Sadly, the fear of the potential cost means that many try to avoid it or seek out ways to resolve problems themselves. What they don’t realise is that legal advice not only helps you do business better, it can also save you money and avoid unnecessary problems in the future.
Discover why having legal advice is essential to any SME owner.
It ensures you’ve got the right structure in place
Once your business structure is set up, it can be difficult and expensive to change. Many people don’t know that changing a business structure later may mean having to pay stamp duty. Engaging a lawyer earlier in the process ensures your business structure is efficient and protected from personal liability. Selecting the right structure for your business can affect everything from its legal and operational risk, legal costs and tax obligations through to asset protection.
You can choose from being a:
- Sole trader
- Partnership
- Company, or
Our lawyers can help you think about what option will provide the best long-term benefits and align most with your goals and legal compliance requirements.
Lawyers can help you craft clear contracts and agreements
Contracts are crucial to businesses. They establish clear expectations between two parties, outlining what will happen if those expectations aren’t met. Having a contract written by a lawyer ensures everyone knows what to do and when, and makes it easier to resolve any issues or disputes. It can include contracts or agreements with:
- Business partners
- Stakeholders
- Contractors
- Employees
- Business suppliers.
Commercial disputes are quite common, so having these protections in place can help your business stay out of legal strife. If you don’t have dispute resolution mechanisms in your contracts, it can lead to litigation, which is a huge drain on your time and money. By obtaining legal advice and assistance from a professional, you can avoid putting your business in harm’s way and losing money, time and resources in the process.
Prevention is better (and usually cheaper) than cure
As a business owner, every moment spent dealing with a legal issue or dispute is precious time that could be better spent focusing on growing your business. While it can be tempting to cut corners, especially if you’re a smaller business, bringing on a lawyer you can trust is the best long-term strategy.
Rather than letting things get to crisis mode, a good lawyer will work with you and find a tailored solution that meets your needs while giving you great value for money.
At Lakis & Knight, we specialise in small to medium businesses.
Our personalised and fixed-fee approach ensures you have complete transparency with everything, and we’ll spend the time necessary to make sure you understand exactly what to expect and where you stand.
To get started, contact us to book your free, no-obligation discovery session.
