How to Choose a Lawyer for a New Business

22 May 2023 · 1 min

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This content was created by Feras Alhlou. This content was uploaded by Feras Alhlou. This is a YouTube video titled "How to Choose a Lawyer for a New Business" (published May 22, 2023). The excerpt is a single-speaker advisory segment in which the speaker gives practical guidance to new business owners on selecting legal counsel: prioritize expertise over low cost, expect evolving legal needs (entity formation, IP, employment and contractor agreements, vendor/partner contracts, sales and MSAs, immigration, taxes, compliance, M&A), and rely on a good attorney's network for specialized matters while the owner ultimately decides the level of risk to accept.

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Find a good lawyer. Cost should be a consideration, but not your primary one. A lawyer with depth of knowledge can be a bit pricey and yet can save you tens of thousands of dollars, not to mention save your mental health. While you may not have a lot of legal needs initially besides establishing a legal entity and setting up an operating or a partnership agreement, over the course of your business, you'll definitely need to find a legal partner who'll be there for you. Your needs will evolve. Be related to intellectual property, IP, employee and contractor agreements, vendor and partner contracts, sales and master service agreements, or even immigration lawyers. You may later run into scenarios where you need specialized attorneys for taxes, compliance, or M&A, mergers and acquisitions, just as an example. A good attorney has a network of attorneys they'll bring in when the specialization is required. It's up to the business owner to learn what risk they can tolerate. At the end of the day, you have to make a business decision. The lawyer is not going to do that for you.