Why Every Small Business Needs A Lawyer

When we think of lawyers, we often imagine old, stuffy, boring and expensive people to go and see. While this may have been true sometime ago, seeing a lawyer doesn’t need to be a painful experience.

In fact, if you’re a small business, then having a legal expert in your corner is integral to your business’s success! The legal word and the business landscape are tied in together- you can’t have one without the other. 

Let’s take a closer look at why every small business should have a good lawyer they can turn to. 

How Can A Lawyer Help Me With My Business?

As a small business, your lawyer can help you set up, run and protect your business in a way that is legally compliant. 

When you decide to run a business, you opt to take on a number of responsibilities. It doesn’t matter if you’re running a large corporation or a small business from home, all businesses need to comply with the regulations that apply to them. However, it can be hard to determine exactly what regulations apply and how to go about abiding by them. That way, you run your business with the assurance that you’re doing everything necessary to follow the law. 

Although, before you get into running your business, you’ll need to set your business up with strong foundations. When setting up your company, there’ll be additional legal considerations like a Founders Term Sheet or drawing up a customised set of Articles of Association. A legal professional can help you sort through this and ensure your company is all good in the business world. 

Then, once you’ve got your company all set up, you’ll need some well drafted legal agreements to keep it secured and make sure everything runs smoothly! We’ll discuss this in more depth later, so keep reading to know more. 

What Laws Apply To Small Businesses? 

As we noted earlier, there’s a number of laws that impact the way every small business will operate. A good lawyer can help you navigate and prepare for the legal landscape, so your business isn’t caught off guard by anything. We’ve summarised one of several key legal considerations most small businesses will need to be aware of here. 

Employment Laws 

When you first start your business, it might be just you. Then, as your progress you may get to hire staff to help out with the business. This is often a great sign that your business is growing. As exciting as it is to be hiring employees, it’s important to be aware of your duties as an employer. 

As an employer, you’ll need to think about things like, minimum wage regulations, employee work hours, work from home requirements and creating a safe working environment for your employees. It will be a good idea to get some solid Employment Contracts drafted and have clear Workplace Policies outlined, so you can foster a positive work environment. 

An experienced adviser can help you determine the employment laws that will apply to your business and the best way to comply with them.  

What Kind Of Legal Advice Should I Seek For My Small Business?

So, when you talk to a lawyer, exactly what do you need to be asking them? The answer is, anything that comes to mind! There’s a lot of laws and regulations that apply to businesses and you will likely need help figuring out exactly which ones apply to yours. No two businesses are the same, therefore it’s always best to go for personalised legal advice as opposed to making decisions based on general info. 

Get A Lawyer To Draft The Right Contracts 

When you talk to a lawyer, it’s a good idea to discuss legal agreements as well. It’s important to have a good discussion about the right contracts that can help protect your business. A few legal agreement you can consider are:

• Supply Agreement
• Business Terms and Conditions
• Dropshipping Agreement 
• Service Agreement 
• Commission Agreement
• Shareholder Agreement 
• Non-disclosure Agreement
• Disclaimer 
• Profit Share Agreement 

The exact agreements your business will need depend largely on your business operations and unique circumstances. Getting the advice of a legal expert and then having the right contracts drafted is the best way to go. 

Intellectual Property 

For many business owners, their intellectual property (IP) is a pivotal part of their venture. If you’re talking to a lawyer, then it’s wise to ask them about the best ways to protect your IP. Things like getting your business logo Trade Marked are important ways to secure your business’s brand identity.

Whatever your concerns are, it’s important to seek the help of an expert, as IP can be a pretty tricky area of law. Not to worry though, as we can help clear things up and make sure your business’s IP is well secured.  

Do I Need A Lawyer To Sell My Small Business?

Lawyers aren’t just handy for setting up and running a business- they’re important if you ever decide to sell your business. Business Sales aren’t a simple process, they require a lot of careful planning, negotiations and well written contracts. There’s also a lot of elements to a business sale, such as an asset sale or a share sale. So, if selling a business is on your to do list, one of the first things you should probably cross off is getting a really good lawyer to help out. 

Next Steps 

There’s a lot of legal considerations involved in starting a business. A good lawyer can help you sort through it all. That way, the legal matters can be taken care of while you focus on running your business. To summarise what we’ve discussed:  

• Having a lawyer for a small business is essential for various reasons 
• Lawyers can assist in legal compliance for business setup, regulations, and contracts 
• Key legal areas for small businesses include Privacy Laws and Employment Laws 
• Personalised legal advice is crucial due to the uniqueness of each business 
• Legal agreements to consider include a Supply Agreement, Business Terms and Conditions and Intellectual Property protection 
• Lawyer are valuable when selling a small business due to complex negotiations and contracts 
• A lawyer can help manage legal matters while business owners focus on running their businesses

If you would like a consultation with a small business expert, you can reach us at 08081347754 or [email protected] for a free, no-obligations chat.

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