How Can Your Attorney Help Reduce the Risks of Running a Business?

The core of any business attorney’s job is working with businesses to reduce or eliminate risk.  This is done in a variety of ways, some of which are reviewed below.  The most important thing for any business is to establish an ongoing relationship with a competent and trusted attorney so that, working together, risk can be analyzed and handled.

Following are some of the ways business attorneys work with businesses to reduce and eliminate risk:

1.  If the business is not formed as a limited liability entity (either a corporation or a limited liability company) and its activities involve any significant level of risk, a business attorney can analyze and work with the business to evaluate whether such an entity makes sense and, if it does, work with the business to form that entity.

2.  If the business has already been formed as a limited liability company, a business attorney can assist the business in evaluating whether all necessary paperwork and documentation is in place, both around the formation of the entity and during the years since the entity was formed.  Oftentimes, businesses that formed their own entities or used an on-line service are found to have insufficient documentation in place, which threatens the goal of limited liability.

3.  A business attorney can advise and assist the business with locating and implementing the various forms of insurance that are available and advisable for the specific activities of the business.  This includes (but is not limited to) general commercial liability, specialty liability, workers compensation, unemployment, employment practices liability, automobile liability (if applicable) and other forms of insurance.

4.  A business attorney can work with the business to create contracts and forms that will reduce its risk.  The kinds of things to consider using in standard contracts are:

--provisions that explicitly limit the amount of liability the business will have with respect to a       customer or client;
--disclaiming certain kinds of warranties, including specifically tailored indemnification provisions;
--providing for arbitration instead of full-blown litigation (to save time and money in the event of  a dispute); and
--providing for the collection of attorneys fees to the prevailing party in any kind of dispute

Such clauses should be carefully considered and included (or excluded) as determined through a careful analysis by the attorney and the business.

5.  A business attorney can closely collaborate with the business when a specific dispute does arise, whether the dispute is with a client or a customer, an employee, or a third party outside the business, to keep the costs of that dispute to a minimum.  This would include finding the right professionals (litigation attorneys and experts) to assist in evaluating and managing the dispute, and quickly engaging in alternative dispute resolution techniques to resolve the dispute where possible.

These and other techniques are the expertise that a qualified business attorney can offer a business to minimize or eliminate risk.

If you own a small business or a mid-sized business in the San Francisco Bay Area, or you are thinking of starting a business, contact Jeffrey Miller to find out how he can help you strategize.  (650) 321-0410 or jeff@jeffmillerlaw.com.