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­When  “do it yourself law” can lead to disaster

A two-part series, by Clarence McMaster, SCORE counselor, Attorney

Part 1. Why Retaining an Attorney is the Smart Thing!

You may be very talented in many aspects of starting and managing your business, but you can sometimes bite off too much when you put on your “do it yourself” legal hat and try to act as your own attorney. With all kinds of help available in do-it-yourself books and on the internet, it’s easy to understand why you might proceed to tackle legal questions on your own, and not do the right thing and the thorough thing for yourself and engage a competent attorney.

The reasons for engaging an attorney are many and varied and all can be critical. Think of getting a lawyer as the self-protection part of your overall business and management plan. So what are the kinds of decisions that should trigger the hiring of an attorney? Really, any question that has legal implications, involves you and someone else, and carries a high risk of financial or other liability. ­

These topics include:

  • choosing the right legal form for starting your business,
  • structuring and managing partnership agreements,
  • creating a corporation or a limited liability company,
  • preparing for ownership change,
  • naming your business and your products,
  • securing appropriate licenses and permits,
  • raising funds for your business,
  • buying and selling a business or a franchise,
  • negotiating a lease and
  • dealing with independent contractor agreements, warranty and consumer protection issues, business contract matters, etc.

This is a fairly exhaustive list and yet, there are even more issues for which to hire an attorney. This list however will spell out the major topics that you should discuss with an attorney in order to start and manage your business in a profitable and satisfying manner.

A capable lawyer can do more than just give you legal information in response to a question you ask. The best use of a lawyer is not only to use him or her as a source of legal information, but to discuss your ideas and get them to help you with your strategic planning and suggest legal techniques and skills that may be useful as you move your plans forward. A good business lawyer can be your legal coach and enable you not only to accomplish a lot on your own, but also function as an associate who will be there to check on and confirm the legal sufficiency and correctness of your decisions and your actions.