How to Tell If You Need a Florida Business Attorney

How to Tell If You Need a Florida Business Attorney

According to the Small Business Administration, there are roughly 600,000 new businesses started in the U.S. every year. If you are considering starting a new Florida business, there are a number of instances when you will probably need the help of an experienced Florida business attorney:

Company structure – a Florida business attorney can help you determine what kind of structure will be most advantageous to you – sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC or corporation. Each has their advantages and disadvantages and having a business attorney on board from the beginning will ensure you don’t choose incorrectly. A business lawyer can also execute the proper legal documentation to set up your business properly under the right structure.

Land use issues – violation of environmental protection laws can carry stiff penalties.

Contracts and agreements – at the very least, having a Florida business attorney look over any contracts or agreements you are planning to execute can save you time and money in the long run. The rules your business will operate under — known as corporate governance documents — are unique to each company and are a must if more than one owner or partner is involved. These include bylaws, an operating agreement, a buy-sell agreement, confidentiality agreements, non-disclosure agreements and more. While you can find many templates for these online, those templates are one-size-fits-all and do not take into account the uniqueness of your particular company.

Employee relations – if you have employees, there are a number of federal and state laws governing many aspects of the employer-employee relationship. Consulting with a business attorney will help you stay on top of constantly changing employment laws to ensure you are always in compliance.

Intellectual property —  a company’s intellectual property is an essential part of any organization, and protecting it is crucial to the future of the business. Your business lawyer will perform record searches to be sure you are not infringing on anyone else’s intellectual property, and then register your company’s trademark or trademarks to keep them from being infringed upon by others.

There’s a reason that attorneys are called counselors — they counsel clients on the best course of action in legal matters. Having that experienced counsel can be invaluable to a business owner who may not have the experience or legal knowledge to foresee potential problems and prevent them from occurring. This is especially true when it comes to drafting contracts with vendors, employees and customers.

Having access to experienced legal counsel before you encounter any problems will lessen possible risks and protect you from potential disasters down the road. An experienced business attorney will utilize the utmost due diligence and anticipate problem areas you more than likely wouldn’t think about or be able to deal with efficiently on your own. In addition, if your product or service is one that could possibly raise legal issues with no precedent, the attorney’s ability to foresee problems will be invaluable.

Florida business owners can avoid unnecessary risk by consulting with a qualified Florida business attorney to draft and review contracts and agreements. Contact one of the experienced Florida business attorneys at Jurado & Farshchian, P.L., at (305) 921-0440, or email us at info@jflawfirm.com.

 Share

The post How to Tell If You Need a Florida Business Attorney appeared first on Jurado & Farshchian, P.L. Business Lawyer, Real Estate Lawyer, Immigration Lawyer.