Finding the Right Lawyer for your Business Needs

Law BooksIn a perfect world, a business owner would never need the services of a legal professional, i.e. a lawyer. Unfortunately, we live in a world where legal obstacles and obligations are all around us. Moreover, legal troubles can lead to spectacularly detrimental effects on one’s business. Because of this, it is absolutely crucial to have someone to rely on, a bit of legal help from people who know what they are talking about.

So, how do you do it?

Identify Your Needs

Before you can even start looking for the perfect legal representation, it is essential to understand what you will need in the future. For example, while a certain company might need to negotiate the purchase or the sale of certain property, another firm might have the need to come up with the perfect software license agreement. Large companies will need more, of course.

Because of this, it is important to identify your needs as this will influence your future search for the perfect lawyer. Namely, different lawyers and different law firms specialize in certain aspects of corporate law and it would make very little sense hiring someone who is not proficient at a certain aspect of their job.

Ask Around

More likely than not, you will know other business owners in the area or in your industry. While some of them might be unwilling to share their knowledge of good lawyers, if you ask nicely, you will probably get a few recommendations.

You might also want to go online and search for the lawyers in your area. Most law firms these days have websites and there are review websites where you can read the experiences of other business owners who will definitely share anything that you might consider a red flag when choosing a lawyer.

Consider your Budget

Lawyers do not come cheap, especially if their firm is an old and established one. Like with anyone else in the world of business, you will want to consider the financial implications of hiring a lawyer. If you are a small company, you will most likely not be able to afford the law firm that is used by Coca Cola or Amazon.

The good news is that it is a buyer’s market out there and that there is no shortage of lawyers. Sometimes, especially for new businesses and startups, reaching out to a law firm that is also young and up and coming might be a perfect choice. In such a case, it will all come down to the sit-down.

Sit Down

Before you hire a lawyer for your business needs, you will want to sit down with them and find out whether this is a relationship that will work. Your lawyer will have access to some of the most sensitive aspects of your company’s operation and you need to look into this person’s eyes in order to determine whether you can trust them.

Of course, during the sit-down, you will find out more facts about the potential new partner, like for instance how they would handle certain specific tasks or exactly what they had done in the past.

You will do well to get to know them and try to figure out what they are like.

The Personal

For many business owners, a time can come when they will have certain legal needs of a more personal nature. The reason why we are mentioning this in this article is that such personal legal matters can often extend to the company, depending on a number of complicated legal circumstances.

For instance, if a business owner decides to file divorce in California, a whole bunch of problems can arise if their spouse decides to complicate things in the court and especially if the business owner was not extra careful when starting the business.

This is just one of the examples and there are plenty more situations in which personal matters can complicate things.

In the end, it all comes down to hiring someone who has plenty of experience and who you believe will be a good fit. It is essential not to rush into anything.

One thought on “Finding the Right Lawyer for your Business Needs

  1. Sandra Hexner

    Thank you for all this great information about how the right lawyer in the office will be a great asset! I really like your point that before looking for the right legal representation and consulting that a business owner needs to know the specialty of that firm and make sure they are a good match for the services the business needs. My sister wants to start her own business and I want her to make the right choices on the way and think that a lawyer that offers consulting services would be a great asset for her, so these tips will really help me get her on board.

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