From the article: When Do I Need a Tax Attorney?
Starting a business is a complicated undertaking, and you need all the help you can get to make sure you are doing it right. Why should a new business owner hire an attorney? Share Your Reason
one simple reason
- As a team need coach for their training to win tournaments, A business need Attorneys to get to the top in all legal matters and help rain money for business. www.patellegal.com
- —Guest rakesk patel
Two Reasons to Use an Attorney
- 1. Every business, albeit an LLC, LLP, or corporation, faces issues requiring an attorney. The money you spend on experience will save you time, hassle, and money in the long run. 2. All business agreements should be in writing. Don't assume a verbal agreement or handshake is enough for your LLC, LLP or corporation. You may be left with little recourse if a dispute arises. An attorney can help you navigate the waters. My website is www.stanleylawoffice.com.
- —Guest Paige Arden Stanley
Lets You Do What You Do Best
- One of your greatest assets as a business owner is your intellectual property (IP). Many small businesses think they can put off protecting their intellectual property to save time and money. In my experience, saving a dime today can cost you millions tomorrow so my best advice is to always seek counsel to ensure that you properly protect you and your business. One of the best pieces of advice I ever received from an attorney was to write down and document everything. All too often I see an employer who enters into an agreement with a partner, extends a job offer to a potential employee or conducts a regular review with an employee. These are all common occurrences for a small business but without proper documentation could come back to cause serious problems. A good attorney can save a small business owner precious time and money and allow them to focus on what they do best, run their businesses. T. Craig Bott is president of Grow Utah Ventures.
- —Guest T. Craig Bott
The Web Doesn't Make a Good Attorney
- Entrepreneurs ask, "Why can’t I just go get the forms off the internet and use the money I would have paid an attorney for my business?” Such an attitude is short-sighted and is a recipe for business failure. Failure to create a good team of advisors and instead taking the DIY (do it yourself) approach increases the business’ chance of failure exponentially. Here’s why: 1. Documents Downloaded From the Internet May Not Comply With Your State’s Law. Every state has its own set of laws, and each state’s laws dictate differences in organizational documents, standard contracts, and the like. 2. Some Documents Might Not Be Appropriate for Your Business. Forms are the bare minimum. You still need an attorney to include other important language. 3. Lack of Contextual Advice. It’s an attorney’s job to answer questions about certain terms and provisions of the documents. Read more on my blog: http://bit.ly/94dxlt I am an attorney with Mansfield, Tanick & Cohen, P.A. www.mansfieldtanick.com
- —Guest Jeffrey C. O'Brien
Simple Reason
- As a business owner I would say simply put "You don't know what you don't know!" ______ April Meese is the owner of April Meese Customized Beauty (www.aprilmeese.com)
- —Guest April Meese
Top 5 Reasons
- 1. Talk to an attorney about entity choice, i.e., corporations versus limited liability companies. 2. Talk to an attorney about ownership structure if there are multiple owners. 3. Have an attorney help select a name that does not violate trademarks. 4. Have an attorney review the lease. 5. If you have a business partner or partners, have an attorney draft a buy/sell agreement. _______ Shawn L. Stogsdill is an attorney with Van Osdol & Magruder PC in Kansas City, MO. He specializes in corporate work, taxation, estate planning and probate. As part of his corporate work, Mr. Stogsdill advises clients on formation and choice of entity issues, as well as representing them in business acquisitions, sales and dissolutions. The firm's website is www.vomer.com
- —Guest Shawn Stogsdill
LegalZoom No Competition
- People routinely ask me if I see Legal Zoom and other similar websites as competition for my business, my answer is always - No. It is often more costly to undo what clients have done on their own using those services than if they had hired me to establish their business in the first place. Setting up an entity is more than just filling out forms. I ask my clients a variety of questions, each answer helps me address their needs not just for today, but for the future of their business. When I consult with a new client about setting up a new business, I use my experience to determine what models and methods work best for each business structure. Without that basis, mistakes can and most likely will be made. ____Susan Dawson is a Partner with Waltz, Palmer & Dawson, attorneys in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Their website is www.wpdlegal.com
- —Guest Susan Dawson
An Ounce of Prevention...
- I often hear that new business owners don't want to hire an attorney because of the cost, but what they don't realize is that legal issues will eventually come up, and it is far more cost effective to protect yourself on the front end rather than get involved in litigation on the back end. A recent example demonstrates this fact: a potential client came to me to review her lease because she was getting hit with exorbitant common area maintenance charges, as well as other miscellaneous fees. When she signed the lease, she didn't have it reviewed by an attorney because of the cost, which would have been probably around $1,500.00. In the last couple of years, her CAM charges have gone from $1,000.00 per year to over $6,000.00. The landlord was able to increase these charges because of very ambiguous language in the lease. A competent attorney would have recognized this issue and proposed revisions to ensure that such increases would not occur. The client saved $1,500.00 on the front end to pay triple that amount EACH YEAR. In the case of hiring an attorney to start a small business, an ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure.
- —Guest Hannah Kaufman Joseph
As Essential as a Website
- In starting a new business, an attorney is as essential as a website. Recommendations on employee types, best accounting practices, and organizational structure can be figured out as you go but can prove to be quite costly - a single wrong turn can lead to litigation and seriously set back your goals. Our company is called GreenEdu (www.GreenEdu.com) and we worked very closely with our attorneys from day 1 to ensure that we were doing things right....since the company launched in January 2009 we've grown to a staff of 12 with presence in over 40 markets.
- —Zach Rose
