Commercial Lawyers Can Help In the Starting and Running of a Business
Setting up a new business can be exciting and challenging, but a less interesting activity for many is an essential part. Your new business venture does need to be set up so that if follows all the rules and regulation in Auckland and NZ laws. To make sure you meet all the current legal requirements, be sure to talk to a commercial lawyer in Auckland who can help in starting your company.
Your business can have investors or partners, or you can be a sole-trader but whichever ownership structure you have, it is necessary that it be set up as an entity that is legal and acceptable to tax authorities. You may also need legal advice to protect yourself such as advice on copyrights or drawing up a strong terms-of-trade agreement to ensure you get paid. Then there is the question of setting up trademarks for your product so that you have legal rights to it, and other people should not be able to advantage. There are also matters of insurance, property leases and ways to protect your personal assets, where the expertise of a commercial lawyer can be of great help.
Legal costs of a commercial lawyer in Auckland can be daunting, but any new business must consider it as a requirement for the enterprise. They are simply a cost of doing business and they must be factored in whenever provisions are being made for financing the company.
It is always safer to form limited liability companies as this does not place your personal assets at risk, in the case the business does not succeed as hoped. This company formation requires certain formalities to be followed, and a lawyer will be able to advise you on the need for this, and even assist in doing so. Logos and trademarks need to be registered with the proper authorities so that you have their sole and exclusive use. It allows your brand to be protected from imitators and grants you exclusive marketing rights to the logo and trademark that you have had registered.
Every business will have to make contracts with suppliers, franchisees, and others. That is the time when you need the services of a commercial lawyer to ensure that all these documents are drawn up correctly, protects your interests and is legally enforceable. If you are engaging staff, you will also need to enter into Employment Agreements, which must be drawn up in the proper legal format. In many cases, these agreements need to have clauses that protect your assets, and non-disclosure clauses have to be carefully drawn up. Agreements also have to be even-handed and fair to the employee as well; the employment law in relation to Employment Agreements in New Zealand are clear and strong so be safe and hire a lawyer to help you.
Businesses can always fail, and it makes sense to have proper exit strategies in place, even while you are just setting up the business. It is all the more important when there are partners or other principals, whose departure from the business is always a possibility. If you have investors they will only invest if they know of a clear exit strategy. An exit strategy defines the method of either exiting the business as a whole or how individual directors can sell their shares so that any remaining directors are not disadvantaged by a new owner. The departure of a principal should in no way be allowed to disrupt the business, and carefully worked out schedules for buying back shares or financial inputs, along with methods to determine values, allows for the process to be completed with ease.
A commercial lawyer for a business needs to be supportive and one who gives the proper advice, even if it may be difficult at times. The lawyer should have a reasonable and sound business judgment that takes the reality of the market into account rather than the often rose-tinted view of a business owner. The lawyer must be available whenever required, and be able to explain legal needs in simple terms that can be understood.
If you need a commercial lawyer in Auckland a highly reputable law firm is McVeagh Fleming and Partners. They have specialist lawyers in all areas of commercial law from employment, contract, property and business structures. You can get more details about them on the website here www.mcveaghfleming.co.nz.