Reasons to Hire a Local Business Lawyer
The benefit of using a local lawyer is that they tend to have an understanding of the rules and regulations for your particular state. Every state has its own laws, so it’s beneficial to have a local lawyer who knows the rules and can provide sound legal advice. Having a lawyer who understands the state laws and their interpretation can be an advantage to your business.
Another benefit of using a local lawyer is that they have a better understanding of the local rules and procedures for business. They’re likely familiar with the local court system and any other local government rules and regulations that impact your business .
Some people like using a local lawyer because it allows them to have face-to-face meetings, rather than having to go through emails or phone calls. This can help you avoid confusion relating to the details of your case since you’ll be able to meet in person and discuss your situation.
Of course, some local lawyers don’t offer free consultations, but local lawyers who do offer them are more advantageous for your budget. You’ll be able to sit down with a lawyer and discuss your situation for free, rather than having to pay for the entire first consultation. This is especially beneficial to someone opening a new business, since they’re likely to have a lot of questions and won’t want to keep paying for those questions.
What a Free Consultation Means
A free initial consultation with a business lawyer provides the opportunity to meet your lawyer and evaluate the legal services in person, without financial hardship or large financial risk. These initial meetings usually last anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes. The lawyer will typically have two purposes in mind: first, to find out as much as possible about the needs and issues that you want to discuss and, second, to explain what the lawyer can do to resolve any such issues. In addition, a lawyer may also screen for potential conflicts of interest.
A free initial consultation is an opportunity to learn about your case before you bring a lawyer on board. If your problem does not need the skills of a business lawyer, you will be advised accordingly. If your case does need an attorney, you will be able to gauge whether the lawyer has sufficient knowledge and the right temperament to assist you.
How to Prepare for Your Meeting
Your preparation for your consultation with the business lawyer is very important. The lawyer will want to know as much as you can tell him or her about your needs and your issues, so it’s best to have a list of questions for your appointment. Make sure you know exactly what you want from your lawyer, and ask your questions in a logical order. Your questions will depend upon your needs, so they will vary from one situation to the next, but you might want to ask questions about how much the lawyer charges for his services, what form of business he recommends you use and how to set it up, or how to limit your liability. The business lawyer will also want to take notes about your concerns, so prepare for your meeting by compiling relevant documents (if any), a notebook and pen, a list of precise questions and information, and anything else that you think will help clarify the purpose of the engagement. It’s best practice not to contact the lawyer until you have the money to pay for the service (and the lawyer accepts credit cards), and not until you have all the documentation handy, so you are only paying the lawyer to help you with your needs, and not for collecting the necessary information.
Key Questions to Ask the Lawyer
After you have met with several of the business lawyers you found, you should have a good idea of who you want to hire. Before making a decision, ask the candidates these questions during your free consultation:
Tell me about your experience representing companies with my issues? It will be expensive for you if the business lawyer that you choose has to spend time figuring out the law and how it applies to your situation on the fly. An experienced business lawyer will already have been through your issues and can provide more advice and guidance on the matter. If part or all of your case involves litigation, an experienced business lawyer should also have a good list of expert witnesses that he or she has used in the past and that they like to use for various types of litigation.
What is your strategy for my case? You should make sure that the business lawyer has thought about the strategy for your case before you hire him/her. Your case will likely not fit nicely into a box and it will not have one means of attack. You will want to know that you have hired a business lawyer that can think on his or her feet and who has a few ideas about how to win your case.
How do you charge for your services? This is a big one. As I have mentioned in previous posts , do not go by hourly rates when deciding on a business lawyer. The hourly rate does not mean anything if the business lawyer does not accomplish what he or she said they were going to do. As for retainer fees and other arrangements.
When will you communicate with me? You are likely to scare the business lawyer away if you ask him or her to keep you in the loop every 14 seconds and confirm that they have received your financially invasive disclosures from your accountant. However, communication is key and a good business lawyer will be diligent about answering your emails and calls during business hours and when he or she says they will. Be sure to discuss communication and expectations on communication up front.
How to Compare Options
When it comes to selecting a lawyer for your business, there are several factors to take into account after your consultation. First and foremost, you will want to determine whether or not this lawyer is actually taken with each of the issues that you have put forth. Does this lawyer seem confident that they will be able to help you? Or, do they seem more focused on trying to get your case so they can boost their success reputation? Does this lawyer seem like they truly care about your situation, or do they act like you just walked in to pay them a bill? You also want to evaluate the lawyer’s expertise in the area that you need services. Does this lawyer know the areas of law that you require, or are they still trying to learn the ins and outs? If you feel that the lawyer cannot provide you with the layered representation that you need, then you may want to look elsewhere for someone more knowledgeable in the situation. Finally, what do past clients have to say about this lawyer’s skills, professionalism, expertise, and overall performance? You can ask the lawyer to provide you with testimonials on some of the clients who were previously successfully represented by this firm. Choosing the right business lawyer near you is a very important and crucial decision to make, but if you do your homework and take every factor into consideration, then you should not have any problem choosing the right one for your company.
The Advantages of Continuing Legal Counsel
When you hire a business lawyer to represent your business, you are not just paying for a one-time engagement. You are paying for professional advice and counsel that can provide value to your business for years to come. While they will likely perform a discrete engagement at their offices, you will eventually require their continued presence to provide ongoing support to ensure that the legal protections provided by their original work do not weaken over time.
The advantages of continued legal support for a business can include:
Proactive legal advice and counsel. Though business owners are often motivated to seek legal advice when they must, there is much to be said for seeking out legal help for parts of your business that are not in crisis mode. Your business attorney can help you avoid bad scenarios before they happen by providing the necessary legal assistance to minimize risk. Ongoing legal support allows business owners to seek out advice related to a variety of issues they are facing within their industry .
Quick access to legal support. Just as more complicated legal requests and concerns take time to fully resolve, it can also take time to schedule time for a meeting between both parties. In the legal industry, urgent matters often take precedence, and they should, but when you have an attorney on retainer, you can minimize scheduling time and address pressing issues far more quickly.
Long-term cost savings. A business may pay less money overall for various legal services when having access to an attorney on retainer. When you have a lawyer as part of your business, they will become familiarized with your company, your business strategies and your goals. When you have an attorney handling your intellectual property, your employee agreements or your real estate transactions, for example, you’re more likely to only pay for similar work on our retainer once. Instead of paying for the clock to tick every time something comes up, you simply contact your attorney and move forward with the transaction.