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When Do Start-Ups Need A Business Lawyer

Sep 14, 2021

How To Know When Your StartUp Needs A Lawyer

Starting a business is exciting as it is stressful. On top of debt, deadlines, and permits, you’re undecided whether it is necessary to hire a lawyer or not. Well, several factors determine the answer to this question.

There are many initial steps to starting a business and a good lawyer can help guide you with a list of the potential issues and tasks to undertake. Complicated agreements, hiring employees, forming an entity, lease agreement reviews, franchise agreement reviews are a few things that may require legal assistance. It is important to note, though, that if you feel uncertain about anything in the process, it is in your best interest to get legal representation. Utilizing their legal expertise is the best way to avoid being involved in difficult situations with costly and long-term consequences.  There are also government requirements depending on your profession, like some licensed professionals like dentists, doctors or lawyers have limits on who can own such a business or corporation.

Business Structure

Information on the different types of business entities is usually provided by the Secretary of State website where your business is located. The most common ones are a partnership, sole proprietor, LLC, and corporation. The type of business structure will be determined by the type of business, financing, and the number of owners your company has. The residence of the owners can also factor into the entity choice.  A lawyer or accountant would help with concerns involving tax, liability, ownership, and more.

Bylaws

For corporations, after registering with the secretary of state, bylaws are essential to define the policies for the corporation’s directors, shareholders, and officers. For LLCs, an operating agreement is required to provide structure to their operation.

Name Availability

There are a few legal requirements associated with naming a business. It’s essential to check if the proposed business name is available in the state where the business is planned to be formed. Most states have a business name database on their secretary of state website.  Also, for California, you can call and reserve the name with the Secretary of State.  However, simply checking for an exact match on the name is not enough.  You also want to at least do a search on the internet, such as thru Google, Yahoo, Duck Duck Go, or other search engine for your proposed business name.  If you find other businesses with the same or a similar name, then you may want to consult an attorney or choose a different name.

Trademark

Once it has been determined that a specific business name is available in the state where it will be formed, it is essential to be sure it isn’t a registered trademark. This can be discovered by viewing the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Electronic Business Center online. Domain name conflicts need to be checked before a business can have a website for its particular business name.  You can check online to see if your proposed business name and proposed domain are available as well.

Bank Account

Once a company is established, opening a business account is vital to effectively track your finances by keeping business and personal expenses separate. Doing this will require obtaining an employer identification number (EIN). This can be obtained online from the IRS. Once an EIN has been obtained, copies of the business formation documents from the Secretary of State can all be taken to a local bank to open a business account.

Operating Business

Once the formation tasks are completed, it is time to get the business operating. Any permits and licenses required must also already be obtained at this stage. You can focus on developing strategies to sell your products or services and create an online presence. This is also an excellent time to look into getting your company insured.

In the future, you may come across more complex situations involving legal issues. Buying another business, employee lawsuits, obtaining investors, etc. Despite taking preventive measures, most small businesses encounter a problem at some point where they need the assistance of an experienced and knowledgeable business attorney.

Contact Nick Heimlich Law today for inquiries.

C O Lee Boyce Jr
C O Lee Boyce Jr
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Nick provided me sage advice with my issue. He was efficient, thoughtful, and good natured about the whole process.
David Duckworth
David Duckworth
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I recently received legal advice from Nick and he was very professional and easy to talk to. He gave us great advice and I would definitely use him again if needed. Thank you Nick!
Rebecca Bauer
Rebecca Bauer
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Nick was excellent! Very knowledgeable, asks great questions, and quickly understood the situation and was able to give great advice. I so appreciated his time, insight, and expertise in assisting with our situation. Highly recommend!
Charles Chen
Charles Chen
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Mr. Heimlich has been very responsive to my case and provided extraordinarily useful advice. Thank you!
Mario Cassara
Mario Cassara
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Nick Heimlich was very professional and knowledgeable in my case. He left a lot of the worrisome I had in my case to the expert and was very good at what he does. I will recommend Nick to anyone who needs council!Much appreciative,Mario
Taryn Harada
Taryn Harada
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This was the first time ever needing a lawyer for something, I was a bit frantic and overwhelmed with everything going on, but Nick and his team were very professional and honest, and made me feel at ease about my case. They were even professional and cool with the opposing attorney even though she was being unprofessional at times. In the end, they were able to settle my case and bring me a satisfying outcome. If you're ever in a bind and need a business lawyer, I highly recommend Nick and his team.
Jay Kamdar
Jay Kamdar
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I am an officer at a company that provides B2B Demand Generation services to marketing and sales. Over a number of years, I've worked with Nick Heimlich for legal services. He has advised me well and helped to represent the company in multiple legal disputes including in Court. I am very satisfied with his work and highly recommend him.
Rami Gideoni
Rami Gideoni
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I needed some legal consultation and per recommendation I received, I have approached Nicholas. He got back to me quickly and provided great service, he was patient, professional and knowledgeable. His advise is much appreciated, it cleared the situation, draw the next steps to follow and placed my mind to peace .I would definitely recommend his service.
I A
I A
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Nick answered all of my questions with direct and concise answers to my situation. Thank you!
Abe Honest
Abe Honest
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Mr Heimlich was very professional kind and knowledgeable when I give him a call. I was calling to hire an attorney for an tenant and landlord dispute. I had a particular issue that Mr Heimlich took time to completely listen to me. unfortunately the area I needed help was not an area that Mr Nick practiced. but he was not hesitant to give me some leads and direct me to the right place. he's a man of character and cares about what he does, I can only imagine his level of excellence in his area of expertise. he's a man of great character and I would recommend him for anyone to give him a call and talk to him. thank you very much Nick. thank you for caring .
Tilo S
Tilo S
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Nick was very helpful when I needed legal advice.Thank you!
Bay Small Moves
Bay Small Moves
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M C
M C
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I entered into a membership contract that had unreasonable cancellation requirements. I went to Nick through my company’s employee assistance program. Nick did thorough research and found that the contract term exceeded term limits allowed by California law. As a result, I was able to cancel the contract without any penalty. I was very satisfied with the outcome.
Andyn79 Nguyen
Andyn79 Nguyen
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He wasn't able to take me as a client but had about 10 mins so he told me tell me and just from that i was able to be clear and did win from really dishonest people. So i am thank you telling the truth gets it's own reward
Mark Brown
Mark Brown
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Nick was very helpful when I needed assistance dissolving an LLC. Not only did he create the appropriate documentation, but he educated me on the process. His guidance was invaluable, and everything resolved smoothly. I would certainly use his services again in the future.
Bonnie Nevitt
Bonnie Nevitt
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My family cannot thank Nick enough. We needed a business litigation attorney for a lawsuit that was going to trial, he not only took the time to understand the complexities of the case but was able to convey that to the judge. He was able to get us amazing results. Hands down the best attorney we have ever worked with.
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