As a budget-conscious business owner, you may consider hiring attorneys as an extra expense – one you don’t want to incur at the early life of your startup. It’s understandable. You are just starting, you are still struggling with funds. So why hire an attorney when you don’t even have a legal issue.
That’s the way a typical new business owner thinks. But here’s the reality;
Since you aren’t running a legal firm, you may not need an attorney for every step of your business. But, having a legal team or at least hiring an attorney can save you from legal calamities that are striking down others. Remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This article will explain why you need business lawyers from day one.
Drafting Terms, Conditions, and Privacy Policy
While anyone could argue about the need for attorneys in running their business. No one dares run a company without a well-written Terms, Conditions, and Privacy Policy.
Terms and conditions can benefit your company in many ways. It states clearly what provisions you have for your customers in case of any misuse of your service. Your website privacy policy discloses how you use your customers’ data. The goal of the privacy policy is to avoid any privacy infringement lawsuit.
Terms and conditions are legal documents that bind your company, its customers, and how you use information. The fact is you can’t, or you shouldn’t start a without one. Apart from being tricky and challenging to put together, writing one yourself can put you into legal pits. You may need attorneys to avoid these pits.
Avoid Contract Lawsuits
Getting into a contract or hiring and firing employees comes with legal risk. Every year, 60% of all civil cases filed in the United States are contract disputes. These disputes can cost you a heavy amount. To avoid disputes, make sure all contracts are supervised by a legal practitioner.
At times, terminating an employee contract can ignite a legal battle. And predatory lawyers can bank on this to force massive settlement out of your purse. Business law attorneys at Rogers, Sheffield & Campbell, LLP can help you out in cases like this. More so, having them to review all your contracts in the first place can save you from any potential lawsuit.
Protect Patents and Intellectual Property
Protecting your intellectual property is essential in today’s competitive world. The emphasis is even more when you start a company based on your innovation. Also, your original work, logos, designs, and inventions are objects of value. You need legal backings to protect them.
Whether to only protect your intellectual property or seal a third-party agreement that involves the disclosure of some parts of your intellectual property, an attorney is required. A professional intellectual property lawyer will guide you through the lengthy processing of patent registration and make sure your patent licensing is legal.
Liability Protection
Some scenarios require special legal protections for the business as an entity and its owners. Many startups belong to the circle of personal liability companies. Yours can be too. Owning a personal liability company means that everything you own suffers if anything happens to your business.
You need a legal shield to protect your rights and cushion your liability. Working with an attorney can help you mitigate this risk and avoid situations that could cause you to lose all your possessions.
Conclusion
There’s no question. You will run into a lot of issues as you run your business. If for any, you are caught off-guard, make sure it’s not legal. The fact is that you can’t tackle legal issues yourself. Employing attorneys is your best bet. Consider it part of the insurance policy of your business.
