When you start a small business, you think of a lot of the services you will need. Someone may help you with the books, and there could be maintenance to vehicles and equipment that will require professional service. But one area that many business owners miss is legal services.
Operating a business has lots of legal ramifications, and it can be very easy to set yourself up for problems if you don’t handle things correctly right off the bat. Working with the appropriate type of attorney for the various issues in your business can keep you on the right track and help you avoid civil and even criminal problems down the road.
A good place to start is actually outside your business. Because you are self-employed, you won’t have the financial resources that other people have should you get injured off the job. It would be surprisingly easy for you to be injured by another driver and unable to work, leaving you not only without income but also without your business. So start building your legal team with Schwartzapfel personal injury lawyers in Manhattan to help ensure you will have an income if you get injured.
As you develop your products, you are probably thinking about some things that have never been created before. Your intellectual property must be protected, so after registering your trademarks and patents, you should find a good business lawyer with a specialty in taking care of handling any litigation that may become necessary when someone attempts to steal your ideas for personal gain. Copyright law is powerful but complex, and the only way to get the maximum benefit from it is to work with a qualified attorney.
You should also become acquainted with a skilled labor attorney. As your business grows, you expect your labor staff to grow as well. The ins and outs of wage-and-hour laws, union considerations, and so forth are topics that are too important to be handled by a general attorney or even by you as the business owner. Get qualified advice and representation for these matters right away so that you don’t fall into the common traps of many managers.
Should you purchase or lease an additional property to run your business (which everyone does except those who are 100% home-based), a good attorney should be involved in your leases, deeds, mortgages, and other instruments. They can often head off potentially costly or troublesome issues before they affect your plans, so get involved with a good lawyer right away.
One final area is estate planning. It may seem morbid to begin writing a will as soon as you start a business, but it’s the only way to ensure that your wishes are fulfilled if the unthinkable happens. This attorney can not only help you with those matters but also review the life insurance coverage you have to make sure that any obligations you might leave behind can be covered by your heirs. Remember, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Have an estate plan developed by a capable attorney, and keep it updated.
You have a lot of things to juggle in the early days of opening a business. It can be very easy to deal only with the most pressing matters and kick other cans down the road. When it comes to legal advice, though, you can really harm yourself by waiting too long. Your team of attorneys should be involved in planning and managing your business to protect your rights, your income, and your future.
