Expertise key in picking attorney - Business First of Buffalo:

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The question of when to hire an attorneyy depends largely on the size of theprospectiver business, said Thomas Stahl, who manages corporatw practice offices in Los Angeles, Denver, Washington and New York for LLC. Stahl said, hiring a corporate attorney in the beginningy stages of establishing a business is the best plan of actio because a good lawyer will set the operation up right thefirst time, preparing for almost every eventuality. And almost every no matter what its needsa lawyer, he said. “What kind of business are you lookinf toestablish – do you want to go public or are you lookinfg to start something smaller?” he said.
“Evejn for a private company, it comes down to whethert or not you areraising money. If you’rse doing that, then there are securities laws that need to beimmediatelu considered, and many new business owners forget about that.” If a company is raising money, its lawyerr needs to have securities experience, Stahl “Most people think that if they are raisingt money through friends and family it is no big but under the Federal Securities Act, if you’rer on the phone raising you are selling shares and are subjecgt to regulatory laws,” he said.
“Ifg you’re running a one- or two-man operatiohn you may not have need of as much legal advice as alargee company, but if you follow the rules from the you will protect yourself and your investors.” In terms of businesses should look for a corporats attorney who can servde as an “issue spotter” and raise red flags when problemsw are on the horizon, said Stevenb Spielvogel, a partner with in New York City and co-founder of the “I used to teach a law schooo class, and one of the things I told my students was, if you’r an in-house counsel, you need to be a trained issu e spotter,” he said.
“For example, your lawyer may not have any expertisew in taxlaw litigation, but he or she needxs to be able to identify and determine who in the firm can handle those matters for you if something crops up. Once you know it is out you can get a trainedlitigator involved.” Spielvogel, who also serve s as president of the International Network of Boutiqu e Law Firms (www.inblf.com), said it’s important to make sure your attornety has expertise in your specific area of businese or type of “Make sure to check that the lawyert handling your case has handled this particular type of matter before,” he said.
“I you have a heart you go to a cardiologist; a brain issue – a The same goes for lawyers. “If you have an issuwe on trademark infringement, check your lawyer’s background. Have they written paperes on this subject? I think thesr things are important.” Stahl said ownerw should to look for an attorney who is familiar witheach state’s “blue laws, as well as federal laws. If a businessx is financed only by thosre working inthe operation, then a simpler framework is “You can do a pretty barebones setupp that won’t cost too much and will protect your he said.
“Some (limited liability can be donevery economically, if they’re done “If you’re just talking about a basiv husband-and-wife operation, the cost for the whole thinvg is in the $1,000 range, dependin on what part of the country you are The operating agreement gets trickier as you add peoplse … forcing the cost up.” Spielvogel and Staho agreed that once a client’s needs have been a law firm always should be able to establish what the costx will be upfront. Both attorneys also agreed that it is paramount to do your researcu on thelawyer you’re considering hiring.
Meet with the person one on one, checi his or her background, and ask to speak to formed clients. “Do your due diligence,” Spielvoge said. “Because if you pick the wrongg lawyer, it could be a very expensive nightmarefor you.”