Every company (may it be a starting one or already established and well-known) needs a few professionals to help in different aspects of its business such as its finances, legal needs, marketing, etc. Most of the time, the basic and most common professionals a business requires include accountants and lawyers because first of all, who doesn’t need an accountant? Obviously, an accountant is vital for a company’s finances, charts, accounts, payrolls, tax returns, and many more. A lawyer, on the other hand, can provide legal assistance and advises, take care of business registrations, copyrights, contracts, business incorporation, lawsuits, and the likes.
Apparently, since the World Wide Web has made almost every information accessible with a few clicks, some business transactions do not necessarily demand a lawyer’s guidance anymore such as small business registrations. Because of this, some business owners do not immediately prefer hiring a lawyer for their company, especially when they are trying to cut costs.
But is there really a need to have a company lawyer? What kind of lawyer suits you best and what can they do for your business? Basically, there are different specialties each lawyer has and knowing which role and tasks one can take care of and offer will help you figure out which one would perfectly satisfy your needs. If you have a business, there are at least 2 types of lawyers to choose from:
- Business lawyer. Business lawyers are the ones who can render legal advice in almost every part of a business, giving advantage to their clients when it comes to decision-making and opinion about the legitimacy of things. As a whole, a business lawyer is the one responsible for the company’s compliance with all of the rules and regulations in the country, moreover, aside from providing statutory information and creating company policies, they are also the business’ best protection from lawsuits. In addition to all of these, business lawyers also specialize in writing business plans, creating partnership agreements, reviewing contracts, and dealing with the police and other government entities that may investigate the business.
- Corporate lawyer. Corporate lawyers work for larger businesses or companies. Often times, they are regarded as transactional lawyers because that’s basically what they are for – they are in charge of corporate transactions such as writing contracts, avoiding lawsuits, making sure all the legal papers are taken care of and defending the corporation if it is being sued. Corporate lawyers operate within the legal department of a business, help in governing sale and distribution of goods, and they work with other departments to assist the corporation make safe business decisions in compliance with the local and international laws. There’s also a special need for a corporate lawyer in the event of incorporating your business, before the incorporation, or if you have already incorporated and you need additional advice. Overall, corporate lawyers make sure that investor rights, purchases, and issues involving corporate structure are all secured.
The detailed descriptions of what a business and corporate lawyer is above shall make it easier for us to decide which type of lawyer is more needed in a certain situation or if we really need one, however, if you still find it a bit confusing (which is totally understandable), think of the main difference of the two: Corporate law lawyers are concerned mainly with the business itself – its operations, purchases, and selling of items, activities, and validity while business law lawyers cover other sections such as employment and taxes.
By this time, you should have already figured out why you would need a corporate or a business lawyer for your company. Let me then provide you now with a guide on how to choose the best lawyers for you. Listed below are the things you may want to consider in trying to find one:
- Connections. It’s not possible for every lawyer to know everything about every field of the law. When the time comes that your business has other legal needs that are outside your business/corporate lawyer’s scope, it is important that he or she must be able to help you out by knowing who to contact and to ask help from. It would not make sense to look for a new lawyer every time things like this happen. Because of this, larger law firms are very much preferable compared to smaller ones. Large firms usually have a lot of heads in one roof with different specializations, which is exactly what you need. So, if you are looking for a business or corporate lawyer in Manila, Philippines, a firm such as Yap & Associates is highly recommended.
- Current clients. Your lawyers must be familiar with your business industry, if not, he must be able to learn the ins and outs of it. It would be better if he or she has already had previous clients in the same field. On the other hand, it would be much safer if your chosen lawyer does not represent any competitor clients currently.
- Good communicator. A good lawyer must always have the patience and willingness to educate his/her clients about the legal conditions of their business. Lawyers must be able to inform you of what our laws say and explain it in a way that non-lawyers will understand.
Lawyers are necessary for a business not only for their primary purposes (take care of company’s legalities) but they can also be very helpful in terms of connections (for partnerships and financiers) so choosing the best law yer is something that should be taken seriously and research and inquiries must not be neglected in order to acquire the best one.
