders will eventually have to pay in connection to profits earned in the course of doing business.
Creating Legally Advantageous Contracts
Drafting and editing contracts is another major part of what business lawyers do to help businesses succeed. Although most deals go smoothly, the deals that go really bad usually involve one or two bad contractual terms. Business lawyers have the foresight to recognize which contractual terms could eventually lead to problems later down the road.
Many companies refuse to sign any document unless they have their business lawyer look at it first. Lawyers know how to scan through documents to look for bad terms and conditions that are designed to catch unsuspecting victims. Business lawyers can then advise their clients on how a contract should be modified to ensure that their interests are protected.
Business lawyers can also draft contracts to provide maximum advantage for their clients. When lawyers draft their own contracts, they can insert a wide range of terms that prevent legal problems later down the road.
Additionally, contracts written by lawyers are more likely to be approved by large corporate clients that expect contracts to be professional. Having contracts written by a business lawyer can be especially advantageous when submitting bids for major projects since lawyers can ensure that contracts are compliant with very specific requirements.
Navigating Employment Law
Companies that experience a lawsuit often end up in court because of employment disputes. Unfortunately, employment lawsuits are common, and they can cost businesses hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Thankfully, most employment lawsuits can be easily avoided by talking to your business lawyer before making any decision. By making employment decisions with the assistance of qualified legal counsel, you can avoid rash actions that can give employees the excuse they need to sue you in court.
Business lawyers can also help you to create employment contracts that protect you when something goes wrong. Many employees who are able to sue their employers are only able to do so when they have their lawyer carefully comb through their employment contract for opportunities.
By using an employment agreement created by your lawyer, you can be sure that your employment contract will defend your interests instead of giving employees a reason to take you to court. Specific contractual terms can also prevent employment lawsuits from dragging on for years or becoming public record in a way that can harm the reputation of your business.
Preventing Lawsuits From Occurring
When you work with a business lawyer, you can usually prevent lawsuits from occurring in the first place. Contracts created by your business lawyer can usually prevent the vast majority of common lawsuits from ever taking place.
If a lawsuit does occur, the case may be adjudicated in a court of arbitration that is beneficial to your interests. As a result, many people who would otherwise consider suing you may never decide to do so in the first place.
Most business lawyers are also experts at conflict resolution. If a major dispute arises, your business lawyer may be able to intervene on your behalf in a way that discourages other parties from considering a lawsuit.
After all, lawsuits can be extremely expensive and permanently destroy even the closest business relationships. In nearly all cases, it makes sense to defuse major disputes before going to the courtroom is ever considered. Consequently, you may be able to salvage relationships with major clients or suppliers in ways that most people could not do on their own.
Managing Lawsuits Effectively
When lawsuits arise, having a strong existing relationship with your business lawyer can give you an enormous advantage in court. Many business lawyers work closely with clients for years before they ever have a major contractual dispute. As a result, business lawyers will usually go the extra mile to defend the interests of their clients in the courtroom.
Nevertheless, the reality is that the vast majority of cases never make it to trial. In reality, most cases are resolved by lawyers who negotiate on behalf of their clients outside of court. A competent lawyer can negotiate on your behalf to settle a case in a way that is favorable to your interests. Consequently, your business can be ready to address major legal challenges in a way that maximizes your interests.
Hiring a Business Lawyer
Potts Law Firm in Dallas, Texas, is one of the leading business law firms in the country. Potts Law Firm can work with businesses at all stages to manage contractual issues effectively, structure taxes in an advantageous way, and help businesses to mount an effective legal defense if something goes wrong. Give Potts Law Firm a call today to learn more.
I found it interesting how you said that hiring a lawyer for your business is beneficial because they can help you choose the best course of action. I think it would be very important to make sure the lawyer you hire has a lot of experience with your specific type of business. Thank you so much for explaining why it is smart to hire a business lawyer, Daniel.
It captured me the most when you wrote that lawyers are skilled to design a layout featuring several international corporations to decrease taxation or manipulate laws in certain jurisdictions. This got me thinking that having a business attorney is indeed crucial especially when dealing with international trade. With that said, I think it’s best to turn to a customs attorney to ensure that the company is guided with a legal approach.
I like how you said that a business lawyer will work with a beginning business when they first start to find a structure for their corporations that will give them the most protection. We want to start a small gym that offers memberships. We believe that an attorney is a good idea because of liability issues and such. This will be our next call to get our business started.