No matter the size of your business, having your business looked after by these two professionals – an accountant and a lawyer – is very important. These are the two professionals that people wait to hire. They think they don’t need to because their business isn’t big enough. Let me tell you that, that is a naive mentality to have.
You won’t even realize how much you have messed up those areas till you employ someone to look at it and by then it can be an expensive thing to sort. There are many people who registered their business without talking to an accountant and/or a lawyer, not knowing which registration would have worked best for their situation. This can then result in extra expense either having to re-register or to maintain the wrong one.
A good business attorney will help you with almost every aspect of your business so that you don’t run into a muck later. From basic zoning compliance, copyright, trademark to formal business incorporations, lawsuits, and liabilities – a lawyer will guide you through it all.
Let’s say you have a car rental business in Parramatta. You might have grown up in the area and might have driven around more times than you can count, but do you know all there is to know about the traffic laws and rules. The answer most probably will be no so, if you get into something that you are not supposed to then you will go out and search for traffic lawyers in Parramatta and then go through the process of hiring them.
Isn’t it better to be connected to one who knows your business and knows what sort of assistance can be needed and is prepared for whatever comes? Most small businesses put off hiring a lawyer until a summon is at their door. The time to hire a lawyer is before you are sued because once summon is served, the problem has occurred and will cost a lot of money in different kinds of fees like the court costs, attorney’s fees, paperwork, settlements, etc.
Most attorneys bill by the hour and if they need to travel then by the day while some suggest a flat rate for routine matters. If you are starting out in a field that will have you asking a lot of legal questions, then having an attorney on monthly retainer is a good idea.
There is contingency and partial contingency. While contingency is a good thing because if there is a case, then if the lawyer wins, he receives a percentage of the proceeds, if he loses you have to only pay out-of-pocket expenses. Partial contingency or value billing is charged by law firms when they obtain a favorable result. This is advised to be avoided.
For many entrepreneurs, the idea of going to a lawyer is frightening because they assume they will have to spend a ton in legal bills. While lawyers are expensive, there are ways to save costs by learning different ways lawyer bill their time like mentioned above and seeing what works the best for you.
About Carson Derrow
