Short Answer: Yes!
Long Answer: Yes!
It doesn’t matter how you answer this question, the answer is YES, YES, and YES! Most business owners and entrepreneurs do not have an lawyer to guide them through the legal area of owning a business. It’s typically the last thing they think about. In fact, most wait until there is an issue with their business, or they have received a cease and desist letter, claim letter, or notification of a lawsuit before they actually seek representation.
Many people tell lawyers “I hope I never need to hire you”. Why does this mentality exist? The main reason is that there is a cliche` that you only need to hire a lawyer when things are going wrong. This is the farthest thing from the truth. You actually need a lawyer in the beginning to make sure that things start off right, making it less likely for them to go wrong.
When you are building a business, you are building your brand. Most business owners and entrepreneurs would agree that there is a HUGE personal investment in terms of time, money and energy that goes into building a profitable and sustainable business. There are three main reasons every business owner needs a lawyer. The PrePRo™️ framework is absolutely required to Get Legalled.™️
- Prevention
- Protection
Prevention
The word speaks for itself. Prevention is one of the most powerful tools you can use to build a sustainable business. Lawyers are what I like to refer to as “red flaggers”. We can see the red flags a mile away and provide legal advice and strategies to help you avoid them instead of running right into them. You will have issues in your business, and it is impossible to avoid them all. But, with prevention strategies you can avoid most of them. And for those you can’t avoid, a lawyer can help you come up with a plan to deal with them with as less interruption in your business as possible.
Protection
The reality is that when you start to build your business, you will run into people who want to steal your intellectual property. Likewise, there are people who simply make it their business to make your life miserable. If you are not careful, you can easily fall victim to working extremely hard to build a business only to have it copied or stolen by someone else. Why would you work hard to build your brand only to have someone else reap the profits? An experience attorney can help you come up with legal strategies to protect your brand and can take necessary steps to take legal actions against infringers.
Profitability:
When you can prevent unnecessary issues while protecting brand, you are able to fully focus on scaling to increase profitability. More often than not, moving to that next level requires having strategies to legally make more profits. This is where your major deals come in. You need lawyers to make sure you are getting the best deals. As your business grows you will have proposals and opportunities to work with major brands. You will be presented contracts that are drafted by seasoned lawyers on behalf of their clients. The best deals will be made when you have your attorney working on your behalf to make sure that any contractual agreements are just as beneficial to you as they are to the other party.
Bottom line: Yes you need a lawyer.
To make sure you give full attention to the three Ps PrePro™️ hire a lawyer to work with you early on in your business.
If you would like to discuss your business or to book a legal branding strategy session, feel free to contact our firm, or simple schedule a consult HERE. It’s time to Get Legalled™️ and Get Serious About your Business.
Vallrie L. Dorsey is the Managing Attorney at Vallrie Dorsey Law PLLC with 15 years experience as a practicing attorney.