When starting, running, and even closing a business, business law is something that’s going to be involved. Business law affects all businesses no matter their type. It could be an LLC, a sole proprietorship, a corporation, or even a non-profit.
Running your business successfully means not only working within the bounds of the law, but also finding ways to legally use existing business laws to your advantage. Avoiding breaking the law is the first and most important thing, but after that, you can use it to get the most out of your business.
Business law is also dynamic and often changing. These days, business law is starting to change to accommodate new circumstances, mainly the internet and other forms of technological advancement. For example, as the internet increases in complexity, more and more businesses are pushing for higher degrees of cybersecurity.
Charlotte business attorneys can offer the following:
- Help keep you informed on various laws that you need to know about, and what you can do to avoid breaking these laws.
- Help you create documents that include what is necessary according to the legal landscape and your specific business.
- Help you find ways of working within the law that helps you get the most out of your business.
- Help with legal issues when it comes to employees (hiring and firing people legally, hiring independent contractors vs. payroll employees, etc.)
- Help you fight legal issues if they do arise (in many cases fighting a case for you in court).
Starting Your Business
Starting a business is a big decision. It requires a lot of work, time, and careful planning. One way of ensuring your business becomes successful is building it on a solid foundation. Hiring a Charlotte business attorney will help tremendously in this regard.
Before even naming your business, it’s a good idea to contact an attorney for a trademark. The same goes for a logo. You also don’t want to give your business a name that is already trademarked only to have to change it later. This can lose you a lot of customers in the future, as brand recognition is one of the most important ways of building a trustworthy reputation. Charlotte business attorneys can help ensure that your business is being created in full compliance of the law, so that it doesn’t end before it even begins.
Not only that, but they can help you work within the bounds of the law to bring you the most personal benefit. Charlotte business attorneys can help you decide on how your business should be set up in terms of it being a:
- Sole proprietorship
- Partnership
- Limited liability company (LLC)
- Limited liability partnership (LLP)
- Corporation
- Non-profit
This is going to affect a number of things, including taxes, ongoing expenses, personal liabilities, setup fees, and how funds can be legally acquired.
Contract Drafting, Review, and Negotiation
No matter how your business is structured, or what it’s all about, you’re likely going to be involved in various contracts during different periods of time. However, contracts contain a lot of legal language that can be confusing, obscure, or downright impossible for the layman to read. A business attorney can not only translate the language of a contract for you, but also help you draft one. Business attorneys can help with:
- Situations where another party has breached the contract’s conditions
- Ensuring a contract has a dispute resolution clause before you sign it (in cases where a lawsuit can be avoided and simple mediation take its place)
- Rooting out problem clauses
- Ensuring all the necessary legal language is included in the contract
- Helping you negotiate a contract wisely, without getting taken advantage of by obscure language or loopholes
- Translating the language of a contract into plain English
- Constructing a contract correctly in a way that gets you the most benefit
Hiring and Firing
It’s entirely too possible for someone to unknowingly break an anti-discrimination law. There are also cases where problems occur if a question is asked during an interview that, legally speaking, shouldn’t be asked. A Charlotte business attorney can help you go over these laws and ensure you don’t break them.
Purchasing or Selling a Business
Both of these cases require operating within the bounds of various business laws. In the case of buying a business, a business attorney can help ensure that you are doing the following things correctly:
- Transferring licenses
- Transferring permits
- Doing due diligence
- Writing purchase and acquisition agreements
When selling a business, look to a business attorney to help you with:
- Negotiations of all kinds
- Transferring stocks
- Vetting buyers
Environmental Issues
A business attorney should always be used in cases where:
- Waste is being created or disposed of
- Your business includes large amounts of emissions
- Your business is involved in raw material development
There are many times when environmental issues can negatively impact your business, and a business attorney can be of great help. For example, let’s say there are toxic or poisonous chemicals or materials later found on property you purchased to run your business. A Charlotte business attorney can file suit against the seller. The goal here is to hold them responsible for the costs involved in cleaning up the property.
Hiring an Independent Contractor
This is a bit different than hiring a regular employee, at least as far as tax law goes. A business attorney can help you hire an independent contract while being in full compliance with the IRS. He or she can help you with all aspects of document construction that makes your business arrangement clear. They can also make sure you hire an independent contractor in a way that works out to your best advantage.
Business Lawsuits
This is the last thing most business owners want to be involved in, but a Charlotte business attorney is an absolute necessity in the case that you’ve broken a Charlotte business law and are being sued, or if you’ve decided to file suit against another party.
Like all attorneys, a business attorney will fight your case in court for you. They have specialized knowledge of business law and can use it in litigation cases to help you get the best possible outcome.
A business attorney can analyze the claim made against you and determine the best way of handling it. If you are the one filing suit, a business attorney will make sure all of the right documents are prepared, that all preparation has been made, and then file suit on your behalf.
You can count on your Charlotte business attorney to work with you during:
- Pre-trial motions
- Interrogatories
- Depositions