When you are just starting up a new firm, you naturally want to keep expenditure as low as feasible. After all, the main goal is to generate as much profit as you possibly can! However, this means that many do not engage a lawyer until they are in a legal issue – and that is when it can turn stressful, confusing, and much more expensive. It is a good idea to have at least got in touch with a lawyer at the very beginning because even the best-run firms occasionally require some expert guidance. Here are four circumstances where your firm could need a lawyer from Manfred Sternberg & Associates:
Patents, copyrights, and trademarks
If you have a product that you feel is wholly original, you will undoubtedly want to patent it or register a trademark for it as soon as possible, to prohibit anybody else from replicating it. Trademarks and copyright rules might be confusing, but a lawyer would be able to help you through the procedure and make sure that you are not infringing any rules. It also applies for if you are ever accused of copying someone else’s ideas!
Contracts
Most company operations deal with contracts on an almost daily basis, whether they be with suppliers, real estate, workers, clients, and consumers. It is crucial to let a lawyer design these contracts, or at the absolute least, give them a check over before the two parties sign them to make sure your company interests are adequately protected and that you have not neglected something that might prove pricey in the future.
Business duties and obligations
Simply putting up a company can be complex enough, particularly if you are getting into business with someone else. Even if you opt to do it yourself, you will more than likely need a lawyer to help you with tax responsibilities, start-up costs, liabilities, applying for and renewing licenses, and all of the other legal work involved in forming a company. Leaving these responsibilities to a trained lawyer means that you know they are being done correctly and provides you much more time to focus on building your business.
Employee and partner departures and conflicts
If you are in partnership with other individuals in the firm or employ a team of personnel, at some point, someone will wish to quit. Similarly, a partner in your business may die or become too sick to work anymore. Likewise, this may happen in a firm when there is just one proprietor – someone will need to take over or wind it up. There might also be disagreements – possibly over wages or employee rights, and a lawyer will be able to advise you on the best line of action to follow.
Retaining a lawyer might not be a priority, especially in the beginning when funds are tight, but it truly is necessary. You never quite know when you are going to need to defend your business!