An entrepreneur’s role is to envision ways to improve the business model and maximize profits, while an Attorney supports the business as an entrepreneurial partner in handling the legal issues strategically. By choosing to hire the counsel of a business lawyer in Portland, Oregon, you will be doing much more than having someone draft the documents needed for your company. Instead, you will have a professional collaborator who protects you, your employees, partners and investors by providing counsel on all legal and business decisions.
How Lawyers Help with Operating Businesses
Contracts can seem overwhelming and even intimidating if you are unfamiliar with hiring employees or independent contractors, entering commercial and retail leases or subleases, partnership, single-member operating agreements or corporate bylaws, secured loans or financing and client negotiation. This is where the counsel of business lawyers comes in to help. A great team of legal professionals will draft and review every contract associated with your business.
Another important service that business lawyers offer is the legal ability to protect your assets. This is not limited to physical property, equipment or inventory. It also includes the intellectual properties that you have worked so hard to develop. By having legal counsel, your assets and private business plans, including trademarks, logo brand marks and federal and common-law copyrights will be protected at all times. Even if a lawsuit is filed against you or your company, we are here to represent you. We will make sure that all employees fill out the proper liability paperwork required to keep you safe.
When starting a new business, you will find that drafting client term agreements and service contracts is quite complicated if you choose to do it on your own. A business lawyer will overview the entire process and make sure to include clauses that guarantee your legal liability protection. It’s noteworthy to mention that a business lawyer will not only make the contract look professional, but he will also be there to personalize and enforce it so that it best suits your needs. Client Service Agreements include work-product consent, non-refundable deposit, termination provisions, force majeur clause, legal liability protection language, billing policies, requirements, binding mediation enforcement clause, respectful communications and scope of work addendum; a CSA project will also include additional consultation regarding business process specificity.
If you are planning to work with an investor so that you can raise more capital and take your business to the next level, this means that you will need to prepare countless documents and ensure all the information is accurate. This is another scenario where a lawyer can ensure that all documents are complete, signed by the right people, and represent your business’s best interest. Moreover, having a lawyer conduct this type of operation will allow your business to be more professional and trustworthy. This project would include representation, counsel to reach an accepted offer, gathering further information, assist on the material LOI terms and preparing LOI, including additional consultation and analysis regarding valuation, equity, limiting liability, voting rights and management.
While employing a lawyer to help with operating businesses is going to make legal documents much easier to deal with, the most crucial benefit is that you will always be on the right side of the law. It happens more often than you would think for entrepreneurs to violate legal requirements without even knowing it. A business lawyer will make sure that all your taxes are paid and that every contract is followed accordingly.
Below you can find a quick rundown of the perks that a lawyer brings to operating businesses:
Business Entity Formation + Structure Strategy
Founder + Stakeholder Agreements
Capitalization Management
Contract review
Drafting legal documents
Employment + Independent Contractor Agreements
Trademark + brand protection
Commercial + Retail Leases
Leasing, Property Management + LL/Tenant Matters
Client Service agreements
Investment and divestitures
Debt + Equity Investor Agreements
Buying + Selling of Businesses
General legal counsel, available on call.
Contracts
Drafting
Review
Negotiation
Execution
Commercial and Retail Leases
Subleases and Office Sharing Contracts
Employment Agreements
Independent Contractor Agreements
Trademark + Brand Protection
Advise as to business licenses and permits necessary for businesses in relevant industries
Oversee process of obtaining necessary business licenses.
Agreements + Structures for Growth and Change
Client Term Agreements
Service Contracts
Investments and Divestitures