Three Ways a Business Lawyer Can Help Your Company Succeed

Starting a company can be daunting, especially considering all the complexities surrounding taxes, intellectual property, partnership agreements, and more. At the start of a company, founding members typically focus solely on bringing their product or service to market. While this focus is important, it is also wise to focus on the long-term strategy and protect yourself from adverse legal action or consequences. Here are three ways that hiring a business lawyer in the early stages can help safeguard the future of your start-up.

1. Establish the best legal entity

When you are establishing your corporation, an attorney will guide you through the various legal entity options, including incorporation. Incorporating your company separates your personal finances from your business and protects you from having to personally assume responsibility for the company’s debts. An experienced business attorney will advise you on whether to establish as a sole proprietorship, limited liability corporation, or limited liability partnership. A lawyer will help you choose the entity that is best for you in the long run, so you don’t have to change it in the future and incur additional hassle and expense. Discussing your specific situation with a legal expert will allow you to assess your finances and future goals and help you make the right decision about incorporating.

2. Protection of vital intellectual property

Establishing security measures to protect your intellectual property is essential to the success of your business. Intellectual property is generally defined as unique items created by you that will provide a financial benefit. Intellectual property includes trademarks, copyrights, and patents on your original works, designs, and inventions. A lawyer will help you establish proper intellectual property security so that you can avoid costly litigation in the future. For example, you can protect your logo or mark by having your trade attorney register them as a trademark with the US Patent and Trademark Office. Also, if a competitor copies your logo or mark, your legal counsel can send a letter cease and desist and immediately stop any further damage to your trademark. Cutting corners on intellectual property at the start of your business and failing to get proper protection could cause irreparable damage to your brand down the road.

3. Review of complex legal documents

Starting a business usually involves dealing with large amounts of paperwork. Having a lawyer work with you in the initiation phase helps ensure that all documents, both created and received by you, are correct and ensures that all of your interests are covered. Typical documents dealt with in the initial phases are contracts, insurance policies and partnership agreements. A partnership agreement can be particularly important when addressing common issues among founders of new companies, such as division of responsibilities, division of shares, and profit sharing. Although there are many generic business contracts on the Internet, an advocate focused on your circumstances will ensure that the documents you use provide the unique protections necessary for your specific situation.

You may have started with an amazing idea and a strong chance of success, but without the right advice, your startup could be on a straight course of stress and onerous expense. Consulting with an experienced business attorney will help secure your business and avoid costly litigation in the future.