Small Business, Big World: When Is It Time to Hire a Business Lawyer?

The small business world has grown exponentially in the last decade. That growth has given way to millions of small businesses registering with the SBA.

While operating a small business in today's economy can be an exciting and profitable venture, there are pitfalls many small business owners don't anticipate.

Many of those pitfalls are of legal nature.

Managing the legal aspects of a small business is something that nobody wants to think about, but it inevitably comes up as your business grows or when it gets sued. This reality has led many entrepreneurs to ask when it's time to bring on a business lawyer.

Below, our team walks you through a few key reasons why small business owners might choose to bring on an attorney. Read on to decide whether or not hiring legal help is right for your organization.

1. Dealing with Employee Lawsuits

It's a big step in a small business' life when it chooses to bring on its first employees. Rather than handling every aspect of your business by yourself, you now have a small team of people who are helping push towards your vision of what your company could be.

All of that is great until you get your first employee lawsuit.

Hiring discrimination, unlawful termination, inappropriate work conditions, and more can all find you on the wrong end of a legal battle. If you're fielding an employee lawsuit, do not go at it alone. Bring on a business lawyer.

Doing so can help you avoid missteps and mitigate any damages.

2. Filing a Trademark

Trademark filings are common in the business world. This is especially true when it comes to company names.

While a lot of online services claim that trademark filing can be done on your own, you'd be surprised by how many of those self-filed trademarks don't get approved or are lawsuit-prone because a business lawyer wasn't involved during its acquisition process.

Trademarks are tricky because you're not only reserving intellectual property but your ability to do so lies in the gray area of what your business' niche is.

To avoid complications and the need to change your business name down the line, do yourself a favor and seek an attorney's help.

3. Dealing with Government Complaints or Investigations

While getting sued by employees is bad, getting into trouble with the government can be a lot worse.

Everything from tax problems to environmental issues can cause local, state, or federal complaints and investigations. Some can lead to your business having to shut its doors permanently.

To deal with a current investigation or to help you structure your business so you can avoid future ones, a business lawyer can be instrumental. This is particularly true given how drastically federal and state regulations change whenever a new party takes power.

4. Negotiating the Sale of Your Company or the Acquisition of Another One

Business sales and acquisitions are notoriously complicated. One mistake and you may end up losing your company and/or significant capital.

To help make sure sales and acquisitions are legal and beneficial to your organization, bring on a business lawyer. They can help you add and subtract verbiage from agreements and explain you the implications of clauses that you might find confusing.

The sale and acquisition of large assets like whole corporations is one business process that you absolutely don't want to be without legal guidance for.

5. Writing Contacts

Contracts are commonplace in business. We use them to do everything, from attaining the lease on an office space to hiring an employee.

A poorly written contract is all of the ammunition a third party might need to bring a successful suit against your company. That's why it's imperative that you have a business lawyer help you review and write your contracts in a way that your business is offered legally defensible protections.

We recommend bringing on a lawyer as soon as possible to help you get your boilerplate contracts in place. These might include hiring documents, NDA agreements, and everything in between. Then, as new contractual needs arise, bring back your lawyer to help make sure that your unique contractual needs are equally ironclad.

There's nothing worse than a third party exploiting an oversight in one of your agreements. Don't put yourself at risk; seek legal guidance.

6. Your Business Is Growing and You Require Frequent Advice

Every small business owner hopes to see their venture evolve into a medium and eventually a large-sized company. As a company grows, so do its legal needs.

The more revenue your company is generating, the more risk you're at for lawsuits. Similarly, the more you grow, the more you may need legal guidance when it comes to completing larger business functions that could carry government regulation implications.

An ounce of prevention can prevent a world of trouble.

It's recommended that when your company scales, your legal counsel scales alongside it.

7. Acquiring Licenses and Permits

Depending on the kind of business you're in, you may need a license or permit to operate in certain areas or sell certain products. You may even need multiple.

Imagine not getting correct approvals for a business out of ignorance, investing millions in launching a product, and then getting shut down because the correct paperwork wasn't in place.

If that possibility scares you (and it should), consult with a business lawyer when your company is looking to do something new. Doing so can ensure that you're approved in all required facets before you start making large investments.

8. Filing for a Patent

If your business is big on research and development and you're putting unique products on the market, you should be filing patents.

Patents are a great way to ensure that you're able to profit off of your intellectual property for years without worrying about third parties stealing and selling your ideas.

The patent filing process is even more complicated than filing a trademark. The amount of documentation required to prove your product's unique nature can be extremely cumbersome. One misstep may prevent you from fighting infringement cases.

Business lawyers who are well versed in patent law can aid you in the timely filing of required documents so your big ideas can enjoy legal protection.

9. Defending Your Intellectual Property

The subject of intellectual property is two-fold.

On the one hand, you have the process of documenting your ideas, which enables you to receive protective copyrights, trademarks, and patents. On the other hand is the process of defending those protections from would-be infringers.

Remember, just because you have a trademark or patent in place doesn't mean that other entities will respect them.

Every day, organizations infringe on intellectual property due to ignorance or indifference, or due to their feeling that their spin-off product is unique enough to stand on its own.

Having a business lawyer who's prepared to force third parties to cease and desist when it comes to your intellectual property is essential to preserving your consumer-base.

10. Incorporating Your Business

Another common small business step that companies sometimes attempt to do without legal guidance is incorporating their business.

Incorporation, for the uninitiated, is when a small business converts its current general partnership or sole-proprietor status into a "corporation" that is recognized by their state.

Having a corporation brings with it a lot of legal and tax protections. Filing for a corporation incorrectly though can be slow, or worse, could lead to your corporate protections falling through.

To ensure that your corporate conversion is done to the letter of the law, hiring a business attorney is crucial. These professionals well versed in incorporating businesses. Consequently, you should have no trouble finding adequate legal help.

When Is It Time to Hire a Business Lawyer?

As you can see, there are a lot of triggers that could constitute a small business bringing on a business lawyer. The list we've presented is by no means comprehensive either.

At the end of the day, if you're navigating an issue that has legal implications and you want to avoid costly issues, hiring a business lawyer is a good idea.

With one in your corner, your business can operate with the confidence it needs to flourish.

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