Why Have a Lawyer

Growing up, I was exposed to some very caring, albeit quirky, people even before being a business attorney Tulsa. One such family was the Smith family. For the record, their name is not Smith but I’m going to use that name in a good-faith effort to conceal their identity. The Smiths were very caring, but admittedly odd. They lived in a very nice home in a new development outside of town, but would not order a soda at a restaurant because it was too expensive. And they believed in doing things by themselves. They handled almost everything to avoid spending money. But that was their decision as they worked very hard for what they had.

You may be a person of many talents who can handle just about anything life throws at you. If so, great this business attorney Tulsa can appreciate that! But I wish to challenge you with this. If your car breaks down and no matter how many YouTube videos you watch, what do you do when you can’t diagnose or fix the problem? You call a mechanic. If TurboTax is suddenly too confusing to the non-CPA, you usually hire an accountant. To plan for your retirement, you could watch the stock market and manage your own portfolio. Or, more intelligently, you could hire a retirement specialist to help you with this issue.

In each of these scenarios in the paragraph described above, imagine how much time you wasted doing something you had no idea how to do when you could have used your time efficiently to do what actually makes you money. Hiring a business attorney Tulsa is just like any of the above. You might be able to stumble through it and save yourself some money, but it will actually cost you profits as you are not focusing on what you know how to do.

Here are the top reasons to have a business attorney Tulsa as part of your professional team.

First, a quality business attorney Tulsa will save you money for the reasons described above. You may be able to write your own employee handbook, investigate your own, and you may even be able to do your own legal research. But consider this. When I was a first-year law student, it probably took me about an hour to read a case. The reason is I had to constantly stop and look up all these terms. I had no idea what any of these words mean. Depending on the case, I can now read one in about five to ten minutes. I figured out what most of the words mean, and I usually research looking for a rifle shot on a specific issue. I can target my review to what I need. You likely do not have that experience. And for the record, as a business attorney Tulsa know I do not have the experience to do whatever it is you do in your business. So let me handle the issue for you so you can focus on making more money. If you do it on your own, it will likely cost you.

Second, depending on the issue, you could be opening yourself up to some considerable exposure. Let’s say you want to go into business with someone, but need an operating agreement. This may be the professional match made in heaven. Why in the world would you need a lawyer under the circumstances? I recently met such a professional couple who wished to build a suite of professional offices. I advised them both that things may be great now, and they could stay that way. But we needed to draft their partnership agreement to insulate both of them from litigation exposure in the event things one day blow up. They understood the concept and we got it done. You may be in a situation like them. If you are, do not gamble on your future. Obtain a business attorney Tulsa who can draft an agreement that protects you. If you draft it yourself, I will almost guarantee you will leave out something important that could cost you thousands of dollars in attorney’s fees and a potential judgment against you.

Third, lawyers tend to offer unique views and solutions to all kinds of problems. I very rarely socialize with other business attorney Tulsa. Most of my friends come from all different types of professions. Whenever there is an issue involving the law, my opinion is almost always different. When I walk my non-lawyer friends through my reasoning, they usually see my opinion and find it persuasive. Some of them even tend to agree with my opinion even if theirs started out completely opposite mine. My justification in offering this observation is you may see a problem one way, but you are examining the issue through the lens of a non-lawyer. Let a lawyer put on his/her lawyer hat and take a look. You might be blown away by the results.

Fourth, business attorney Tulsa may not know the answer off the top of their head, but they know where to look. I routinely take projects from folks I know absolutely nothing about. For example, one client contacted me who was approached to serve as an investor in a commercial medical marijuana farm. My client wanted to know the nature and extent of his exposure. I was transparent and told him I did not have an answer for him then, but would conduct the appropriate research and prepare a report. I spent two days researching medical marijuana laws in Oklahoma and Oklahoma case law on a concept called, “piercing the corporate veil.” In law school, we learned that most individual shareholders of a corporation are protected from personal exposure through legal protection called the corporate veil. However, certain conduct can justifying what’s called piercing the corporate veil. This is where the legal entity formed as the business, such as a LLC, does not protect personal shareholders who are now personally liable for whatever conduct occurred. I suspect if you are reading this then you were not aware of the corporate veil protection or what piercing means. I knew it because I went to law school and tried to pay attention. I knew right where to go to find the answer my client needed. I suspect it would take you considerable time to locate these concepts and you might end up off in the weeds somewhere.

Fifth, if a lawyer makes a mistake, you can sue the lawyer for professional malpractice. All practicing attorneys carry malpractice insurance. Most lawyers carry substantial policy limits because they know the work they do is important. More importantly, they know if they make a mistake, it will likely be costly. Most importantly, business attorney Tulsa want to protect what they have worked hard to build so they want to protect their business at all costs (sound familiar?). If you handle the issue yourself, and you make a mistake, who are you going to sue? Yourself? That does not sound like it would be very fruitful for you. If you have a lawyer, you can sue the attorney/law firm if they make a mistake to make sure your business is protected.

If you do not have an attorney as part of your professional team, contact the RC Law Group. We are hard-working, passionate attorneys committed to protecting your business and helping you prosper.