Who is Handling Legal Issues At Your Business? 

Many times, small and mid-size business owners try to tackle legal issues on their own. They may pass on legal matters to their Chief Financial Officer or hire ad-hoc attorneys as issues crop up. The problem with these approaches is that if you are doing it yourself, then you are taking away your time to be the visionary for your company. Furthermore, legal matters are complicated, and making mistakes can lead to serious financial consequences. If you pass legal issues on to your CFO, you have them wear too many hats that they are often not equipped to handle and take their focus away from core business and growth. If you hire ad-hoc attorneys, the costs not only add up fast, but usually, this is done after an issue arises and not proactively. They cannot be counted on to know the bigger issues or needs of your business, rather only the problem they were hired to handle.

Common Legal Concerns for Small and Medium Businesses

Small and mid-size businesses face many common legal issues which, if not dealt with professionally and in a timely manner, can lead to greater financial and legal risks in time. These are some of the most common issues that businesses may have once they are incorporated: 

• Knowing business tax laws – It is important from both a legal and a financial standpoint to know what taxes your business is subject to and how and when to file your business income tax return. 
• Contracts with outside vendors and businesses – Each business should be using appropriate and complete contacts when doing business with anyone outside of your business. Without proper legal contracts, you risk lawsuits or being taken advantage of by the other party. 
• Required employee documentation – Federal law requires specific documentation to be on file for each of your employees. Failure to do so can result in fines, business closure, and even jail time for serious offenses.
• Non-disclosure and non-compete agreements – To keep your company’s information secret, it is best to have legally binding non-disclosure and non-compete agreements in place for your employees. Otherwise, you risk proprietary information going to your competitors or the general public. 

If you need legal help but your company is not large enough to justify in-house counsel, then outsourced general counsel services may be the answer for you. It can give you a team member who will learn your business, understand its needs, and be ready to serve you if the need arises. It can be a more cost-effective way to head off legal and financial pitfalls for your company than hiring ad hoc lawyers for each issue. Finally, it will allow you to focus on what is really important, running and growing your business. 

Contact a Naperville Attorney for Outsourced General Counsel Services

To meet with a trusted leader in Outsourced General Counsel services, contact the Illinois business law attorneys at Gierach Law Firm. We can discuss how our outsourced general counsel service, YourOCG, can help you grow and protect your business. Call us today at 630-756-1160. 

Source:

Entrepreneur