How A Lawyer Can Help You When Starting A Business

You might not necessarily need a lawyer to set up a business, but having one will help you greatly. Below are some of the specifics your business lawyer can help you with.

Choosing a Business Structure

A lawyer can help you choose the best business structure for your venture. Your business structure determines crucial aspects of your entrepreneurship journey. For example, the business structure determines your business's liabilities, taxes, and paperwork. A lawyer will help you understand, for example, why you should choose a partnership over a sole proprietorship.

Creating Partnership Agreements

Many entrepreneurs opt for partnerships to enjoy the associated benefits, such as capital generation. If that is the case, you need a partnership agreement to govern your business relationship with your partners. The partnership agreement should include things like dispute resolution strategies and ownership stakes.

A lawyer can create your partnership agreement. If you already have an agreement in place, get a lawyer to review it before adoption. That way, you ensure you understand the agreement, the agreement captures what you need it to capture, and it is legal.

Negotiating and Creating Contracts

You will probably need multiple contracts when starting a business. For example, you may need to:

• Sign a lease agreement for your offices
• Sign purchase contracts with suppliers
• Sign service contractors with different service providers

Get a lawyer to create and negotiate such contracts. For example, a lawyer can help you negotiate a favorable lease termination clause so you don't lose a lot if you need to terminate a lease before its term.

Protecting Intellectual Property

Your intellectual properties (IPs) include all intangible assets you may create for your business. Examples include patents, trade secrets, and trademarks. A lawyer should help you with IP issues for two main reasons. First, the lawyer can help you avoid infringing others' IP rights, and second, the lawyer can help you protect your IPs from others.

Understanding Applicable Laws and Regulations

Lastly, the lawyer can advise you on the laws and regulations governing your business and industry. This advice is critical so that you don't run afoul of the government and, say, lose your license. For example, the government has strict hours of operation for truck drivers, and ignorance is no defense for those who violate the regulation.

The above are just a few legal services you may need when starting a business. Hopefully, your entrepreneurship journey will kick off without a hitch and flourish. Contact a business lawyer to learn more.