Why My SME Should Engage A Trusted Commercial Lawyer?

Do you operate an SME?
Do you have a safety blanket for when a legal issue comes up?

Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are considered to be the engine of the Australian economy. This is a very competitive environment and you need to ensure you give yourself every advantage possible. A savvy commercial lawyer on your side is one such advantage. Failure to obtain good legal advice may result in your SME facing costly legal problems later down the track. Due to the costs involved, most SMEs do not have in-house legal experts. However, they choose to build a trusted relationship with independent commercial lawyers who advise them when called upon. This, in turn, saves SMEs money while still providing the key advantages of having good, sound, legal advice on hand.

Composure and confidence

Having a successful SME, in any industry, requires a lot of strategic planning and dealings on a day to day basis.  Building a trusted relationship with a commercial lawyer can provide the SME team with confidence and peace of mind that the business is in good hands and able to deal with legal issues as they arise.  This allows for business owners, directors and management to remain focused on their business objectives without having the added burden of solving complex legal issues.

Experience and expertise

A high calibre commercial lawyer that specialises in the needs of SMEs is better equipped, through his or her knowledge and experience, to deliver legal results specific to your business.  A commercial lawyer who specialises in SMEs understands the needs of such business owners and the importance of providing straight forward and practical advice.  After all, owners and operators of SMEs already do not have any hours in the day and so easy to understand legal advice is imperative.

Cost savings

A commercial lawyer, specialising in SMEs, is well positioned to help your business avoid unnecessary costs and liabilities in the future.  A commercial lawyer should be engaged early to ensure that your business structure is efficient and protects your personal liability (http://alliedlegal.com.au/best-business-structure/).  Making changes to your structure later can be inefficient and costly. Your commercial lawyer should also ensure that the terms of your commercial lease agreement protect your interests.  After all, a lease is long-term commitment and critical to your business’ success (http://alliedlegal.com.au/legal-tips-commercial-tenants/).  Accordingly, business owners should not cut-corners when it comes to lease negotiations and always engage a qualified lawyer.  Other issues your commercial lawyer can assist with include:

• Are clear agreements in place with your business partners? See here the importance of shareholders’ agreements: http://alliedlegal.com.au/need-and-provision-shareholders-agreement/.
• Putting in place easy to follow contracts with your business suppliers and customers. See here the advantage of having clear customer contracts: http://alliedlegal.com.au/improving-customer-relationships-clear-contracts/.
• Helping you negotiating financing terms which account for your and your businesses’ best interests.
• Ensuring you are operating your business pursuant to all required licences and approvals.
• Putting in place clear and easy to follow employment contracts.
• Protection of your intellectual property.
• If you are planning to operate a franchise business, negotiating terms which protect your interests.
• General commercial law advice.

The above are just some of the issues a trusted commercial lawyer can assist you and your business with.  Engaging a commercial lawyer early on such issues ensures that costs are avoided later on unnecessary issues such as legal disputes.

Further benefits

All businesses are different and unique.  The best commercial lawyers understand this and consistently work to ensure that the client gets legal advice and support specific to their business.  Engaging and building a relationship with a high calibre legal expert allows you to ensure that your business is more competitive and, in a better position, to maintain positive growth within its industry.

Contact Allied Legal

Allied Legal’s commercial lawyers in Melbourne are highly experienced in assisting SMEs and their owners.  We look to build trusted relationships with all our clients.  We provide a complimentary 30-minute initial consultation to help understand your needs.  Please contact us when you are ready to seek specialist advice: http://alliedlegal.com.au/contact/.