By Kathryn Keefer
This is Part 1 of an ongoing series showcasing the importance of involving an attorney early in your start-up journey.
Hiring a start-up lawyer for your team means more than having someone to push papers and read contracts. It is a partnership with an experienced attorney that can help you make legally sound business decisions and avoid detrimental and costly mistakes. Not only do start-up attorneys oversee the business from a legal standpoint, they can provide strategic business advice based on their experience in the industry. In fact, it might be easier to list what a start-up lawyer doesn’t do.
Several key ways an attorney can protect and support your start-up include:
• Protecting Assets and Intellectual Property (IP)
• Determining and Establishing Corporate Structure
• Ensuring Compliance with State, Federal, and International Laws and Regulations
• Drafting, Reviewing, and Enforcing Contracts
• Advising on Day-to-Day Issues such as Employing Workers, Engaging Contractors, and Purchasing
Most importantly, an attorney can evaluate your start-up to identify potential risks. While every single risk of launching a start-up may be unknown, an attorney can identify the legal risks that pose a true threat to the success of a business. Issues such as breaches of contract, IP infringement, non-compliance with regulations, and data security can be predicted and prevented with an experienced attorney on your start-up’s team.