What Does a Business Attorney Do?
Business attorneys specialize in, you guessed it, all things business. Whether it is informed guidance to help navigate issues, protection from tax issues or partner problems, to help you understand your legal obligations as a business owner, and more.
Starting a business involves considerable risk, and it is crucial to ensure you are protecting your personal liability and investment.
Common Reasons Why A Business Attorney is Necessary
Several issues arise for business owners, whether they are prone to errors or not. The cause for the problems is typically through no fault of their own but the unpredictability of working with society and being unable to prepare for everything.
One of the main areas in which business attorneys are necessary for business owners is protection. As a business owner, if you are not impeccable with your paperwork and business filings, you may inadvertently leave your personal assets vulnerable. By working with an experienced attorney, you can ensure that you have the correct business structure based on your needs and personal assets and what levels of protection may be necessary.
Drafting contracts is another popular area for business attorneys. Some may view contracts as common sense, but if they are done incorrectly or worded obscurely, you could leave yourself open to liability without intending to do so. Drafting contracts is an important skill, as is negotiating. For example, suppose you are going into business with a partner and want to ensure you are prepared for the future to the best of your ability. Although it may seem that your business partner may not ever have bad intentions, if things go awry, you don’t want to rely on your belief in them when you can rely on a carefully negotiated contract. If you have ever considered or experienced divorce, you may be better prepared for what business partnership issues can arise.
Do you know what licenses and permits you need to operate your business? This knowledge is another area that business attorneys can assist with. Imagine assuming you are within your legal rights and inadvertently placing yourself into legal issues due to ineffective licensing or permits. Ensure you operate your business legally and efficiently from day one by working with an experienced business attorney.
Considering Buying or Selling a Business?
People rarely buy or sell a house without the help of a reputable realtor. The same concept can be applied to buying or selling a business. The assets involved are likely significant, and the contracts or other matters may not be familiar to you unless you have undergone this process.
Business attorneys utilize their contract and negotiating skills to help ensure you set yourself up for success while selling or buying a business. They can also help avoid costly errors, legal issues, and more during buying and selling.
Avoid Tax Issues
If you’ve ever heard of how intense the IRS can be, you know that avoiding issues with them at all costs is in your favor. Tax evasion, audits, correctly calculating taxes, and more are crucial to consider when operating a business.
Penalties and fines for tax errors or inaccurate reporting of income, for example, could result in audits and tax evasion charges, which are at a federal level and carry substantial and even life-changing consequences.
Employment Laws and Business Attorneys
Suppose you plan to hire a team to assist you in growing your business. In that case, you will want to ensure you are not mistakenly subjecting yourself to discrimination lawsuits, misclassification of employees, and more.
Working with a business attorney can also help you establish specific rules you would like to enforce in your business. Putting together an employee handbook or Standard Operating Procedures can help protect you against liability or safety issues that can be timely and costly if not clear to the team you trust to help run your business.
Protect Intellectual Property
If your business is built on an idea or design you created, you will want to protect it with effective copyrights or trademarks. Society is a competitive place, and there is always room for extra protection to ensure your trade secrets aren’t shared with the wrong people, that your business idea, logo, and design ideas are appropriately protected, or that your invention is legally protected.
Protect Your Business From the Start
Maybe you have a fantastic business idea and must discuss your options with a reputable business attorney. Perhaps you are considering selling your business and want to ensure you aren’t leaving yourself open to selling your “business baby” for less than it’s worth. Maybe you are a growing business and want to ensure you are within your legal rights to avoid liability when hiring employees. These are great examples of when to reach out to an experienced business attorney.
We understand that your business is an extension of you, so you want to protect it. Our team has helped several clients throughout Denver and the surrounding area for years to ensure their business and personal assets are protected so they can focus on what they love to do.
Don’t let your dream be vulnerable to errors, penalties, or costly mistakes. By entrusting an experienced business attorney, you can know that your business and yourself are adequately protected.
Call our office today at 303-557-2011 to learn how we can best assist you with your business needs.