Legal Advisors
From Entrepedia: The Entrepreneurship Wiki
What are Legal Advisors
Legal Advisors are lawyers or firms of lawyers who will provide you with legal and commercial advice in relation to all aspects of your business.
The Importance of Choosing a Good Legal Advisor
It is wise to find good professional advice early on. This can save you money in the long run, but finding the right firm is essential: there are countless examples of companies appointing an under experienced cheaper book keeper/accountant to 'look after their books' only to discover they have not been looking after the books. Most entrepreneurs advise finding a medium size firm: it should be large enough to have expertise in the right areas but not so big that they charge you high fees or that to them you are small fry and they don't really care about you. Your relationship with your advisers should be mutually beneficial and you should both be important to each other.
What to Look For
There are a number of things you should look for when choosing legal advisors and you should consider these before making the appointment as changing legal advisors can cause disruption to your business. Some of the factors to consider include:
- Personal relationship - it is advisable to meet your potential legal advisors in person to establish if they are the sort of people you will be able to work with on a day-to-day basis. You may find yourself in touch with your legal advisors on an almost daily basis so it is important to make sure you are compatible and like minded. You may also ask for references from existing clients of the firms you are considering particularly if they have a similar background to you.
- Expertise - you should make sure that the firm you appoint has expertise in all of the areas that you anticipate your business will require otherwise you may have to appoint a different legal advisor to meet your needs. Many companies start with appointing smaller legal firms as they expect them to be cheaper only to find out that they cannot provide all of the services they require. There are mutual benefits to retaining the same legal advisor throughout the life cycle of your business and you may find that some of the larger firms have flexible fee packages for young businesses which may be attractive to you.
- Fees - make sure you understand your legal advisors approach to fees from the outset and make sure that they are clear about these up front so there are no misunderstandings or surprises further down the line. Your legal advisor should make it clear what services will be charged for and what will not and this should be documented in an engagement letter early on so everyone is comfortable with the position.
