Does your business have a commercial lawyer? If not, you could be putting your entire enterprise at risk. Commercial lawyers are legal experts that protect companies from litigation arising from unfair business conduct, compensation claims, intellectual property and taxation. Below is an excerpt detailing the value that a commercial lawyer can add.

1. Contract negotiations

A commercial lawyer will negotiate business partnerships to ensure they do not expose your business to liabilities and that they protect your business interests. For example, the lawyer could include contingencies that the other party must fulfil before the contract becomes valid. Additionally, the lawyer will ensure that your business does not incur losses or interruption should the other party terminate the contract. 

2. Protecting intellectual property 

As your business grows, your competitors would want to steal intellectual property such as your trade secrets, brand colours or logos. Protecting intellectual property can be a nerve-wracking experience since it involves a lot of paperwork and verifications. An experienced commercial lawyer will follow up with the relevant government agencies to help you secure patents, trademarks and copyrights. Besides, the lawyer will keep a close eye on your competition to ensure they do not infringe on your intellectual property. 

3. Evaluating business practices and operations

Your lawyer will thoroughly assess your business operations to ensure that you do not disregard local and state laws. For example, could be the business does not follow the recommended processing or packaging regulations. Although some faults are not easy to spot, your competitors could use this information to bring down your business.  

4. Assessing business partnerships 

Your business could need to enter into business partnerships with other companies to improve the quality of products that your offer, increase the market share and profitability of the company. Your lawyer will assess the long term effects of these partnerships and advice whether the short term benefits are worthwhile. 

5. Settling business disputes.

Over time, your business could get into disputes with its employees, suppliers, competitors, shareholders or the neighbouring community. Your commercial lawyer will be at the frontline in a bid to settle these disputes. Ideally, he or she will ensure that the conflicts do not affect your business operations or brand image. If the issue cannot be resolved through an out-of-court arrangement, the lawyer will represent the business in court. 

The benefits of a commercial lawyer are that they can conduct business negotiations, protect intellectual property, ensure your business is compliant with local laws and settle business disputes.