If you’re launching your own company and not hiring a lawyer, stop right now. You may be thinking your company is too small or that you’re just doing it for fun. However, there are all sorts of legal pitfalls and issues that can arise when starting a business of any size and scope.
We will here outline some reasons why hiring a Dunedin commercial litigation lawyer is vital for small-business owners to have peace of mind when starting their new venture from the ground up.
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Helps in choosing a suitable business structure
It’s a fact of life that all new ventures, as well as existing ones, have to decide on what type of legal structure they will be in. The law imposes a number of requirements upon business owners who wish to be taxed as corporations, including having at least 50 people working within the organization. When starting your business, then you have to consider whether it is best to be a sole proprietorship or to be a C-corporation. In each of these cases, you will have different legal responsibilities that are best managed by an experienced business litigation attorney.
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Prevent lawsuits
When you have an attorney on your side, you can prevent lawsuits from happening rather than help once they have occurred. Additionally, a litigation attorney can help you understand how many lawsuits are related to your company’s specific activity. With this knowledge, it becomes easier to identify the areas where your business is most likely to face a lawsuit.
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Drafting contracts
In the business world, everyone enters into contracts. These agreements are legally binding, which makes it critical for you to have a business litigation attorney ready to draft them. You can also let your attorney know that you wish to be protected against any breach of contract so that if something were to happen with your agreement, they would ensure that you get compensated accordingly as per the law in your jurisdiction.
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Protect your intellectual property
Intellectual property is a great asset for any business. When you have an attorney to help you protect your intellectual property, it means that you are able to protect the original elements of your business plan from being copied by competitors or even employees. Additionally, considering that there’s no patent office in every country, and it can take up to 10 years to obtain one, you should let your attorney help you get an enforceable trademark as soon as possible after starting your new venture.
