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Common Business Laws And How A Business Lawyer Can Help

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Business Law|Common Business Laws And How A Business Lawyer Can HelpEvery business needs two professionals right from the very start. One is an accountant, for apparent reasons. And the other one is a business lawyer.

Now, you need an accountant for bookkeeping and filing taxes. But why an attorney?

Simply put, a business attorney handles no single task. Indeed, a business attorney will be responsible for providing advice at every step, from zoning compliance to hiring, recruiting, and even finalizing a deal.

Besides, a business attorney will also represent your business in case of any litigation or lawsuits.

In short, a business attorney is more like an advisor for your business, regardless of its size.

Are you still confused?

Read more about the standard laws that your attorney would help you navigate through.

Intellectual Property

Intellectual properties are exclusive entities that belong to a business or an individual. For instance, a trade name or trademark, a logo, or a patented product design, are all intellectual properties.

For businesses, these properties are crucial to mark their brand identity in the market.

And therefore, it is essential to protect these identities against theft or infringement.

To your surprise, there are numerous disputes about intellectual properties. And most of them involve litigation.

Now, a reasonable attorney would assist you in starting the lawsuit. They would also be helping you gather all the evidence and investigation needed against the party in breach.

In short, they’ll protect your business and brand identity. And would also help recover monetary or other losses.

Breach of Contract

There are usually several types of contracts that your business may be involved in. For example, there could be a vendor agreement or an employment contract, to name the least.

Typically, contracts are signed off to maintain a binding agreement between two parties. And they are crucial for protecting your business in a variety of situations.

To be precise, a contract would also entail specific dos and don’ts for both parties involved in the agreement. And any breach of the contract by any party can easily trigger a dispute.

Besides, several laws govern business contracts. So, having an attorney who understands business law and can help you stay clear of contractual disputes can help your business stay ahead of troubles. And not to mention, they would also help with the litigation process against the party at fault for breaching the contract.

Moreover, the lawyer would also play defence if the other party files a lawsuit for breach of contract.

So, it’s a two-way street, and your business will surely be on the safer side in both cases.

Mediation Outside the Courts

It is noteworthy that not all business or corporate litigations end with a courtroom trial. Instead, to your surprise, most business disputes are usually settled outside the court.

Now, you may think that there are not many legalities involved if the dispute is settled outside the court.

Allow us to correct you here.

Even in out-of-court settlements, the other party can breach the mutual agreement. And it may further escalate the issue into other disputes.

Having an experienced business attorney can prevent further escalation and also help with the mediation process.

Your business attorney would help with the agreement’s drafting and negotiate the compensations to be paid or received.

In short, a business attorney will also help your business stay healthy if any dispute does not reach the courts.

Disputes with Employees

As a business owner, you may use different contracts or establish a code of conduct for your employees. For example, you may oblige your employees to maintain an NDA to protect the company’s crucial data and information.

Likewise, you may also use a minimum work term contract with your employee.

And as such, there may arise situations when the contract may need to be terminated early. For instance, if an employee needs to quit the job for any valid reason.

In such situations, it would be beneficial for your business to establish a rule book—the dos and don’ts of terminating contracts before the term ends.

And that’s precisely what your business attorney would help you with.

Wait, did we mention NDAs? Any breach of an NDA would also implicate legal action against the employee. And you may very well need to file a litigation procedure against the employee.

Disputes with employees may arise because of other reasons too. For example, workplace discrimination, harassment, and wrongful termination are also common reasons for disputes with employees.

Disputes between Partners

If you own a business in partnership with someone, then skipping on a business lawyer is not an option.

Consider this; partnership firms usually operate on shared ideas and profits for both partners. Likewise, both partners also share the workload and responsibilities.

And to your notice, all these shared profits and roles are documented.

Partners can quickly end up in disputes concerning any change in operations or standard procedures. It may even be because of differences in perception.

But, there’s one thing for sure: the business would bear the loss amidst all the internal disputes.

And you wouldn’t want that.

So, involving a business lawyer who can intervene and settle disputes can be an easy way out. And perhaps, it would also protect your business from potential losses.

Consumer Disputes

Another possible legal trouble for your business could be product liability lawsuits.

Suppose a customer or a consumer is injured while using your products. In that case, your business is at risk of losing its reputation. And not to forget the monetary expenses paid in compensation to the injured.

Nonetheless, consumer disputes are pretty standard, especially when you are a manufacturer or deal in products and not services.

A business lawyer would investigate and establish your defence’s facts to protect against both- monetary losses and reputation damage.

Or, the least they can do is cut the compensations that your business would need to pay if found guilty.

The Takeaway

A business lawyer may need to work on more than one aspect of your business. Depending upon the situation and the case at hand, they may also need to perform several tasks.

However, in all their goodness, they will only be assisting and protecting your business to clear through the legal troubles and disputes.

How to Handle a Small Business Lawsuit

StrategyDriven Risk Management Article |Small Business Lawsuit| How to Handle a Small Business LawsuitThere are advantages to owning a small business and endless opportunities for success and growth. Becoming a small business owner is something to be proud of, but there are some risks associated with owning any business. While ideally, it will never happen, a small business lawsuit can be an extremely stressful situation. It’s good practice to be prepared for the worst just in case you find yourself facing a legal situation.

Stats show that each year, 35-56% of small businesses may become involved in litigation. You may not have experience handling lawsuits, specifically business ones, but that’s no reason to fret. Here are a few key things know so you can handle a small business lawsuit.

A claim is not a lawsuit

The first important thing to note is the difference between a lawsuit and a claim. If someone makes a claim against your business, it will only involve your insurance company and does not necessitate you to go to court. If the insurance companies settle the dispute between each other than it doesn’t escalate further. If they cannot reach a mutual agreement, it could lead to a lawsuit. It is also possible for a lawsuit not to make it to court if both sides agree to an appropriate settlement. If it does go to court, make sure always to have a court reporter present to transcribe everything, to ensure that nothing is misinterpreted.

Protect yourself with comprehensive insurance

Your business may never face a lawsuit in all your years of operation. Still, you must prepare yourself should the scenario arise. Proper insurance is critical to make sure that your business is covered as much as possible. The most essential type of coverage you can have is general liability insurance. It will cover you from the most common situations that could arise, such as employee injuries or any other injuries on your business property. Depending on your business operations, you may want to look into more specialized packages based on risks your employees or clients may face.

Make sure your business insurance covers courtroom costs, attorney fees, and settlement fees as well.

Obtain a quality business lawyer

As a small business owner, it is a good idea to have a lawyer on retainer. That way, you know you will have a good quality lawyer you can trust on hand if you end up facing a lawsuit. The last thing that you want to do is scramble to find a good lawyer last minute and not have time to do your research.

The best course of action will usually be a settlement because it won’t require you to go to court. That said, always speak to your lawyer first before saying anything as they will be able to advise you on the best action to take and guide you through the whole process. Even once you speak to your lawyer, you should still avoid any direct contact with the plaintiff. Always make sure that any conversations you have with the person suing you go directly through your lawyer.

Lastly, the best thing you can do after a lawsuit is to learn from it. Use the experience to ensure it doesn’t happen again by making the necessary adjustments in your business.