5 types of lawyers every business owner needs
It takes time, effort, and patience to ensure the smooth running of a business and achieve the desired results. Many people overlook that starting a business is more than just investing a large amount of money. It is about carrying out market research, obtaining a business license, and ensuring that the company complies with the law.
There is always a possibility that business owners may be involved in various legal issues, from property disputes to incorrect tax declarations. Hiring a lawyer in such circumstances becomes inevitable. Lawyers help business owners to avoid problems in business operations
With laws and regulations evolving every day, it can be difficult for business owners to avoid making legal mistakes. Lawyers can help entrepreneurs to avoid violating the law. Irrespective of the business size, a well-versed lawyer with business knowledge can prevent several legal issues.
While hiring a lawyer can help you understand legal dynamics, people often wonder what types of lawyers should they hire to look after business affairs. Lawyers specialize in different fields depending on the nature of business.
Hiring a lawyer for business will prevent business owners from encountering any legal issues. Here are the types of lawyers every business owner needs.
1. Tax Lawyer
A business owner should look for a tax attorney with a master’s degree from a well-reputed university. With the emergence of online degree programs such as tax LLM online, many people opt for higher degrees while working. A well-educated tax attorney will help business owners to avoid getting in a situation where tax authorities can take legal action against the business.
Tax lawyers help protect business assets and review the structure to make it legally effective. To ensure the business complies with the tax law, a tax attorney can help business owners go through every detail about business taxes. This will help avoid tax disputes with government entities.
Business owners are susceptible to legal problems when they file incorrect taxes. To avoid getting in trouble with the tax authorities, a tax lawyer can assist in filing the taxes correctly.
2. Employment Lawyer
Complying with the law is what makes a business successful. An employment lawyer ensures that safety standards are in place for every employee at the workplace. For the protection of employees, an employment attorney can educate employers on matters about discrimination and undue termination.
An employment attorney can also help employees by advising them about their rights to form a union in a non-unionized workplace.
The services offered by the employment lawyer include drafting an employee manual and providing legal representation in contentious cases. The employment law is ever-evolving, so hiring an employment attorney can be beneficial by staying updated with the current law to avoid any legal troubles.
3. Intellectual Property Attorney
Intellectual property lawyers deal with issues surrounding copyrights and trademarks. Every business owner must ensure they are not violating the intellectual property concerns of other business owners. Many people are not aware of IP violations; hence hiring an intellectual property attorney can help prevent breaches.
Intellectual property lawyers can help form a non-disclosure agreement for the employees if vital data or information needs to be protected from the public. Helping business owners retain the ownership of the business is an intellectual property attorney’s responsibility.
In some cases, they can help business owners against over-assertion of intellectual property when other businesses exert their rights aggressively.
4. Contract Attorney
A contract lawyer helps draft contracts, drives negotiations between parties and makes amendments to existing contracts. Having full knowledge of the specifications of an agreement before signing it can prevent legal mistakes. A contract attorney can help you understand the specifications of the business agreement.
As laws and regulations change, working with a contract lawyer can help ensure that every business agreement is in line with the law. Depending on the state contract law, a contract lawyer knows what a business owner wants to include in a contract.
While many business owners choose online templates to draft contracts, hiring a lawyer is essential to avoid legal problems and ensure that the agreement covers business needs.
5. Merger and Acquisition Attorney
Hiring a merger and acquisition lawyer can help smooth down the process if a business owner decides to buy or sell a business. The process of purchasing or merging is a complex one that requires appropriate financing and guidance regarding negotiating contracts for the sale of a specific portion of the business.
The role of an M&A attorney is to identify whether the deal is friendly or unfriendly, help clients with negotiating tactics, and, most importantly, identify the client’s business objective. Regardless of the state of the economy, mergers and acquisitions are necessary for the company’s growth.
An experienced merger and acquisition lawyer will be aware of every method of buying and selling the companies assets, from negotiated stock purchases to cash transactions. Merger and acquisition attorneys also assist with drafting employment agreements to keep relevant employees at the company after closing the deal.
Final Thoughts
Starting a business can seem daunting, but hiring a lawyer can protect you against legal liability and offer you some peace of mind. Hiring a well-educated lawyer can ensure that your business will stay out of legal problems.
The success of a business depends mainly on how well-protected it is from legal issues. From tax lawyers to merger and acquisition lawyers, a business owner will hire lawyers depending on the nature of their business. However, there are some that every enterprise may need (mentioned above).
