Running a business is certainly not child’s play. Aside from keeping your clients happy and doors open, you also need to take care of the legal side of things. If anything, stepping outside of the legal confines might very well be the reason you end up with an unhappy client or shutting your doors.
In case you’re on the fence regarding whether or not to hire business lawyers Melbourne company owners need to take their cue from this article. You’ll realize that a business lawyer is possibly more of an asset than a simple expense when you’re faced with the following situations.
1. Forming a Partnership
Businesses form partnerships all the time. If they are not merging with another company, they are buying out another company. Whatever the case, it’s important that the process is done the right way. While you may understand the business side of forming partnerships, it’s impossible to fully comprehend the legalities associated with such processes on your own. Quite frankly, you shouldn’t have to.
A business lawyer will ensure that your partnerships are built on legal foundations. Your lawyer will advise you on the implications of your partnerships to ensure that you don’t get the short end of the stick.
A business lawyer will also negotiate your partnership terms for you. The goal here is to have a fair agreement that’s favorable to your business.
2. Purchasing Property
Businesses know all too well the benefits of investing in commercial property. So, what could possibly go wrong when trying to purchase a property? A lot! You can’t completely rule out any risk when handling a real estate purchase. It’s possible for you to be sold a property that already belongs to someone else or may be priced way above the market value.
You need a business lawyer to ensure that the process goes legally—and smoothly—with no scams involved. Sure, you can conduct your own due diligence by researching the real estate agent in question, but there are other aspects a business lawyer is trained to keep their eye on. Ensuring that the agreement of sale is legitimate or that you’re indeed getting the best deal possible are just some of the aspects a business lawyer can help you with.
Business lawyers will go over every detail in the sales agreement & proceed to give you a thumbs up—or down.
3. Signing a Contract
How many times do you sign a contract without properly reading the terms and conditions stated? While you can get away with this in some cases, mere scanning and signing is a huge risk when you’re running a business. You simply can’t afford to take things casually or “overlook” certain aspects of a contract because you’re pressed for time.
We understand that business owners often have a lot to deal with at any given time to go over each contract detail. Why not pay someone else to do it? That’s what business lawyers are for; to read up on the minute details of the contract, identify problems, explain what you’re getting yourself into, and help you make the right decision. That certainly doesn’t sound like someone your business can do without!
4. Intellectual Property
If your company is the brainchild behind a unique and profitable concept that’s raking in your millions, you definitely don’t need another business stealing your ideas and profiting off them, right? Corporate espionage and copyright infringement are real. You can count on a business lawyer to help you ensure that your intellectual property is exactly that—yours alone.
Even if your lawyer doesn’t know the ins and outs of trademark law, he or she can refer you to someone who can. Business lawyers are known to be well connected. Use this to your advantage.
5. Protect You from Lawsuits
Lawsuits aren’t uncommon when operating a business. It’s easy to get tangled up in an unfavorable situation with a customer, supplier, or vendor. Business lawyers will do everything they can to protect your business from damaging lawsuits by mitigating damages or negotiating out-of-court settlements.
Come to think of it, having a business lawyer might even prevent the situation from occurring in the first place. As mentioned earlier, a business lawyer will inspect every legal document you sign, be it with an employee or supplier, to ensure that everything is above board.
In such cases, breaches of contracts that may result in lawsuits are minimized.
Final Words
It’s wise to have a business lawyer on retainer. The advice and information you’ll receive from these professionals are invaluable and may indeed help you keep your company doors open. This is of course provided that you pick a licensed, professional, and reputable company to represent you.
It’s high time business owners stopped viewing business lawyers as an expense. They are actually valuable investments. Sure, most business lawyers don’t come cheap. But for the value they bring to the table, you can agree that they are certainly worth every penny. Let a business lawyer help you operate your business the right way—with peace of mind.
