What To Expect When You Hire A Business Attorney

The world of business covers a lot of topics. Unsurprisingly, that also means business law covers a lot of ground. If you're planning to hire a business attorney, you should know what to expect. Let's develop a better sense of what a business attorney does for clients.

Structure

More than anything else, a business attorney cares about structure. If you're forming, closing, merging, or otherwise changing a company's status, you should consult with one. There are inherent legal implications even in seemingly small differences, such as changing an LLC to an S-Corp.

A business lawyer can help you flesh out the structure of a company. Even if you have a small business, you should impose a structure. At least one person should be named the executive of the operation, and the company's formative documents should state their powers. Likewise, there should be rules about what happens if the executive position changes or someone wants to force the executive out.

As a company gets bigger, you can amend the documents to add more roles and rules. For example, you might eventually need to appoint a CFO in addition to a CEO. Likewise, the documents should differentiate their powers and purposes.

Generalist

Business law employs a lot of specialists. You will find folks who only handle contracts, intellectual property registration and disputes, mergers and acquisitions, and so on. A person advertising as a business lawyer, though, provides general knowledge on these matters. When a problem becomes too specific for a business attorney, they will help you find a lawyer who specializes.

Suppose your company is facing an employment discrimination claim. A good business lawyer should know what they don't know on this subject so they can defer to someone else. Consequently, they'll help you find an attorney who understands employment and discrimination issues so the business can have appropriate counsel. Similarly, they will bring that lawyer up to speed on the situation.

Representation and Negotiation

Even when two parties to a proposed transaction are comfortable with each other, someone should wrangle the legal issues. A business lawyer can serve as your counsel whenever you're engaged in transactions. If you need someone to draft a contract for a deal, your attorney will be there to write it.

Also, they can handle any discussions with the other party's counsel. If you need to iron out the terms of the agreement, your attorney will work hard to ensure the agreement protects your company's rights and interests.

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