There comes a point in almost everyone’s life when they eventually need legal representation. For the relatively benign to serious legal issues, it’s always best to consult a lawyer regarding anything that concerns the courts and the legal system.

Love them or loathe them, there’s no shortage of lawyers out there and it doesn’t take this year’s most expensive young hotshot to solve legal problems as many lawyers can be held on a relatively small retainer fee ready to come to your aid whenever you need it.

Many legal issues can surface when it comes to business but some of the best reasons to retain a lawyer are because they can help with the following:

• Provide Expert Advice
• Prevent Something Before It’s an Issue
• Pursue or Defend Legal Claims

Above all else, a good lawyer provides necessary advice regarding anything that is or could be a legal issue while most lawyers actively work to make sure something doesn’t turn into a legal matter and when it comes to it your lawyer can pursue claims on your behalf or defend you should you need it.

Provide Expert Advice

Even if you think you have a good understanding of the law when it comes to business, or anything else for that matter, unless you have studied and then practiced then you won’t even come close to an experienced attorney. The law covers many areas from personal injury to wrongful death and experienced attorneys such as Greg Hoag are there to impart their wisdom whenever you need it.

As an example and from a business perspective, you could be thinking of expanding, downsizing, or moving to another country, all of which have complex legal issues for which advice should be sought first. Another example is that one of the major points of doing business is contract management, for which a lawyer should always be consulted as they can read and understand any complex terminology, identify clauses and protect your rights.

Prevent Something Before It’s an Issue

As well as providing advice as and when you need it, most lawyers are active and will work to prevent issues before they arise rather than reacting to something in your defense at the last moment. For example, if you are in the process of being sued it might be too late. The trick is to make sure you don’t get sued in the first place as once this has happened you are already obliged to pay court fees at the least.

One of the most common court summonses is for copyright infringement. This could pertain to written works, artwork, logos, and even names, so consulting with attorneys when developing anything to do with your business that may or may not be seen as some sort of infringement is always a good idea. As an example, the Obama campaign’s iconic “Hope” poster was at the center of a legal argument in which an Associated Press photographer claimed infringement.

Pursue or Defend Legal Claims

Should the worst happen, that is, you find yourself being summoned to court either as an individual or as a representative of your business, then you have exhausted all avenues of prevention and a legal issue has ensued. However, this is where your lawyers shine and a good lawyer, while not guaranteed to successfully defend you in court, can argue your case and hopefully have the penalties reduced, unless of course there is a very strong case against you.

Conversely, your attorneys can act swiftly on your behalf should you be the victim of a complex business issue such as trademark infringement, copyright infringement, or employee rights issues that can arise for all kinds of reasons. Attorneys live for this kind of work and are there to pursue legal issues just as much as defend against them.