Strengthen every aspect of your business.

Whether you are considering entering into a proposed contract or transaction requiring legal analysis by an attorney or you need a legal audit of your company’s business practices, having qualified, experienced business legal advice from an attorney is critical to your business’ success. Here are some areas that you should consider.

Contract Drafting and Review

The law considers both parties to commercial contracts to be “sophisticated” and capable of understanding the terms of the contracts into which they enter. There are no excuses to avoid compliance such as ignorance of the terms or your obligations under the agreement.

This is why it’s critical to obtain business legal advice before agreeing to a key contract that could affect the business’s future. Contracts are meant to be negotiated, not simply executed without review and careful consideration.

Business Organizations and Governance Issues

Some of the most important aspects of your business are both the protections created when it is initially organized as well as carefully maintaining those protections as your business evolves. Business organization laws not only limit owner liability for company debts, but they also establish the terms of your relationship with your business partners.

How are decisions made? Who receives the profits from the company? How are contributions from the owners protected? Finally, if the relationship fails, how will it be terminated? And how will the company assets be handled during dissolution? These are issues you should consider at the outset of your business venture – not after the issue arises. Having experienced legal advice for your business is key.

Employment Law Compliance

If your business is like most, the part of your operations that is most regulated and litigated is the relationship with your employees. A properly drafted and reviewed employee handbook and consistently followed policies and procedures are critical steps in avoiding future employment issues. Learn more about how we can help protect your business through sound employment law practices.

Vendor / Supplier Relationships

Often in the hustle and bustle of operating a business, its owners lose sight of the fact that they are entering into numerous contracts with vendors and suppliers every day. And they may not fully understand the terms of each one. Not only is it important that you carefully review and understand the terms of each contract, but it’s also important that you understand how they interact with other vendor or supplier form contracts (the “battle of the forms”), which may affect your legal rights if something goes wrong.

Customer / Client Relationships

If your business relies upon written contracts with your customers or clients, you understand the balance necessary between defining the relationship to protect your interests and the risk that your customers/clients may be discouraged from doing business with you due to excessively legalistic contract terms.

That is why, at Meyer Law Office, we have always considered customer contracts as not only a risk-management tool but also a marketing communications tool as well. A carefully drafted customer/client contract will communicate fairness, simplicity, and brevity in a way that will assure your clients that your company is operated fairly and professionally in its dealings with others. And, of course, it will simultaneously protect your rights in case there are issues with the parties’ performance.

Landlord / Real Estate Issues

The stability of your business operations often depends upon the stability of its location. Does your business own its business location(s) or rent from another? Have you considered options that may maximize your business’ future growth potential? Often, rental locations can incur more expenses than the tenant originally intended due to unanticipated issues if the lease is not evaluated by an attorney. Learn more about our deep experience in legal issues that arise for real estate and construction organizations.

Intellectual Property

Perhaps the most misunderstood and intimidating legal right business owners have relates to intellectual property. Too many businesses fail to properly protect those intellectual property rights. Whether its trade secrets exist in the form of customer information, financial / industry intelligence, or pricing structures, a business relies on keeping that information out of competitors’ hands.

Nevertheless, many businesses inadvertently abandon those rights when they don’t obtain professional business legal advice to ensure they’ve taken reasonable efforts to prevent disclosure or misappropriation by unethical competitors or disloyal employees. An audit can assist management in determining what intellectual property rights the business has, and how to protect them from its competitors.

A Strategic Legal Advantage

Set your business up for success by gaining a strategic, proactive legal advantage. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you protect your organization from unnecessary legal risk.