Hiring a Business Lawyer - Helpful Tips

Having a business lawyer is a good idea for a lot of reasons. When you run your own company, you can run into legal issues all the time. Some of them are easily handled, others can be confusing. You never want to guess when it comes to legal issues, and that includes business ones. You want to make sure that you are competently represented when it comes to issues on such things as copyright infringements and customer disputes. 

Finding the Right One 
Attorneys have their specialties, and of course, you want to find one that specializes in business issues. Ask for recommendations from friends and colleagues, peruse your local yellow pages, and search online. If there is a referral organization in your area that can help you find a lawyer, take advantage of it. When an attorney catches your interest, write down his or her information.

Once you have a fairly good list, go through the information again and shorten the list to the two or three that you’re most interested in. Give each a call, and discuss your particular needs, and ask pointed questions. You should be able to make an informed choice if you take all these steps.

A Working Relationship 
Should you put a business lawyer on retainer? That usually depends on the size of your company and how often you’ll need a one. When you run a small or medium-sized company that produces a middle-income profit, then you probably shouldn’t keep an attorney on retainer, because it wouldn’t be cost-effective.

If your company is fairly large, however, and you are dealing with legal issues every day, then paying a monthly retainer might be worth it. Either way, you want to stay in touch with your chosen attorney to keep him or her abreast of your commerce dealings on a regular basis.

Reviewing the Job Your Attorney Does
Companies grow and change, and you want to make sure that your business lawyer can grow and change with yours. Periodically check to see if your attorney can still meet your needs. If not, consider interviewing other specialty attorneys.

That doesn’t mean that you have to end your relationship with your first attorney; it’s always good to have one who knows your business well. It just means that you may need another one that you can turn to sometimes for specific issues.

When you take the time to choose the right business lawyer, it’s one less thing that you need to worry about as you run your company. Confidence in your legal representation allows you to concentrate on other important things.