4 Reasons It's Smart To Retain A Business Attorney For Your Small Business

Starting up a small business can incur a lot of expenses; one of the expenses that you want to make sure that you don't skip out on is a business attorney. A business attorney can help you with a lot of the issues that you are going to encounter and have to deal with as you set-up your business.

#1 Apply for Employer Identification Number

When you start a business, you are going to need to apply for an employer identification number. You can use an employer identification number in place of a social security number when applying for credit cards, opening bank accounts, and paying taxes, to name just a few uses of an EIN. This is one of the first pieces of information you will need when starting your own business and an attorney can help you obtain it.

#2 Create a Legal Business Structure

Next, when you create a business, you are going to need to create either a legal partnership agreement, a shareholder's agreement, or limited liability company operating agreement. Setting up a legal structure for your business will help protect your business interests. An attorney can help guide you to the right legal structure for your specific business set-up.

#3 Choose a Business Name

Choosing a business name is not as simple as using the first name that sounds good to you. When you find a business name that you like, you need to do some research to make sure that the business name is not trademarked in any way before you start spending money on all the materials that your business name will be printed on. An attorney can help you protect your investment by making sure that you can legally use your business name.

#4 Apply for Permits & Licenses

When starting a business, there are going to be a wide variety of different permits as well as licenses that you are going to need to obtain. All of these permits and licenses are going to require extensive documentation. Some permits, such as liquor permits, can be really complicated to obtain, and having an attorney help you out can help ensure that the process goes right the first time.

If you are starting a business, you should employ an attorney right away to help you out. To get you started, a business attorney can help you obtain an EIN and set-up the legal structure of your business. They can make sure that your business name is usable and apply for permits and licenses. After that, they can help you with additional tasks, such as creating a business plan, classifying employees, setting up your payroll, and creating contracts.

For more information, contact your local commercial litigation attorney.