You will discover that you need the services of a lawyer at some time during the early phases of your business. Hopefully, this call to action is the product of a booming company rather than a legal mishap.
The first frequent legal need of a startup is the creation of a corporation. You have cofounders, intellectual property, contractors, and maybe money – it is important to protect oneself inside a legal corporation. What about these other important legal-related difficulties after your firm is formed? What about intellectual property and employment? What happens if anything goes wrong (or you suspect something has gone wrong) in one of these areas? Do you go to the same lawyer for everything?
We estimate that 75% of entrepreneurs believe that the same attorney who founded their firm can manage all of their legal difficulties. This is like to stating you go to the same general practitioner for open heart surgery and laser eye surgery. It is uncommon to find a doctor that can meet a wide range of medical demands with precision and ability. The key to success is specialisation. The same is true when it comes to hiring attorneys for your startup or small company.
We found that every company has three primary legal requirements based on a study of general counsel, business lawyers, and seasoned entrepreneurs. Don’t spend time and money going via a general practitioner; instead, go directly to the source.
Having said that, there are occasions when you are unclear whether anything is incorrect, or you may not completely comprehend the gravity of a legal problem. You need someone who can provide you an impartial assessment of your legal issue and who knows that business comes first. This necessitates a unique form of attorney as well as a unique type of relationship.
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Corporate Attorney with Industry Knowledge
This is your general practitioner, who assisted in the formation of your firm and will most likely assist in the fundraising as well. They are sometimes referred to as “Corporate” lawyers. However, it is uncommon to find a corporate attorney who is also an expert in employment and high-tech intellectual property. When asking these kind of questions to this sort of attorney, keep this in mind. They can usually provide high-level guidance on these difficulties, but depending on the difficulty, they may need to refer to someone else for a more extensive study.
Attorney for Intellectual Property
Intellectual property is all around you, even if you aren’t aware of it. Logos, client lists, and computer code are all examples of intellectual property, and there are correct and incorrect approaches to safeguard each kind. For many startups, intellectual property represents a large portion of the company’s value (the team being the other major piece). You put in all that work to correctly organise the firm and secure your personnel; shouldn’t you put in the same amount of effort to protect your intellectual property?
Employment Lawyer Attorney
Employees are one of the most difficult aspects of running a company. As a startup, you’re taught to be lean, to recruit quickly, and to dismiss even quicker (according to some entrepreneurs). Both of these scenarios include two of the most disputed areas of business law in the United States: 1) misclassifying workers as contractors and 2) claims from terminated employees. Employment law is a tangled web of regulations that is often stacked against a company. You need someone who has worked in the trenches with companies and is familiar with the voluminous case law that underpins their state’s employment laws. Years of experience are required, which is why a specialist is required. Before you recruit an employee, engage an independent contractor, or decide to fire either, you should consult with an employment attorney.
“Let’s Get Some Beer” Attorney
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you’ll need an attorney to go over any legal issues or questions you have, such as when you receive a letter about infringing content on your site, when you’re unsure what legal entity to form for your new venture, or when you want to scrape information from a third-party website in violation of their terms of service. These are the kind of lawyers that spend minimal time writing emails and prefer to talk over lunch, a drink, or at the very least a phone call.
They are often your jack of all crafts, advising you on the greatest business possibilities rather than the road with the least legal risk. These people hardly never charge their time. Most importantly, these lawyers will advise you on how to frame any legal issue to your other attorneys and will notify you when you have a major problem that necessitates the use of huge (and more costly) legal weapons.
This form of connection takes time to develop and is easily exploited. When you locate them, your legal worry will subside, and your pocketbook will rejoice. So, start attending law school happy hours and asking your pals whether they know of such an attorney.