When you operate a small business, it can be easy to miss all of the different ways that your company faces legal exposure. That’s why you need to know where to go for legal advice when you do discover that you are facing a situation where you do not totally understand the law.
Those circumstances are more common than many business owners realize, but luckily there are a broad range of tools you can use to make sure you have the right resources for each new legal situation.
Understanding the Law
When you need to understand general principles of the law, for example, to understand when it is a good idea to incorporate as an LLC instead of operating as a limited partnership, then you will want to make use of the variety of legal resource websites out there.
Major contributors like NOLO and FindLaw provide resource pages that can help with everything from understanding the law around the Americans with Disabilities Act to knowing when you need to update your insurance coverage.
Understanding Your Obligations
There are also times when you need to know how to act, though, and during those times, you probably need more direct and specific advice than you will find on those resource pages.
When that happens, your best bet is to find legal advice that puts you in touch with specific people who can listen to the facts of your situation and tell you what your options are.
That can mean local legal clinics, small business advice forums with local attorneys participating, or legal help lines like 1-800-The-Law2.
When you work with these services, you are able to find out whether or not you should retain a lawyer as you move forward by understanding what the possible costs and benefits of your various options will be.
Ultimately, it is your decision how to move forward, but the right legal advice can make you aware of options and opportunities you were not even aware you had access to.
Any time your business faces legal questions that are specific, from sexual harassment to worker compensation, premises liability, or even taxes, you can only benefit by knowing exactly where you stand with regard to the law.