Contracts and Agreements: 5 Reasons You Need a Lawyer When Starting a Business

You have just begun to put the finishing touches on your business plan, and you are looking to move forward with putting your startup into motion. What has taken some time to turn into a more complete idea is going to soon become your full time project. With this in mind, you have started to imagine that it might be a good idea to talk with a lawyer to make sure you are proceeding without legal troubles heading your way. The following are five reasons why you might need an attorney to help you start your business.

Incorporating

To turn your business into a legal entity, you must file the necessary documents to initiate the procedures of incorporating your business. In some cases, this can get sticky: depending on the type of incorporation you are trying to put into place. A lawyer familiar with all facets of the incorporation process can make everything run more smoothly for your business. Ashley West at Carter West Law, is a lawyer who has helped to form over 300 different companies, and someone who strives to bring meaning to the success of her clients by counseling them concerning their business and fiduciary responsibilities.

Partner Agreements

When working with a partner, it can get sticky if you do not have any initial partner agreements in place to protect against something your partner does without consulting you first. With a lawyer overseeing your partner agreements, this will help to prevent drama and loss of financial value to your company as a result of any up and coming actions taken by your partner.

The NDA

When including outside individuals into the inner workings of your company’s trade secrets, you will need to have a formal nondisclosure agreement (NDA) in place to ensure there are legal ramifications if such individuals go out and start sharing your company’s trade secrets with third party individuals. You will want this document to be drafted by a lawyer familiar with this kind of contract for best results. This particular contract can spare your startup from a lot of future damages.

Employee Complaints

With your lawyer keeping close tabs on the situation, you will want to be prepared to face any employee complaints that may arise. Business owners today are particularly vulnerable to employee-based accusations and lawsuits. In fact, it may be prudent to have your lawyer draw up an employee agreement contract that prevents problems with employees getting way out of hand.

Litigation

With contracts in place between your company and another business, you recently learned that the other company has not been keeping up its end of the contract. This means you can pursue legal actions. This is where it becomes necessary to have a lawyer around who can help to identify which contract provisions have been violated and for how long.

There are numerous reasons why a lawyer can help you get your business up and running the correct way. From filing documents for incorporation to facing off with other business entities in court over contract violations, the need to have a lawyer in your business’s corner is a necessity that cannot be overstated.