June 5, 2021
Business Law
Business law encompasses an enormous variety of services a business lawyer can provide, including the resolution of employee issues. Other representative legal services include the following:
- Business entity formation
- Start-up capital procurement
- Workers’ compensation insurance procurement
- Business insurance procurement
- Contract negotiation and drafting
- Intellectual property protection
- Acquisitions and mergers
- Business growth strategies
- Business tax planning
- Representation in lawsuits brought by or against your business
- Business dissolution
Employee Issues
One of the ways a business lawyer can assist you with employee issues is to help you try to ensure that they don’t arise in the first place. For instance, such a lawyer can help you do the following:
- Develop and draft clear and succinct employee policies and procedures
- Develop and draft wage and hour policies
- Develop and draft break policies
- Develop and draft vacation, sick time, and other time off policies
- Develop and draft safety policies
- Develop and draft a company dress code
- Develop and draft employment agreements
- Develop and draft independent contractor agreements
- Develop and draft nondisclosure agreements
- Help you establish and maintain a non-discriminatory workplace
Keep in mind that while Federal laws exist that regulate the way in which your business must be run with regard to your employees, your state may well have additional laws and regulations in place. Your experienced local business lawyer undoubtedly will not only know these laws but also will keep himself or herself updated on the changes that take place.
Employee Lawsuits
Should one of your employees sue you despite your best efforts to the contrary, your business lawyer likely can represent you and the interests of your company in court. If he or she does not do courtroom work, he or she can certainly refer you to a colleague, possibly another member of his or her law firm, who focuses on business litigation work.
In-house Versus Outside Legal Counsel
If you’re just starting out or if you’re a small company that doesn’t yet need an in-house legal department, you may wish to consider retaining a lawyer to act as your outside legal counsel. Many business lawyers offer this service on a monthly or yearly retainer basis. Having this immediate access to a trusted business lawyer can make your life a great deal easier.
All in all, your business lawyer can be your company’s best friend and strongest advocate, helping you head off employee, vendor, and other problems before they become major issues requiring litigation. A litigation law firm, like Brown Kiely LLP, could also be contacted if you feel that it may be needed now or in the future for your business if a dispute may arise.